Three weeks and Interns

Three weeks...

...length of time since my last post.

...length of time until I leave for Savannah - my first trip of the summer.

Moving on...

All 23 Summer Conference related interns are now in town and beginning the audacious task of building props, preparing merch, housing students, packing equipment, etc. that must take place before the first events begin. I am generally amazed by the amount these dedicated students get done in the short time they are here. Tasks that would tie down 2 or 3 staff members for weeks can be knocked out by a platoon of interns in mere hours in some cases. Certainly they are key to the successful execution of our events and have a big hand in the ministry that takes place at those events - which is the whole purpose of what we do.

I remember being an intern, doesn't seem that long ago (although the gray hair beginning to show around my temples must mean it wasn't as recent as I'd like to think). The summers I spent as an intern were awesome. I traveled to places I'd never seen, met people who have had a big impact on my life, was a part of a life-changing experience for the students who attended, and had the course of my life changed in the process. The summer is pretty short - 12 - 13 weeks here at CIY - and it feels even shorter because of all that happens, but looking back there is more packed into that brief time period than you can even imagine.

My prayer for today: "Father, thank you for this year's interns. Please strengthen them today and throughout the summer as they labor and serve. Please protect them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Give them comfort and peace when they are tired or things don't go the way they would like. I pray use them this summer and let them see just a glimpse of what you can do with a surrendered life. I pray that none would leave here unchanged, that they would all grow closer to you through this experience - whether they realize it at the time or not. I ask all of this in Jesus name, Amen."