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