Ministry, Mudlick, and Moving

I could start by the generic usual "it's been a great week..." which it has, but a week of decisions, change, and realizations. I love the people of Appalachia, the work we do, and the change I see in those who come for a week of training here. I sincerely doubt that my life will ever be this simple again-I mean that in a very good way. This summer has been no frills, no nonsense, but a summer of purpose: to serve and love people the way Christ intended.

Along this journey, I feel that God has shown me the reality of ministry...the good, the bad, and the ugly. (Yes, ugly does occur) What do these elements mean??

Good: God equips everyone with many different gifts...from administration to music, serving, and the ability to work with all groups of people. For the first time in my personal life, I have seen thirty staff members come to Appalachia with diverse backgrounds, ideas, and talents. We have an excellent band, leaders for all areas of ministry from construction to kids, and support personnel. Therefore, my eyes have been opened. God's providence has once again proven true and a great team has been born. Additionally, in the ministry we see many wonderful things happen: people come to know Christ, lives impacted in Appalachia by the ministry teams, and our fellow servant leaders as we learn to walk closer to Christ (and we mature!)

Bad: Sometimes ministry allows you to get so wrapped up in perfection, performance, and numbers that you forget your purpose...to exalt and share Christ. Often little intereferences come in from attitude to lack of planning-all of which can cause frustration.

Ugly: People will criticize you and desire to revamp your ministry. Literally, instead of people encouraging you, they desire to tear you down...from the style of worship to the food. It is generally selfish stuff that you encounter: personal preferences, "the way we do things"..., and mostly ideas that people conjure up from their own minds (not from God's). Please note that this is not frustration post but one of reality.

Though I often believe that I will continue to serve God in some type of established ministry (not sure about the mission field yet), I am so thankful that this summer has taught me these important lessons. What you see at your church, your youth camp, and your mission trip requires much work, prayer, and Jesus seeking time-if not, something is probably wrong.

Anyway, those are the ramblings from my summer of ministry-to God be the glory!

I am pleased to announce a follow-up to my Mudlick post from a couple of weeks ago. I now have pictures and personal testimony...Mudlick is unique. A sort of Christian commune started in the 1960's, this church looks like a house. In fact, it was for quite awhile. Families lived and worshiped in this place...and when a house burned, the foundation was literally used as a basketball goal-pretty cool. One of the most beautiful countrysides I have ever seen, this community does not have visitors...from very curvy roads to beautiful fields-what a treat! Pictures to come-ASAP!

On moving, I am set to head out to the Big D and move-in August 1st. God provided a great place for me to live-so thankful! I will send out change of address cards upon arrival!

Please pray for this ministry as we enter the 7th week of working with our students and adults. May we keep our eyes on Jesus-the only sustainer and lead with integrity.

Taco Tuesdays

We have embarked on week 6 of BCM 2009. Many lessons have been learned, many suggestions have been made, and God has been so faithful-in countless ways.

A wave of encouragement has come to "Hannah's Manna" cafe this week. I am pleased to work alongside 3 wonderful ladies from East Tennessee and one from Illinois. This week Ms. Rita has come in & shared her caring and beautiful heart with me. Born and raised in Germany, Rita met her husband in the 1950's during a military conflict in her country (he was in the US service). Little did she know that God would bring her to the beautiful Smokey Mountains to raise her family. Few people have reminded of me of my granny (who passed away in March of 2002), but Ms. Rita has loved me and has treated me much like a granddaughter-what a sweet encouragement! So far we have succeeded in barbequing our 245 pieces of chicken-I even got to connect with a student during grilling-what a great opportunity!~

Today we are making the famous Tuesday Mexican dinner. At this point of the summer I am simply sitting back and working alongside my kitchen help-God has allowed me to learn SO MUCH that will truly help me in my career and home life.

Seasons of Life, The Big D, and Encouragement

My blogging life has been on hold while my parents and brother have been spending the week here at Big Creek. Lots of great things have happened since last week! First, I am so thankful for the encouragement and support that I have received from the "home" church, Eastanallee. From their visit this past week to all the encouragrams from the college/career group, I have felt so loved and cared for-thank you so much!

Today we are all taking a break-Kevin closed Big Creek for the 4th of July and sent us home until tomorrow. This has allowed for a wonderful time of reflection over the amazing events that have taken place thus far.

What was this past week like??? Well, first I must thank my parents who gave up a week of normal life, school, and career to help me feed ~210 people. A week like this requires being in the kitchen from 5AM-7:30PM...with few hours to sleep or do much else. They supported me, had lots of patience, and were highly attentive and willing to do anything I asked. It was also a joy to share time, laughs, and worship with my parents.

This week we clearly saw God in so many ways. First, this week God sent multiple encouragers to influence both the staff and then the entire camp. Encouragement is truly contagious...that is definitely what we saw across the week. Something that is so cool about Big Creek is the diverse groups that God brings to us...from all across the United States. Mr. Dan from Oklahoma helped me and the parentals every morning with breakfast. He brought a group of students that blessed us in their love, their enthusiasm, and the fact that many of the students had never been out of Oklahoma.

Our Macon, Georgia group was led by Billy. Mr. Billy was a constant, minute by minute encourager. He just started this church in January-but what an awesome group that he brought. Even when they were on post-dinner dish duty they were happy. (WOW!) Also, a wonderful group from Knoxville did many encouraging things...especially mopping the entire kitchen/serving area floor to perfection.

Please pray for the upcoming week. We are still trying new methods of reaching the children of several different areas. Also, maintaining relationships formed with our homeowners that we ministered to is key!

In my "post-Big Creek" news...my new roomie is heading to the Big D this week to check out grad school and apartments. Pray that we get a great place to live with good neighbors. I also officially have paperwork started with my dietetic internship...God is amazing. This summer I have seen that each of our gifts, talents, and desires can be ministry. Even a girl with a heart for cooking, nutrition, and working with people can fit! In this way, I am praying that God continues to show me what career path/specialty of food and dietetics that I should go toward. My internship allows me to work with adults and children in ALL medical areas-pretty cool. So far I have truly enjoyed pediatrics and adolescent counseling. Missions and malnutrition also go "hand-in-hand"...so that may be a future venture. Anyway, I simply want to run with my mat and love others with the love of Christ.