So now that there are only two weeks left of my summer in Lynn, I figure it might be a good time to write some more... :-P
Life has been crazy busy but so good for the last 5 weeks. We've had so many different groups of youth and adult leaders come through Lynn that no two weeks are ever the same. The schedule might be, but the group dynamics are not, and that's been fun to learn how to adjust to each week. Sometimes I wish we had groups here for two weeks at a time instead of one. It always feels like just as you start to “crack” their shells and really get to know them, it's time for them to go home.
In spite of how little time we get with the groups each week, it has been absolutely a blessing to get to see how God works each week. My favorite part of each day is the meeting with the adult leaders where I get to hear all about how the day went at their ministry sites. I've had the privilege of hearing some incredible stories of how God is working in the hearts of the students who have come through our doors each week. I've heard about the quiet kids in a group taking initiative and starting conversations with the most intimidating-looking people at My Brother's Table (a local soup kitchen). I've heard about kids who love working with children seeing the need and opportunity to use their gifts in an adult day center for people with memory problems including dementia and Alzheimer's. I've heard about kids who don't believe they are leaders stepping up and showing the potential to be great leaders as they work with kids their own age at sports camp. At the beginning of the summer I wrote a brief note to include in the binder that each adult leader gets with all the information they need for the week. In that note, I talked about how I believe God has a reason for each group and each individual to be in Lynn whatever week they are here this summer. My greatest joy each week is getting to see God reveal those reasons and then praying that those experiences create life-change for each youth and adult leader.
Along the way, we have been blessed to have a few students express to us how much they appreciated us as staff and the time we took to talk with them and get to know them. One student told us that of the 4 YouthWorks trips he's been on, our staff was the best. It's amazing how the simple act of taking a few moments to ask a few questions and then really listen to the answers can make a huge difference in someone's life. I'm realizing just how much we as human beings want to know that someone is listening. And how blessed we are to have a God who loves us enough to listen to every word.
I think perhaps the highlight of my summer, though, was getting to share a little bit of my story with the group we have this week. Last week we started sharing a couple of staff stories during our Club time in the evenings. I share on Mondays and talk a little about my struggle with addiction and how my belief that God could truly set me free was key to my actually being set free. This week, Monday also happened to be the one year milestone in being free from addiction. How awesome to get to share that with a group of teens who are the same age I was when I started down the road to captivity. My prayer is that God might use my story to help some of them overcome their own addictions.
So here we are with two weeks left... I'm still not completely sure what life after YouthWorks looks like, but for right now it will be back in Harrisburg. It's hard to believe that my time here in Lynn is ending, and yet it has been so fruitful that I'm positive my work here will be complete when I go. I know I will be forever grateful for this experience, and I can't wait to see how God has been using it to prepare me for the next step along the path.
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