2 weeks. Wait….Yes. 2 weeks.
This was my response yesterday to someone asking me how long I’ve been back in town. And I had to laugh. Has it really already been two weeks? Has it only been two weeks? Two weeks since I’ve driven through the Badlands. Two weeks since being on call 24/7. Paperwork dates. Long car rides and deep conversations. Two weeks since I’ve stopped what I was doing to just sit and chat and maybe pet a few rez dogs?
You see, I’ve spent the past 3 summers working for YouthWorks- an organization that organizes and runs mission trips for youth groups in several communities throughout the U.S. They train up a staff team who lives in the community all summer and facilitates trips for groups that come through each week-connecting them to the community and providing a space for teenagers to serve alongside and learn from members of the community. My job this summer was to oversee 3 of these staff teams and sites in South Dakota.
Two weeks ago I flew back home after celebrating all that God had done this summer with several teams in Minneapolis. Since then, I’ve spent a few days at my mom’s house visiting friends and family, moved in with friends in Mt. Sterling, had teacher meetings, and have completed the first week of school of my 2nd year of teaching. A lot of life has happened in those 2 weeks and a lot of life will happen in the next 19 weeks before I launch for the World Race . Some days I feel like it was just yesterday that I was in SD, and some days it feels like that was a whole year ago. The next 19 weeks will seem to go slow, but at the same time fly by. Time is funny like that. But even in the shuffle of things and the busy-ness of this season, I don’t want to forget all that I saw God do this summer and all that I learned.
The truth is, my 3 summers with YouthWorks have taught me some incredible lessons. I can honestly say that they changed my life and have played a huge part in who I am today and in my faith. Much of my heart for deciding to do the World Race has been formed from my experiences in communities and with God through YouthWorks.
Through my my summers with YouthWorks, I’ve spent time living in Thunder Bay, ON, Rapid City, SD, Rutland, VT, Mission, SD, Manderson, SD, and Martin, SD. I’ve learned a lot of things that make me laugh when I recount stories to family and friends. Here’s a short list of some of those crazy and fun things:
When driving, how to avoid cows and horses in the road.
How to take advantage of anytime you can get a quick 10 minute nap.
What exactly is all involved in cattle branding.
Exactly how many ceiling tiles are in the foyer of First Baptist Church in Rutland.
Fundamental moves in Taiji.
How to live out of a suitcase.
How to sleep restfully on an air mattress, and really, just about anywhere.
How to cast vision for just about anything.
How to get creative with meals when you eat the same thing every week.
How to always have a plan B. . . and C.
In addition to these seemingly silly, but surprisingly practical lessons, YW has also taught me some serious lessons that impact my life and faith. A few of those are outlined below:
Be Still. Sometimes you just need to slow down and look at what and who are around you. Take in the sunset. Have a conversation with the people around you. Sit in the quiet with the people around you. Sit in the quiet with God and hear what he has to say. Stop planning, stop rushing, stop talking. Just be. You’ll be better for it.
Invest in people. Even when it’s hard. Even when you don’t feel like it. Even when you feel like you don’t know what to say. Invest in people. Relationships matter. So even when you’re exhausted, play tag with the little nuggets vying for your attention. When you just want to be alone and that friend says “hey, can we talk?” take time with them. When you have a million thing to do, but a community member starts to tell you their story or invites you to do something, put down the work and listen. Invest in relationships. Be present. Motivate and challenge. Have those tough conversations. Encourage and celebrate. Even when you don’t know if you are making a difference or if what you are saying or doing matters. Keep doing it-it does, you just may never get to see or hear about it. I’ve been blessed to have leaders and friends that invested in me in the past 3 summers, even when I knew it was hard and I am so much better for it. Invest your all in people rather than things or tasks.
Growth can hurt, but it is necessary. It is essential to go outside of your comfort zone. It is essential to learn and to grow. This process can hurt. It can be uncomfortable. God will use situations that break your heart. That allow you to fail. That aren’t easy. But if you let him, he will use those situations to build you back up. To make you better. To create new opportunities and relationships. Be willing to do the work. Be willing to ask the hard questions and to sit in the tension. Be willing to experience the growing pains. It’ll be well worth it.
Everyone has a story. Everyone has something that they’ve been through. Something that has made them who they are. Everyone has a story that is worth sharing. Some will tell it easily, some will hold back. Get to know people and their stories. Listen and ask them to share. Know that you too have a story worth telling. Don’t minimize the power of one person’s story.
