This month seems to have passed by much faster than June did, in 11 days I will be boarding a plane to Washingtion D.C., and then be on my way to Kenya. As I search for the answers of where this journey will take me, and what all I will experience along the way. I'm finding more and more that if I knew everything I was about to get myself into, I would probably not be able to do it, or at least not without being in a constant state of worry.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to be a sponsor at a youth camp in Palacios, TX. Coming into the camp as someone who had very little experience working with youth groups, at least since I myself was a part of one, it was definitely a very eye opening week.
A view of the sunrise in Palacios.
At the camp I had the chance to lead a small group of Jr. High students, and honestly thought that I would just be helping out a more experienced and vocal leader. However God has a way of pushing us farther than we ourselves want to go sometimes. It only took the first meeting we had together as a small group, with 12 jr. high students staring up silently at me, for me to realize that I didn't know exactly what I was signing up for.
At the end of the week, I was able to appreciate those who had been a big part of my life during my teenage years so much more. I would love to be able to tell you that by the end of the week that everyone in my small group became best friends, and that I was able to get to know all of them. However that is not the way it turned out, and I'm okay with that.The truth is, I don't know what most of the students got out of the week. Was it a week of just hanging out with friends, and playing fun games such as 'Steal the Wheel'? I would like to think it was something more than that, after all in one night 40 students came to know the love and salvation of Jesus Christ.
In many ways that week was a reminder that it was never about me, and in spite of the fact that sometimes I may not be as ready as I think I am, the Holy Spirit still shows up and does work anyway, and that it is not about anything I can do or say that will bring about change in someones life.
