Mount Tabor Brethren in Christ (July 18-24)

            This past week I spent my time helping out at Mt. Tabor. I had heard going into the week that it was a small church and in comparison to the other churches I have been that this summer that was correct. Mt. Tabor was very small compared to Five Forks and Chambersburg, but that didn’t affect anything. I met Kevin Lay, the pastor of Mt. Tabor on Monday evening and we headed to a Trustees meeting. I entered that meeting with the same apprehension as I had the other churches, it was still a matter of getting to know people who I’d never met before and serving with them. Wednesday I was responsible for leading an adult Bible Study at the church for about 15 adults that meets every Wednesday evening. Thursday I attended another Bible Study led by Kevin, this Bible Study was smaller and only met once a month. Friday Pastor Kevin and I went and visited 2 people from the congregation. Sunday was a busy day. I was at the church by 9 to greet people as they came in, then after Kevin opened the service I proceeded with the call to worship reading Psalm 19 and then praying for the service. Once we reached the offertory I played a song on guitar called “Knowing you Jesus” and sang. I then left the service and went to help Kevin’s wife, Kimberly, with children’s church. There I taught the 5 children 2 Thessalonians 3:13 in sign language. My last responsibility was to teach the youth Sunday school with followed Children’s church.

            It was a different week than all my other weeks for a few reasons. One, this is the first week I really had to dig into God’s word besides my own personal devotions. It was the first time this summer that I was asked to teach. Second playing my guitar for offertory was my first time playing for a group of people. This week stretched me more than I had anticipated and I’m so thankful it did! Being a part of this internship, I had prayed that God would stretch me and I’ve seen him answer that in small ways throughout the summer but I’d say this week at Mt. Tabor was the biggest for me. It not only challenged me and pushed me beyond where I thought I was comfortable but it showed me that my God is always with me. It didn’t matter if I was shaking when I was playing my guitar or unsure of the words that I’d say next at a Bible Study, God was with me throughout the whole week. He calmed me and gave me the words to say.

            I also got a glimpse of how the body of Christ works. Wednesday night at the Bible study I led, one lady shared a prayer request about some physical health concerns and she was upset about it. After she shared another lady spoke up and offered a passage of scripture of encouragement to the woman with the health concerns. I was immediately struck with the scripture about how the body works together and so should the body of Christ. It was such a great illustration and I saw it played out before my own eyes.

            My week at Mt. Tabor was incredible, one of my best weeks of my summer. It’s a small church but it gave me a glimpse of how a small church operates. They have to be family and work together. Not everything is glamorous, they don’t need a big fancy church to worship in, it’s not about going on extravagant youth group trips, they are content to sit around tables and dig into the word of God! When everything is stripped away, they are still content. These people worship God through their normal, daily activities! I was a reality check for me. Driving home Sunday afternoon I was just humbled. Growing up in a larger church I always loved going on big youth trips and that seems to be becoming the norm. But what would happen if we stripped all the “fun” activities away and just offered Bible Studies; no activities before or after, just come for a hour with your Bible and prepare to study God’s word? Would we be content with that or do we need all the “extravagant activities” to worship God?

            I don’t think I have ever met more friendly people at a church! Whether it was a child, youth, or adult, they all looked at you with a smile before they even knew your name. I was at Mt. Tabor to serve them and serve with them, but ended up feeling so blessed in return, and so thankful that they welcomed me and let me serve with them for a week.

Christian Retreat Center (July 10-15)

            This week I was a counselor at CRC for teen week. I wasn’t sure how things would go going into the week. I have been a counselor at CRC a few times before but I was a little uneasy about how just coming in for one week would be, not knowing all the counselors and not being a part of the counselor training week when they really bond as a team. As soon as I got there I felt a peace. As I was driving in and as you come to the pond with the water reflecting the surrounding trees, I was just reminded that I serve a big God…there was nothing to worry about. I was paired with a counselor who I had never met before, Emily, we were introduced and about five minutes later Jeremy assigned her with me to cabin 5, but it was like we had known each other before. We got along so well. Emily was a huge blessing to me throughout the week and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to serve with her.

            After our staff meeting we headed up to our cabin to wait for our 10 campers to come. One by one they came into the cabin with big smiles on their faces, picked out their beds for the week, and got settled in. Once all of the girls arrived we headed down to the ball field for some get to know you games and our week had just begun. Going into a week of camp you never know what to expect, this was definitely one of those weeks. Our cabin was diverse; we had girls who were born in Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Salvador. We had a group of four Hispanic girls who mainly spoke Spanish. Emily and I had both taken Spanish in high school but not enough to communicate well with these girls. This made it hard to start off the week. As I mentioned in one of my last blogs that it takes time to build relationships, well that was again very evident here. There was a huge barrier between our 10 girls, four of them spoke Spanish and a little English and 6 of them only knew English.