Where I am lacking, God is capable. As a perfectionist, I often get caught up in doing everything right. Completing tasks and completing them well. Knowing what to say or how to handle a situation. But the truth is that there is a lot that I am not prepared to handle. Situations arise that I don’t have words for. Tasks that get forgotten. What I often forget is that God has it handled. Trust and reliance on him is essential-me being perfect is not. Remembering to turn to him and not my self is the best thing that I can do.
Community is hard. But community is resilient and beautiful. Living in community with other people is a hard task. Especially when you start out as essentially strangers. It can be hard to live and work with people that you may not have chosen otherwise. When you don’t have a lot of space or time to get away. Tensions happen and things aren’t always pretty. But there’s beauty even in that. Living with other Christ-followers and having a support system who is in it with you, praying and motivating each other is powerful. Learning how to love each other, help each other grow, work through the hard things, and serve the kingdom together is a long road worth taking.
Every community has something to offer. Every community has beauty. In the summer, the communities we live in often have specific needs. But they are more than those needs. They are the stories of the community members that live there. They are the history and resilience that make up their people. They are the beautiful scenery that surrounds the community. They are the community members working tirelessly to serve their fellow community members and take pride in their community. I often find it easy to fall in love with the communities I live in in the summer. To invest wholeheartedly in what community members and organizations are doing in the area. To intentionally pray and look for how God is working in that community. I also have to remember there is the need to do the same thing, to look through the same lense in my own community. In your community as well.
Joy will prevail. God will redeem. Throughout my summers in different communities, I’ve seen a lot of hurt and situations that can seem hopeless or broken. People who have been hurt by the church. Poverty like I’ve never encountered before. Deep hurts and issues that go back hundreds of years. People drowning in addictions. Young people who have lost all hope and don’t know how to make it through to tomorrow. It’s easy to look at these things and to wonder how we can make a difference. There were many days I wondered the same thing. But along with the hurts, I saw children belly laughing over the simplest game of tag. I saw teenagers sitting in awe as they heard a community member’s stories. I saw perspectives change. I saw strangers become friends. I saw kids who had never heard of Jesus learn his name and what he had done for them. I saw a group of people who didn’t let history trample them, show their resilience by continuing to stand. I saw beautiful sunsets. I saw community members fighting for the people in their communities and coming alongside those in need. There is a lot of darkness in this world, but friends, there is a whole lot of light. God will take any situation and redeem it. I saw him take plans gone wrong and use them for his Glory. I’ve seen him repair relationships. His hand is in all of these communities and he is working. Joy will shine through and prevail. Sometimes you have to fight to see it, but man, is it worth fighting for. Fight in prayer and open your eyes-God is good and he will redeem.
God can use you. No matter your story. No matter your past. If you have willing hands and a willing heart, God can use you. You may underestimate your skills. Your story. Don’t. God has a purpose for you and he wants to use you and your story. Trust in that and allow him to.
Leaving pieces of your heart throughout the U.S. is hard. As I’ve spent time in these communities, parts of my heart have been left behind. The end of the summer is always kind of a rough adjustment for me because of this. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have people that I call family in several different communities. I have fellow teammates and staff that are now friends that mean the world to me. These are all relationships that are made up of people that I may not talk to for months at a time, but that I can always call. People that I can show up on their doorstep and be welcomed home. People that have invested in me, shared their stories with me, inspired me, and changed me. Goodbyes are hard, but so incredibly worth it.
My summers with YouthWorks have changed me, challenged me, and have brought me to this point- leaving in 19 weeks to spend a year investing in people in communities and in my relationship with Christ. This time, it will be around the world, instead of the U.S. Next summer, I will be across the globe instead of in a YW community, which is both sad and exciting to think about. I’m not sure when my next YouthWorks summer will be, but I do know this-the lessons that I’ve learned are building blocks for the race. The 10 lessons above will help with several aspects of the race and some of the lessons will continue to be challenged and deepened. I cannot wait to see the ways in which the World Race continues to take me out of my comfort zone and the lessons that will be learned over the next year. It will be a year of total reliance on God, and I am confident that he will use that to challenge, shake, and shape me.
Fundraising Events Coming Up:
YARDSALES: I will be having 2 yard sales to help raise more funds. You can help by attending them or donating items that you do not have a use for anymore! The dates are September 10 in Bethalto and Oct. 1 in Mt. Sterling.
QUARTER AUCTION: In Bethalto on Oct. 21
TRIVIA NIGHT: In Bethalto, November 17.
Contact me for more information on these events or to donate towards them!
Next deadline is $10,000 by December!- YOU can help me get there!
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