As I think back on what has been an incredible journey being the Intern Minister to Students at Vaughn Park Church, I never knew that it would take me this far. After the first year I interned at VP, to be honest with you I did not want to come back. Things had to workout and they did because God's hand was on the whole thing. You can see from this picture that a lot of things have changed. Most of these people have graduated, and moved off to better things in life, but I will never forget the people in this picture. They are still a very influential in my life, and I thank God everyday for putting them here.There have been some people who have asked me if I could have done anything differently, but there is not. I did not come to VP to be the best intern, but to develop relationships and maybe make a difference in someone's life. I believe that I have done that. Just last night, a group of teens who have made my life fun came over to my apartment because they just wanted to see me. I believe now that I have chance to truly be a friend to them, and just hangout with them, without anymore pressure, but still making a difference in their lives. That is one of the good things that I see coming out of taking a break from doing church youth ministry.
I see other good things coming from this break. While I was talking to my dad today, I told him I do not have to deal with parents anymore. There is nothing bad that the parents have done to me, but it is nice to not have to deal with that anymore. Also, I do not have to deal with the criticism and being put down for things that I could not do, and things that I did do. I know that I am going to be faced with critcism in whatever I do, but most people will agree that we need to be an encourgement to others, not a discouragement to get us through life. There are some that will take that as offensive, but please do not. There were days that I felt like I could not go on anymore because of this, but more often then not, there were days that I had to keep going because I knew I could do it. I have high confidence in myself, and I can get through anything because God gives me strength.
Many people have asked me why I am taking a break from youth ministry, and I told people many different things. I think the defining moment was this past summer. For me, I had a lot of things that happened to me, and lets put this way, I could not wait till the fall. I had a lot of fun, but all through the summer, I was thinking when can I quit. What a terrible attitude to have. Also, I felt like I was developing an attitude within myself, and I think God was telling me that I need to do some reflection, and see what else was out there.
I am going to miss working with teenagers on a daily basis, but I looking forward to see what else I can do. I have had a great overall experience being the intern, and I never will forget the times that I have had going to Six flags (the dreaded trip) to Last Hour, Impact, retreats and other things. I will never forget the relationships that I have built with the teens and how the helped me out with some of the things that I was going through. I look at this picture and I see the smiles of these young girls, and I hope that is what I left this youth group with. I know it seems like I am saying "good-bye." In some ways I am because I will not going to be around you and doing things for teens, everyday. I thank God for you daily. God is going to do amazing things in your life, you just got to let him take control and take you down his journey. It has to be his plans, not yours. I leave you with this: You in HIS plans...your life for HIS plans.
