2 days until students start arriving! AH!
We are currently in the midst of staff training, and by "we" I mean the 15 of us staffing this upcoming DTS. (15 of us, plus 32 students = one full house coming up soon!) During our training, we've been learning how to function as a team in a classroom setting, as well as doing work projects around the building. We've also spent time in prayer for the students individually, and for the school in general. I'm excited to put what we've learned into practice!
It's definitely been busy around here! As soon as I'm done writing this, I'm off to a store to get my very first planner! I've never needed one before and can usually remember what my day looks like..But I've had to start writing everything down and it's just getting way too chaotic without some kind of organization. Honestly, I am nervous about being caught up in the busyness of it all and forgetting to take pleasure in the small things, or allowing myself to fully be in the moment. Would you pray for me in that area?
While praying about this time, I was asking God for specific words for this season. 1 thing I got was this word "boldness." To me, that's a scary word, and 1 I don't know a whole lot about. But He's showing me that I have a voice, opinions, and insights that are worth sharing. He's showing me that I am worth hearing, even in a group setting in which I usually choose to stay quiet. He's showing me that it's ok to step out, to push beyond my self-made boundaries and to trust that I truly can hear His voice. I asked Him how I can live out that word and grow in that area. He didn't disappoint! I was asked to lead worship for our group, and I hesitantly said yes. That's not something I usually do and it pushed me out of my comfort zone big time, but this is a growing season, so I said yes. The day before I was supposed to lead, I found out that staff from our other bases would be coming out as well and joining us. *cue mini panic attack.* With all my heart I wanted to back down, and I think the only reason I didn't was pure stubbornness. But I was definitely panicked. I've never led worship for more than probably 10people or so, and this would definitely be way more..I asked someone to help me, and then another volunteered and so I thankfully wasn't alone! (Yay for teams!) sure enough, the next morning, we led worship and it went well! I was scared at first, but once I shifted my focus off the people and myself and on to God, I was at peace. God is good. I'm interested to see what else He has in store for me and how I will continue to grow in "boldness."
Quick prayer points:
•Re-learning how to be around people 27/7!
•Sanity! Sometimes when I get really tired I kinda start losing it..some of my dear teammates got to see this side of me this week but they reassured me with "it only gets worse from here!" So that was comforting ;)
•That was mostly a joke, I haven't completely lost it yet, however I would appreciate prayers in how to manage stress in a better way than just shutting down.
•please be praying for our students! That this would be a good transition for them, and God would be preparing their hearts even now!
Thanks for praying for me while I'm on this insane journey of love, obedience, adventure, and FUN!
