JUST... JUMP... IN!

{Jumping off the top of the house boat
 with all the teens and staff}

The title of this post says it all: Just jump in! And let me tell you, I definitely had to JUMP right in. Today, Sunday, was my first day here and when you work in a ministry Sunday is the day where a lot of things happen. It's the day where sermons are given, groups for kids and teens are held and lots of meeting and greeting, I mean LOTS.

My day started at 7 AM. The sun woke me up before my alarm... 

Side note: Those of you that know me well or have lived with me, know that I usually cannot wake up without an alarm...or two... or five. No joke. So this was a huge deal that I actually woke up before it went off and considering that I was dead tired. Anyways! Back to my day...

The sun woke me up about 7 AM, I took Milly outside and got ready for church. Although, mid-getting ready I got a big whiff of bacon from downstairs and hunger struck me so I got dressed as quickly as I could, didn't even do my hair or makeup, and went downstairs to find John (the house-dad) making pancakes and bacon! I normally don't eat breakfast but it looked too good to turn down! John and Joyce, who are my house-parents, are wonderful! (And not just because they make breakfast sometimes) They seriously are such an encouragement and extremely friendly to boot! While I was gone with the high schoolers today, they took care of Milly for me and played with her (found her a tennis ball, uh-oh haha). It meant so much to me. Seriously, this is a couple who desires to live like Jesus, it's awesome. After I had breakfast and finished getting ready, I followed them to the church. Honestly, I have gotten lost so many times in this town, so thank goodness they lead me there! (When I get lost, I call Carl. He is my amazing boyfriend/GPS. Love that guy!) The church was about 20 minutes away from the house, talk about a change! Church in Corvallis was either 5 minutes or 10, so this is different for me (aka, I can't be late getting out the door anymore). 

Joyce gave me a tour of the church and then Matt, my boss/ the high school pastor, took me around a little bit more and introduced me to people. Eventually, everyone started pouring in and once I was introduced to some of the high school girls, Matt left to go do his thing. Trust me, in the moment I semi-panicked, so many things were running through my head: "What should I say? Will they think I'm cool? Am I talking too much? Am I acting weird?! Oh no!". You figure that once you're 22 and out of college these feelings, especially when meeting people younger than you, would not be there...but they were. So I had a choice: I could trust God and just start being bold, introducing myself and making connections OR I could be that awkward older girl who isn't making any effort/fails at a first impression. I thought to myself, who am I to think that I can't relate to these girls? God sent me here with a purpose and my purpose is to be more like Jesus and be a witness to these girls. Would Jesus stand here awkwardly worrying about what others think? No... No, He wouldn't. So I dove in. I asked names, grades, interests and told them a little about me. It went really well! 

Then I went into the service to sit with Carl during worship and announcements. There is only one service, at 9:30, and that's when all the middle school/high school groups meet so I won't get to be in sanctuary to listen to the sermons but Matt came up with a cool idea for all of the youth staff so that we won't miss out. Then off to the high school room I went. I consider myself an outgoing person, especially in a comfortable environment, so I felt like I could chat with the high schoolers right away when I got to the room (thank you God for making me with the personality that I have!). We meet in a comfortable room fulls of couches and cushiony chairs so the feel to it is very relaxed. Today we had about 20 teens which was pretty cool, but don't ask me to recall their names because honestly, I am terrible with names... but I am working on it for sure!! Matt then came in and talked about "partying" and what that means to them and if Christian's should "party" or not. The way Matt structures the meetings is that he makes it interactive, he doesn't just stand (or sit) there and preach to them, he actually gets their opinion, asks questions and has them read passages he is going over. I love this teaching style because it really includes everyone and, I find, makes more of a substantial impact. I absolutely found one of the kids answers to be really mature when it came to the topic of partying. They were asked if Christians should "party" or not after they made a definition of what a party was. Some answers were about negative aspects to parties and some were positive. But anyways, this guy pipes up and says: "Yes, Christians should party but it depends on the party." I just thought that was a great answer.

After service, I quickly changed and off we went to Lake Billy Chinook for some house boating and tubing fun! This was their end of the summer party that parents of kids in the youth group so graciously put on. We had a house boat rented, food galore, a speed boat and tubes which everyone knows = tons of ridiculous fun! I had a blast getting to know the girls (and guys) of the youth group and I hope they did too. 

For the picture above, we were all jumping into the water from the top deck of the boat (technically we're not supposed to but all the adults agreed it was fine haha). Every one, especially Matt and James (the Middle School Pastor), got on the ledge and on the count of three we were all supposed to jump in for a picture. Let me reel you back to like 20 minutes earlier though after we put in the anchor. Everyone, especially the pastors, was jumping off the top of the boat. I was hesitant because: #1- The water was super cold and #2- I was semi-afraid since it was a little high. It was funny because everyone was rooting for me to just jump in. Finally, after about 10 minutes, I made the plunge...screaming like a little girl the whole way. When I came up for air, all the kids were cheering me on and clapping. See, that's the thing. Sometimes I am so afraid of things that I won't just get in the water (metaphorically speaking). But the whole time, God is saying: "I've got you covered. Do not worry. I have it all figured out, just follow Me." And sometimes even after I take the first step, I still hesitate (aka, the picture above where I am hesitating jumping off while everyone is all in and stoked for it). 

Thing is that there is only one way to do this, to move to a new place starting a new job even when you haven't unpacked your bags, that way is just jumping in, arms flailing and vocal cords wailing, trusting that there is water below, a cushion for your landing. God is in everything. He is right there next to me while I hesitate my first step, He is holding my hand as a leap forward and He is the one pushing me to the surface for a gulp of fresh air. 

Am I exhausted after today? Yes. Am I stoked for this new experience? Heck yes! Will I trust God to take care of me even when I hesitate? Absolutely. 

What an amazing first day.