This past week was filled with crazy moments, exciting highlights, and times where I wasn't sure I could go on.It was a week filled with God's presence and light in my life though.
I spent a lot of last weekend praying that God would help me to be more relational, and actually become committed to mentoring my support staff girls, and connecting with my day camp staff. I had done a good job of only being results oriented thus far, and I knew that God needed to change my heart going into this week. My job isn't to connect with campers, but to connect with my staff and equip them to do that. I must say that God answered my prayers. Not only was I able to get all my one-on-ones in this week-the previous two weeks I've missed at least one-but they were some of the brightest highlights of my week. God not only grew my mentees, but he also grew me through them. I was also able to connect with my day camp staff. I went on a hike with them, and made time to play Mafia and Ga Ga ball with them. As simple as those things seemed, it made a world of difference in not only their lives, but mine. I've found this past week, that to actually get more accomplished and see better results, you must first show your staff that you care about them. Oh how I wish I would have figured this out in my first 2 weeks. It probably would have saved me a lot of stress and headache. But it's more than superficial "care". It's truly caring and being fully committed to investing into their lives. This is not an easy task, but it is so rewarding. To see the things I had been praying about so diligently last weekend, to totally transform and change from my low points, to my high points was an act of the Lord.
I was missing the point of my job my first two weeks. I had in my head the win I wanted to see my team accomplish, but I gave them no tools to get to that point; no encouragement; no life to life for life. I wasn't giving them anything from my life, except my commands and tasks that I expected to be done and done well. They might be helping children to come into a relationship, but I am helping them to come into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him; I'm helping them to produce spiritual multiplication by equipping them for active ministry.
This week showed me the importance of prayer as well. I had so many people praying for me to be more relational. It was also the cry of my heart day and night. Like Nehemiah, I desired to go before the Lord on my face in humbleness and cry out day and night, letting my request be heard. I desired to practice the presence of God, in praying and then not allowing it to consume me and become a distraction. On the flip side of prayer though, I also learned the vitalness of sitting at Jesus' feet and just listening to His voice. Like Martha in Luke 10, I can so easily "become distracted with serving" that I miss being a Mary and sitting at the Lord's feet listening to Him.
All in all I learned a balance this week. I learned to pray without ceasing, trusting that God is going to do what His will is; I learned that I need time to sit and be in the presence of God without the distractions of serving as well; and I learned that in order to fulfill the Joy El motto, life to life for life, I need to get a grip and be more relational through showing my staff I care through having fun with them and investing into their lives. Those things all tie into each other in that, prayer and spending time listening to Jesus, puts me in line with His will, which then helps me to be more relational and see the importance of investing into others lives.
Oh and by the way, we now have 46 new brothers and sisters in Christ from this past week of camp!!
halfway point here we come!
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