            The normal for our cabin was for there to be a group of 6 and a group of 4. Emily and I tried to do our best to interact with both groups but with our inability to speak much Spanish, it was difficult. We even tried giving a devotional on unity and how for this week, we as a cabin were family. This devotional helped break the ice. One of the Hispanic girls, Jennifer, came over and started joining in with what the other girls were doing. It was so cool to watch how they interacted with each other. It just reminded me of the body of Christ and how we each have different abilities but when we all work together, we for one unit. Though out the rest of the week our unity as a cabin got better, it wasn’t perfect but there was effort on behalf of the girls, by the last night the Hispanic girls were teaching the rest of the cabin songs in Spanish! After a rough beginning, I’d say by the end of the week I had bonded most with the Hispanic girls; Jennifer, Nancy, Ashley, and Katherine. I loved the girls in my cabin and these four won a special place in my heart…I only hope and pray that they continue one in their lives with Jesus Christ by their side and realize that even when life is crazy, He’s the one thing that will never change.

            I’d say the thing that I learned this week is not only patience but just realizing that even in what seems to be a chaotic situation, God is always there. This has been a crazy summer, so many new things and some familiar ones. But it doesn’t matter if I go into a week a little apprehensive because I’m not quite sure what to expect, all I need to know is that my God is with me. I just need to be faithful in the little things, taking little steps of faith. He’s going to catch me when I fall, so why should I be afraid? My God is so awesome!

            I love CRC! This was my third time back at CRC to be a counselor and it just made me realize how much this place has changed my life in the short amount of time I have been involved. There is just something about being on staff here that I love; you become a family, I was only there for one week this summer but they accepted me into their family. These are the people who you know you can trust, they are the ones that you go to when you’re struggling, and these people are prayer warriors and are the best encouragers when you’re weary from a tough week at camp. Although camp lasts for five weeks and we leave and go our separate ways till the next summer, we always have that tie, that common bond of serving the Lord together at CRC.

Chambersburg Brethren in Christ (June 27 - July 3)

This was a great week! It was nice being with my home church and it definitely was more of a comfort because it took away the aspect of not knowing the people before coming into the week.  The first two days I helped Anna Mae Burkholder, our youth director, in the office and just got a little feel for how things go behind the scenes. I’d say the best part of that was getting to sit in on the staff meeting. It just showed me that not everything is always fun, there is a side that’s almost business oriented, when the side that I’m most familiar with is the relationship building. But the best part of that staff meeting was the last half hour we spent in prayer for each other, it was very uplifting being a part of that experience and for that I’m grateful.

            On Wednesday a group of about 20, including myself and 2 other leaders, left for Creation Festival 2011. This was my first ever experience camping at Creation, I had gone up before for a day but it’s a different experience when you stay on site. It was a great time. We had a wonderful group of teens who were ready to help do whatever they needed to; help with the cooking or filling of water jugs. Like I said earlier, it was so nice being with my home church but that did make it hard in a way to not be pulled into one specific group. I already had established relationships with some of the youth and some are newer to our church so I tried not to always be with one group of kids and let myself float a little. That was probably the best thing I could have done. I feel like I deepened the relationships that were already built and start building new relationships.

            I think one of the things I walked away with is just realizing that time equals relationships. It takes time for people to see who you are and then for them to trust you. It’s not something that just happens over night. And they really don’t care when you act yourself, have fun, and maybe make a fool of yourself dancing and singing at the top of your lungs to Toby Mac! I’ve been involved in a few summers of ministry at summer camps but I think I’ve just realized the impact that time does really have on a relationship. It was a good reminder.

            Thursday night I had the privilege of listening to Louie Giglio speak. He made the point that the reason we were put on this earth is to carry the name of Jesus. No matter where we go, what we’re doing, or who we are in contact with, we need to be carrying that name. There is no greater name. We each have the names given us by our parents but we need to be carrying Jesus’ name. We must be transparent so other’s can see Jesus Christ in us; Ally needs to be on the back burner so that Jesus may be seen in my life through my attitude, actions, and character. Some of the tasks I have been asked to do this summer take me out of my comfort zone and one in particular but I feel like God just calmed me, told me it was going to be okay, and that all I am doing is carrying his name…what an honor, why would I pass up an opportunity like that? Prior to this internship starting I was asking God to use me and to challenge me. He has surely challenged me and I can only hope and pray that he’s using me in the lives of those I come in contact with.