A Peek Into Kiki's Brain

Anyone who has had a conversation with me is fully aware my brain works on a little different wave-length than most peoples. I get distracted very easily by very little and floccinaucinihilipilificate things (and I love finding ways to put that word in sentences!). This is because I am thinking and it might even be about the conversation. Almost always, I can connect what I was thinking about back to the conversation without trying too hard, but there are times it just doesn't work that way. Squirrels and sparkles, and sometimes sparkly squirrels, are a wonderful example of things I get distracted by that do not usually fit into the conversation.
A common reasoning for these distractions is that I love taking apart words, especially words I do not know the definition for, even if I can use it in a sentence correctly. Words are fun! This evidently goes along with my love for languages because most people I know do not do this in their brains naturally. This also happens while I am writing a word I do not know how to spell. I have to think through the roots to spell the word, but this can be very confusing and come up with laughable results.
A wonderful example is the word "Dominion."

Do-min-ion
noun
1. the power of the right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority.

It is usually pronounced duh-min-yuh-n, especially when said quickly. When I go to write this word, I take parts of the word I know how to spell already and work around that. In this case, -minion. The first part of the word though can be pronounced many ways and this causes me to create new pictures in my mind.

Da-minion: Gangster minion

Do-minion: also spelled dough minion

Duh-minion: which puts this image into my head.

In conclusion, my brain is weird. Do not question my brain. It likes minions, llamas, dance, and sparkly squirrels. It will automatically assume everything has to do with one of the above. :D

BEE-BO BEE-BO BEE-BO!!! (while doing chenae turns, spotting a llama, and laughing at the thought of a sparkly squirrel doing the same.)

How One Week Changed My Life

One week.

Sixteen staffers.

Eighty five students.

One huge, awesome God. 

This June, I had the amazing opportunity to serve as an intern with Worldview Academy. Interns are staff for one week, but have the help of a fully trained staffer to guide them through the crazy mayhem known as camp.

I went into the week full of excitement and fears, not sure what to expect, but there was no way I could have expected what God was going to do that week. 

God has been teaching me trust. Not just any kind of trust though. The full-out, nothing held back kind of trust. Being a perfectionist, this is not a simple task. Everything must be perfect, and since perfect is a relative term, I must be the one to do it. Well, God has other ideas, which of course are way better than mine (and way easier on my part!!!). Perfect is not relative to God. His perfection makes my version of perfect look silly. I cannot even start to compare to this. 

Now you are wondering how this relates to camp, I know.

Without trusting God, staffing with Worldview would be utterly impossible. Everyday is a trial in patience and strength. "Love the students unconditionally." If that happens, everything else will fall into place. This requires pouring every ounce, every drop of yourself into your small group. That means at the end of the day, you are exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Then the next morning, you get up and do it again with a smile on your face. No human being has the ability to do this, yet there were seventeen staffers, including myself, who did. Not through our own strength, but through trusting God for every ounce we needed on a minute-by-minute basis. 

There is not a better lesson in trust than this! 

There were many challenges throughout the week that made me look up rather than in. I am so thankful for the entire staff team who were there to remind me of this, but especially to the staffer that worked with me, because she always reminded me to trust God with every little thing. She was an amazing example of a servant leader and encouraged me greatly with her willingness to serve God with all that she is. 

As wonderful as the staff were, the students were fantastic! By far my favorite part of being an intern was watching them grow emotionally and spiritually. It was amazing to see how God worked in them throughout the week and to see them make connections between the gospel and their lives. This is the reason to staff. Not because it looks fun, or sounds like a cool challenge, or even because of the community that is evident within the staff. It is to love students with everything that you are. To give your life to God and let Him work through you in students' lives. It is to glorify God. 

The week I interned at Worldview Academy changed my life. It taught me what true trust is and how to serve even when there is nothing left in me. 

"Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:9