So, the day before I left for Colorado, I got rear ended by a tow truck. A frickin' tow truck! If it hadn't been my car, I would have thought it hilarious. Anyways, my car is totalled. TOTALLED. I hate car shopping, and I am so not excited to have to go through that whole process again. Even though this totally, like, sucks, I can still see God in it. As of June, I owed less than 100 dollars on my car. I will get the entire amount from the insurance company - this amounts to about four grand. I was also supposed to get my car to the mechanic for about 600 dollars worth of work before I left for Colorado. I was already sensing God's faithfulness in this - I had more than enough money in my savings account. The mechanic couldn't fit me in. Hallelujah! That's 600 dollars towards another car. Right now, I'm just trying to find the car that God has picked out for me. And I'm really grateful for good friends who are willing to help me out with this.
June 4-7: Family Reunion - Colorado Springs, CO
Even though I was still reeling from the previous days events, my family and I packed up and flew to Colorado as planned. Can I just say how much I hate family reunions? Getting together with this side of the family really stresses me out. My dad comes from a family of 10 kids, so whenever they get together, family dynamics always play out. Everyone is so afraid of stepping on toes and spilt milk that nobody ever seems to have any fun. Fully knowing this, I prepared myself to have fun. God totally honored this - he gave me several little gifts that weekend. Seriously, it felt like Christmas. On Friday, mom and I were gifted with a little free time. We ended up in this little art district. We just got to enjoy everything. We ate lunch at this little tea house called The Wisdom Tea House. It was beautiful - the day was perfect. I ate the best sandwich on the planet and got to enjoy some chit chat with mom. It was so wonderful. So picturesque. The retreat center where we held the reunion was shared by a church group. I got to unexpectedly participate in one of their worship sessions. Just sitting on the hill behind that little church and singing, with the mountains behind me was so amazing. It gave me the strength and encouragement to have peace in the middle of the family chaos. And then on Saturday, God gifted me something else: A traffic jam. This one is going to take a little perspective, so let me lay it out for you. My Aunt Barb was supposed to drive me, my Grandma Kathy, and my Cousin Rhonda into the Springs to shop for my Cousin Sammi's 16th birthday. The trip should have taken 20 minutes max. We spent an hour and a half trying to get there. That was an hour and a half that I got to spend with my Grandma. It was so great. Totally not ideal, and I genuinely felt bad that we got stuck on the freeway, but it was just such a gift! The rest of the day was totally a disaster, but that memory will definitely outlive the rest of the day's events.
On Sunday morning, I packed up and flew back to Phoenix. It was kind of a stressful ordeal, no lies. The person I thought was going to pick me up from the airport, couldn't. Again, God totally came through. Right before I had to turn my cell phone off on the plane. Totally better than I ever could have imagined.
June 7-13: Church Camp Counselor - Heber, AZ
I ended up going straight from the airport to church, and going from church to camp to set up for the campers' arrival on Monday. God gifted me with fellowship with my friends, laughter, and a chance to eat Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Enough said. Definitely a good start to the week ahead.
What can I say about my first year as a camp counselor? Pretty much everything. It was five consecutive days of eating, sleeping, praying, laughing, and just basically living life with students. So amazing! I saw Jesus in our students this week! I'm so proud of them. I saw the Spirit come alive to break down barriers, build community, and enlighten. It was also the first year that I got to partner with some of my friends to lead worship. I was playing keyboard for camp for the very first time. So nerve-wracking. The performer perfectionist in me got scared. But God totally used this experience to grow me in new ways. The presence of Holy Spirit during worship was truly phenomenal. I got to digest the chapel time with a group of girls each night. It was just such a time of celebration. I was so stoked for them as they shared what God was doing in them - moving them to raise their hands during worship for the first time, solidifying friendships, and building servant's hearts. So good. There is just so much that God did this last week - this is truly just the tip of something greater than anything I could possibly imagine. By the end of the week, I was totally exhausted, but totally fulfilled at the same time. I just want to cry, it's so good. Okay, I'll admit it, I'm crying right now.
The theme for camp this year was "On the EDGE." We got to follow God' s people on some really important journeys and learn what they learned. We learned about true love, true servant hood, and true faith. We learned what it meant to be Christ with skin on. I really feel like I have been living on the EDGE. God is just giving me little gifts every time I turn around. His faithfulness is everywhere I never imagined it would be. He is so good.
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