We start off with summer camps. Always a major reference point that students go back to over the course of the year. Their lives are affected so deeply and intensely that they are literally different after experiencing it. Yes they may go back and struggle with some of the same issues. But you can't undo what God does. You can't unexperience the incredible power of God's presence. It is imprinted on their minds and hearts, and those moments will replay by the Spirit's prompting just when needed most.
The connection with students in the summer is so unique. A lot of the stresses that they carry most of the year are shrugged off in the summer. Academic pressure, compacted schedules, constant barrage of what everyone else is doing and wearing and... In the summer - relief. Beach days, late night Facebook conversations, campfires and s'mores, concerts, revisiting hilarious cabin memories. Priceless.
El Salvador missions trip. Can I even articulate it... Being displaced in a culture that is beautiful but perplexing, surrounded by a language that leaves you lost and humbled, falling in love with people that are strangers, and seeing God supercede all of that through prayer and hugs and tears. It's a privilege that no Christian should ever miss out on. Its impact is varied from person to person, but it's undeniable. And the transformation is both instantaneous and residual. Again, the Spirit will prompt recollections of certain moments weeks and months later to rekindle that desire to be a world changer. There's no way to measure that kind of impact.
So I don't know that I can say I am ready or excited for the school year to start quite yet. Even though the structure brings consistency...is that valued above bursts of amazement? Even though the commonality brings some connection...is that valued above the solitude of time on a mountain with God?
I guess it all goes back to balance. It always does. We can't live on the mountain top or in a new foreign mission field. After all, if you stayed, then it would become your new normal. So we are thankful for the incredible moments that God provided, and we pray that the ways it changed us will be evident to everyone around us. We pray that those moments will have eternal impact on us and on others we influence.
So here we go Journey Students! We are contenders for the faith! We serve the Ultimate Fighting Champion who has trained us for this very moment. We don't know what opponents we will face each day, but we know they will be there. And we have been trained for this. The fight is part of our destiny! The training, the victories, and the knock downs are all part of the Journey. I have a lot of treasures from this summer - and I know that they will serve as fuel for what is ahead of us. Are you ready, world changers?
I Timothy 6:11-12 (NIV) But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
