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Summer Staff Changed My Life

Broken faith was fixed through the Lord.

Aug 22, 2016

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

My first article I ever wrote for The Odyssey was about how YoungLife changed my life. Now as I'm a WyldLife leader and in college, summer presents countless opportunities to serve within the YoungLife organization. There is Work Crew which is when high school students come to serve the Lord for a month at a time doing various jobs like being a server in the dining hall or in the pits or on ground maintenance. Summer Staff is where college students go serve the Lord for a month at a time doing various jobs like working in the coffee shop or gift shop, or even as a lifeguard.

Let me be clear in saying I have never been a camping type or an outdoor girl. However, I felt so compelled after leader weekend to apply for summer staff and serve the Lord. I left July 22 and would get back August 9th. Not quite a month, two and a half weeks actually. It would still be the longest I had been away from home and that idea scared me. The Lord gave me the strength and courage to go. I applied and found out that I had been accepted to work in retail about two weeks later. I packed up my stuff and left with two girls that were doing summer staff with me.

As I always do, I packed too many clothes. Getting there and meeting everyone was nerve-racking and so exciting at the same time. Everyone was so excited to meet everyone else. I had never witnessed pure excitement to meet others before. It was like I was being loved before anyone even met me. It was a really cool feeling to not be judged before being loved but rather the love coming first.

I knew summer staff would be the ultimate test of my Faith. And it was. Three days before I was supposed to come home my cat I have had since I was six got very very sick. I had to come home early to say goodbye to her. When I got this news from my mom I was angry. Here I was serving the Lord and it seemed like God was punishing me. For what? I thought what I was doing was good. It turns out, summer staff wasn't what was testing my faith, this situation was. Through prayer from myself and fellow summer staffers I have overcome the anger. I remembered that everything happens for a reason. A good one. The Lord has a plan for each and every one of us, including pets. This just happened to be His plan.

Summer Staff really changed my life for the better.

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Summer Staff Changed My Life

Broken faith was fixed through the Lord.

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The Best Lines from the Fab Four

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you

Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend

He say, "I know you, you know me", One thing I can tell you is you got to be free

Oh please, say to me, You'll let me be your man. And please say to me, You'll let me hold your hand

It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. They've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see

Can you hear me? When it rains and shine, it's just a state of mind

Little darling, it's been long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it' s been here. Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright

We danced through the night and we held each other tight, and before too long I fell in love with her. Now, I'll never dance with another when I saw her standing there

I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say

You say you want a revolution. Well you know, we all want to change the world

All the lonely people, where do they all come from. All the lonely people, where do they all belong

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday

And when the brokenhearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.

And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

I'll give you all I got to give if you say you'll love me too. I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you. I don't care too much for money. Money can't buy me love

All you need is love, love is all you need

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more

Obviously the best superpower.

There have been many lessons learned.

1. The importance of traditions.

2. How to be thankful for family and friends.

3. How to give back.

4. What the word "community" really means.

5. That it isn't about the destination, but the journey.

6. The consequences of making bad choices.

7. To trust people, until you have a reason not to.

8. To be welcoming and accepting of everyone.

9. How to be my own, individual person.

10. How to work for what I want.

11. How to be great at giving directions.

12. How to be humble.

13. To be well-rounded.

14. How to be great at conflict resolution.

15. The beauty of getting outside and exploring.

16. To be prepared for anything.

17. That you don't always have to do it alone.

18. How to be creative.

19. To brush off gossip.

I have never been so thankful to know you.

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

Don't freak out

Email the professor

Attend the first class

Keep attending class

Have a backup plan

Remember that everything works out at the end

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