A glimpse of my Summer!

Summer is flying by. 3 weeks in Colorado are already over. It was hard to leave- I met so many great people and I just love the landscape and weather. I could probably move there someday! Each week in Colorado was very different and throughout the course of the 3 weeks I think I finally understand every component my job entails. It took a while to catch on to every detail and figure out how to not overlook any. I work about 18 hours a day and some days would be really long, but it’s amazing how much energy I had from the little amounts of sleep I got. When I am running all over the place and have 3 or 4 things going on at once I often have to remind myself in that moment that the work I am doing is not for me or the people around me, but for God and God alone.

Our team has really begun to work well together. We have learned what each other need help with and how we can encourage one another. Some of my favorite memories from Colorado before moving on include renting bikes and riding around town and going hiking in Silverton. I wasn’t able to get to know many of the students or sit in on all the sessions, but I still heard stories and could see that God was moving in the lives of the thousands of students that came over the course of the weeks I was there. The most rewarding thing for me was when by the last week I knew youth ministers by name and I was able to connect with them and check in on them throughout the week. Every time I get a phone call about a problem and figure out a way to fix it reminds me that I am on this earth to serve others. It’s amazing to me the number of people I met in such a short time. It’s always hard to meet people and then have to say goodbye until who knows when, but I think that God brings those people into our lives so that we can work together and learn from one another and then continue on to do His work.

After we got back from Colorado we celebrated Fourth of July with the other interns. It was a very relaxing day and we were blessed to be able to go swimming and have a cookout and The Christian’s home. We have been in Joplin for 5 days. It has been great to catch up with some of the other teams that were back, to be back at the office, and to catch up on some much needed rest. However, it went very quickly! Next thing I know our time in Joplin was over and I was saying goodbye to Audrey who won’t be in Joplin when I get back. We went through something together this summer that neither of us will ever forget and I was blessed to have her family through that. Then it was time to leave the other teams once again as we all go to our separate locations. This summer has often felt like a season of goodbyes, some are for a short period and others I have no idea when I will see again. I realized though that goodbyes are not forever, they are more like a see you later!

This morning we are off to Tennessee. I am with the same four people from my team and then we will be working with a whole new crew as far as director, program coordinator, production crew, speakers, and Bible College reps go. I am looking forward to it! I will be in Tennessee for 3 weeks and while I will be doing the same job as I was in Colorado- it’s going to be completely different! I will definitely keep you all posted (:

My summer class is over as of yesterday, which is a huge blessing! I am anxious to have a chance to do my work and not have to worry about schoolwork. I am really glad I took the class though, I definitely learned a lot from it and the topics I did my papers and presentation on were very interesting to me. Maybe now I will have a chance to do some reading for fun!

As far as what God is doing in my life- I have talked to a lot of people and have just really been praying for His leading because I feel like He is calling me to something different than I am in now. This summer I have been full of joy and I have a sense of peace that I haven’t felt in quite a while- I absolutely love where I am at. God is so good and I am so thankful for the opportunities that He has placed before me. After lots of prayer and discussions as of yesterday I have switched my major. I am really excited about the path I am headed. I declared a major in marketing with a concentration in Public Relations. I decided that the job I have this summer is something I would like to pursue. I by no means have lost my interest in nutrition, but I decided that can be a hobby of mine and isn’t going to be my area of focus in school. There are many other minor reasons I came to this decision- I really enjoyed my business classes last semester and I did well in them, I don’t have to take any more science classes, and once I graduate I can start working- but the major reason is that I really feel God calling me to a position where I can work with details and administrative roles. With lots of prayer God has reassured me that I don’t have to major in ministry to do ministry. That is something that had been tugging on my heart, but I think God wants to use me in a different area to do ministry. With all of these changes my schedule for next year has changed significantly. I no longer have 4 labs a week or 7 AM classes every day! I am now taking these classes: Salesmanship, Management Information Systems, Intro to Journalism, Principles of Finance, and Business Law. I know this is quite a switch, but I am really excited about it and all I am going to learn this year!

Thank you for those of you who have been praying for me and continue to do so. Thank you for staying updated on my life- Sorry this is so long! I’ll try to update more often now that my class is over (:

Love
Jordan