Hello to all the lovely individuals who read my blog (if there are any of you at this point).
It has been a long while since I've blogged, and a LOT has happened since then. Last time I blogged, I was still in my first year of college.
Now, however, I'm almost done with my first semester of my second year of college, and this summer, I had the privilege of working for and with a ministry called Carolina Cross Connection. Before about March of this year, I was completely ignorant of this ministry, and, honestly, when I first heard of it, it didn't sounds like my cup of tea. It was spending the entire summer away from home, with people I had never met, and there would be lots of *gulp* construction. In case you don't know this: I'm not exactly what one would call the construction type. However, I went ahead and applied anyway. It was a nerve-wracking process: the application, and the interview, and most of all the waiting. Funnily enough, I got turned down. I was crushed. The more I had waited for the job, the more I wanted it.
Let me explain what exactly this job was. As a whole, the job of each camp was to find families and individuals in the area who needed small home repairs done, with the hope of reaching them for Jesus, and spreading His Good News. We did them all for free, because most of the people we worked for were either elderly, or couldn't necessarily pay for what they needed done. I was a Program Coordinator. The basic of my job was to find out where these people were and how I could help them.
That was the job I applied for. That was also the job I was turned down for. I was crushed, because I felt God pressing this job on my heart. I hated the thought of returning to my former job at Zaxby's. (Seriously, ick.) A few weeks later, however, I got an email from the director of the organization, saying a position had opened up, and would I be interested? Of course I would!
So, on the tenth of June this part year, I went to Camp Loy-White for staff training. I was scared out of my mind on the way there, because I only knew one other person. Did I believe God put me there? Yes. Am I still completely socially awkward and not adept at conversation? YES. However, the week passed smoothly, and I began to make friends. On one of the last days, I was put with my personal staff members, and assigned a camp. My staff was: Daniel "El Presedente" Kerr, Josh "Goose" Godwin, Leeann "Mama Bird" Mangum, Dylan "Bobcat" Lawing, Jozy "Baby Bear" Mendez, and Alison "Wolfspider" Strader. OHMYGOODNESS, THESE PEOPLE. As I said, I'm kind of socially awkward (just a lot), and I was pretty nervous about spending my whole summer with these people. What if we didn't get along?, etc., etc., were the questions raging through my brain.
Little did I know the amazing family God had in store. I literally cannot praise these people enough! I saw God in every single one of them. Daniel, in his ability to stay calm in pretty much any situation; Josh, in his constant humor and the way he made everyone feel included; Leeann, in her ENERGY! that she had day after day after day; Dylan, in his humor , and the absolute passion he had for God; Jozy, in the way that she stepped up to the plate day in and day out, even when things were gong wrong; and Alison, in the way that she carried on, and helped me get through the roughest parts of my summer. Ahhhhhh, there are so many stories, I could tell about each of them, but this blog would be about six pages long if I told all of it. These men and women shaped my summer, and, whether they know it or not, my life. I will never be the same after a summer spent serving God with them.
Back to the job itself, there were so many families that made an impact on my life. There were a couple that stand out in my mind, particularly. The first was an elderly woman that I met on my second day in the town I worked in. I only met her once, but the reception she and her daughter gave us.... Well, I'll explain. Josh and I were out and about in Bonecrusher, and he was helping me get accustomed to the ins and outs of CCC life (it's a lot), and we stopped at this woman's house. We went up to the house, and before we could knock, her daughter opened the door, and said she'd seen us from the road. She welcomed us, and asked who we were. When we told her we wanted to build her mother a wheelchair ramp, she just engulfed us a hug. She introduced us to her mother, who, though quiet, seemed happy that we would take the time out to come visit her. Due to her health, it was hard for her to get in and out of the house. By the time we drove away, she had captured my heart. Before I met her, I didn't quite understand why people came back year after year to serve. It's for people like her. People who just need a chance to get outside, people who need hope, people who just want to be remembered in a society who forgets them.
There was another elderly lady I went to visit, who we unfortunately couldn't work for that summer. I went to tell her that we weren't going to be able to help her, and, while I was expecting a bad response, she was so sweet. She was nice, and I sat with her for an hour, just talking about her family and her life with her late husband. She actually gave me some tomatoes and jam, just to thank me for even thinking of her.
I can't even describe the feeling I got when speaking to these people. Even the ones that said no, they didn't need help, or those that cried when I had to tell them we couldn't help, they touched my life. They reminded me that my life isn't mine. My life is is God's hands. He is the Potter, and I am the clay. I am here to love others, because He first loved me.
It was just an amazing summer, spent pouring into others: both the campers who came to work, those we worked for, and the staff I had the blessing to work with. Unfortunately, this isn't something I can't properly put into words, and I never will be able to, but if you'd like to hear more about it, I'd love to talk to you!
I think that's all for tonight, I just had to get it out there!
Yours,
Kayla
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." - Jane Austen <3
