Assignment

Okay, I am finally trying to blog, though it seems like wishful thinking cause it is the end of nap time and any minute my little girls are gonna run in here all refreshed and ready to play. And I have to be ready. I need to take time and play with them today cause I am sensing that they need it (see my friend, Becky’s beautiful blog all about this). So, here is just a bit of what has been distracting me.

In three days my whole family will leave for the great state of California for an entire month. Loren is on “assignment” for Young Life at Oakbridge. Check out the link here. Pretty nice, huh? We will be serving with around twenty Young Life staff people from all over the country. Everyone has a specific job and it is always amazing to me how efficiently the month runs. Loren’s specific job this year is to be in charge of the Work Crew and Summer Staff. These are high school and college age kids who come to camp to serve. They run the rides (skate park, climbing wall, ropes course, mountain bikes, etc.), serve and cook the meals, wash dishes, clean bathrooms, do laundry, set up and clean up every activity, and pretty much do whatever it takes to make sure campers have the best week of their lives. They serve selflessly and we are so excited to pour into them for a whole month.

Assignment is always a special blessing for our family and for me in particular. Besides the fact that someone else cooks and cleans for us, and that there is endless entertainment for me and my kids, the greater gift for me is the time to connect. I get to connect in a whole new way with my kids since there are no real pressing responsibilities. I get to spend a lot of time just playing with them and soaking up every precious moment. I also get to connect with Loren in a unique way, too, as we are out of our element and serving side by side. And, since I don’t have a lot of responsibilities, I get to think about new ways to encourage and serve him. I always seem to connect more with the Lord, too. That is probably a result of more free time plus the added bonus of incredible scenery and daily corporate worship.

Perhaps the most important reason I love assignment, though, is that I get to connect with the mission of Young Life. Everything else I could possibly do in a different setting, but there is absolutely nothing like a Young Life camp to connect you with the mission of Young Life. Some spouses don’t enjoy assignments. After all, it is a lot of work to pack up your life for a month and go somewhere else. Plus, when you get there you will be living with several other families and time with your spouse will be hit and miss. But, for me, despite the usual kinks, it is always a blessing. I like it because I get to see, first hand, why we do what we do the rest of year. I get to watch students be served and loved by adults and other students who want nothing more than to be a reflection of Jesus. I get to watch as students understand, maybe for the first time, that they are loved beyond anything they could ever know, by the Creator of the Universe. And I get to watch lives being changed. I get a front row seat to see what the love of God can do. It’s an almost unspeakable experience. (I tried my best.)

It is necessary for us to go and do this every so often. It’s necessary because I get to enter in to Loren’s world and see through his eyes for a while. And it doesn’t take long for me to understand why he HAS to do what he does. His passion for students to meet Christ always runs deep and after a month at camp, my own will rival his.

So, we are off and we are thrilled to go. Packing to get ready to go….that’s a different story.