Ministry fail. You lose all your points.

"I'm sorry... I really didn't keep good records for my work last month," I muttered to the committee, feeling at first ashamed, then relieved when no one seemed to think this a yelling matter.

Amidst the sounds of understanding from the committee members, one joked, "Well we may have to fire you now."

I laughed, feeling like a weight had dropped off of me at their response. But the other committee members grew serious in an instant.

Not funny.

Weekend wedding

"So how was the wedding?" was the popular question at church today.

"Good," I said, qualifying that with "Nat and I are really tired."
Poor baby Natalie. She and I came home earlier than the rest of the family so we could work in the nursery this morning. We were both exhausted and a little sun-roasted, like July tomatoes. But Natalie came through like a trooper. As we walked out into the hot sunshine after church (and a VBS meeting neither of us had expected), I commented to Nat that at least neither of us was getting married today. "Or yesterday," she sighed. True that. One sister getting married yesterday was plenty!

Setting up tables under the grape arbor for the reception.

Sooo... What DID CYIA look like this year?

Let's see if my brain has processed the two weeks of camp yet!

     There certainly were all kinds of adventures. There was serious car trouble when missionaries started heading out to 5-day clubs the second week. Then on our way home, two of our area missionaries got in a car accident that could have killed them, but they only suffered some bruises and sore muscles. The paramedics must've had an interesting night, because the two missionaries found the situation very funny and couldn't stop making jokes about it. God must have surrounded them with more than airbags in that car -- the front was completely smashed in.

So... we got back on Friday night...
that is Friday, June 22nd... and at least one summer missionary I know slept until 5:00 Saturday night. That's how tiring camp is, I guess.
It was intense.

So intense that...people had to write things down.

     The summer missionaries I worked with were mostly in the missionary class, meaning it was their first year and they would not be learning how to teach a Bible lesson. They would, however, learn everything else. :) Their requirements included presenting to their instructors all five missionary stories and segments, presenting the Wordless Book twice, presenting counseling for salvation, teaching a Bible memory verse, a 5-day club song, and a prayer teaching.

It was a lot of work!

Even more things written down.

     Our team of 9 young ladies was epic.

Their personalities are on all points of the... what shall I call it -- the personality spectrum. One of the girls has attended 5-day clubs as a kid for years, and she was passionate about learning how to share the Gospel -- not just for the summer, but in school too. She worked super hard, and finished her requirements with excellence!
     Another missionary had a harder time focusing. She's a people-person who likes to shake things up... not a good personality for finishing a task on time. But when she came back from her first 5-day club during our second week of training, she was excited to be actually reaching kids with the gospel of Christ. Her heart was touched by what God was doing in the lives of her students.
     These two missionaries are both first year students. But another of the girls, a 14-year-old second-year student, blew the rest of us away with her focus and hard work. Her skill at keeping things focused when others were pulling away was incredible to see. She is good at getting people engaged in the task at hand, and keeps things interesting so they remain focused. She's one of our four Bible teachers this year (meaning she had to present all five Bible lessons and at least a couple of the missionary stories, plus all the requirements of a missionary class student). Whew! What dedication.
It was an encouragement.

     So many new friendships were forged, and old ties from last year were strengthened. One of my friends, who started teaching about the same time I did, came back this summer -- she skipped last year, and we really missed her. She's gotten engaged in the interval (!!!), so of course we had to talk about that. I also got to counsel a cabin of girls who were leaving after the first week of camp -- meaning I lost my cabin halfway through training! -- and they were all super-friendly, uber-talkative people. No drama, no cattiness. Just new friendships and unity in our common goal. What a blessed year.

It was  S O  M U C H  F U N.

What will CYIA look like this year?

This year, nine young people from Western Wisconsin will be training to reach kids with the Gospel. They'll be training with two team leaders, who have taught 5-day clubs for years and are now willing to share what they know with the younger teens. 

Here's a few things that these summer missionaries will learn this summer...

At the risk of being over-obvious...

They'll learn how to teach! And not just during the two-week training. One missionary said last year, “we were having difficulties teaching [at club] because of the large variety of ages and there were 36 kids. So we split the club, and it worked.” Another teen said she learned that God “can empower me to teach 25 kids just as well as 2.”

“I am excited to learn this year,” says another returning student from La Crosse, “and to review my lessons from last year.” She adds, “Watching those kids [last year] understand and accept the gift God has given was so cool.”

5-day club verses

This year, the club theme is Jesus the Lifesaver, aka Knowing Christ.

There's a new memory verse for each day, all of them about who Jesus says He is. They're known as the "I Am" verses from the book of John. :)

Monday: JOHN 10:11 "I am the good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

Tuesday: JOHN 6:35 "...I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty."