In May 2010, I was hired as the youth events coordinator for the SWTC (Southwest Texas United Methodist Conference). It is a blessing - I truly love what I do and truly love the people that I work with. It's been a great journey getting here and I couldn't be more pleased with where God has me at. What a gift to be allowed to chase God's desire in your job as well as in your daily life!
This is MidWinter Season - we have 6 weekend retreats that start in January and end in February - all back to back. It's an amazing season - we will have approximately 1200+ students come through our camps and many will make first time commitments, some will make renewals, and some will answer a call to ministry. The camps belong to God and we desperately seek to bring Him honor and glory in all that we do through the course of the weekend. From the time we start preparing, we begin praying and seeking discernment. He has handed us amazing teams of adults who volunteer and share a love for Him and for youth. 3 of our camps are at Mt Wesley in Kerrville and 2 are at Echo Valley at the HEB Foundation camps in Leakey, Texas. 1 is a mission focused weekend and we are in San Antonio where we focus on serving the Blessed (a word we use for the homeless and less fortunate). We are truly blessed when we serve.
This past weekend we served in San Antonio, as it was our Midwinter Mission. We must have handed out 100 sack lunches, and over 300 coats and blankets. We ate cold breakfast and a dinner equalivent to what would have been served in a soup kitchen. We had amazing worship with the Mark Swayze Band and Ryan Barnett delivered the Word to us. It was a weekend of learning as well. We learned that just the simple act of the human touch could change a person's life. We learned that we can live with less. We learned that how people look is not necessarily reflective of what is in their soul and spirit. We learned that when we sit and eat side by side with the Blessed, that they will share their lives with you and allow you, in turn, to share God with them. We learned that they are talented, creative and resilient. We learned that they are broken and are needing love and respect. We learned that our students are able to fall in love with the ones that He loves and that they don't think twice about giving away their most beloved items to someone who has nothing. But we knew all that - because this is the same way they behave when we "play with the homeless" during our summer camp - where they live among the homeless for almost a whole week.
I'm home now, for four days. For the next four days, I'll prep and pray for the upcoming weekend retreat, run as many miles as I can during the week and will even prepare to desperately miss my family while I'm at camp. I'll probably even sub a few days at the high school so I can see the local students and share laughter and stories with them. And if I tire, I know that He will re-energize me as He always does. I know that He carries me through the MidWinter season, keeping my mind and heart open to everything He shows me. I work for an amazing God.
