I remember that first Sunday. It got off to a rough start because we woke up to find that Steven had forgotten to pack any of his nice dress pants (all he had was khakis) or a tie! I remember arguing over what he should wear and I was upset with him for not bringing those items so we could make a good first impression. Really, I think we were both just nervous and taking it out on each other a little bit.
We got to the church early and Pastor Dan took our picture (and didn't say anything about Steven's lack of a tie). The other thing that stands out from before church that morning, was one of the teens (Chris) who was then in 8th grade, came up and welcomed me, and then asked me if I was in the Jr. High or Sr. High class! I knew I look young for my age (which will be nice in 10 years... not exactly now) but Jr. High was an all-time low! haha
During the announcements portion of the service, he had us come up and introduced us to the congregation. He gave me a bouquet of flowers, and handed us a jam-packed full envelope. He was saying that the members got together and wanted to help us out... for some reason, the first thing that popped in my head was that he was giving us an envelope full of their photos so that we could learn everyone's name easier! What was coming knocked nearly knocked us off our feet... Weeks before we arrived, Pastor Dan and Susan asked all of the congregation to be a blessing to us as we moved to the area, and donate gift cards to help us with our expenses. We couldn't believe it. Almost half of them were to Target (already, they knew me well!), then the rest were places like Panera, Outback, Walmart, or even Visa gift cards. We were so thankful for this help... moving is not cheap... and had absolutely no expectation that this would be coming!
Over the year, a lot has happened.
We have, most importantly, built relationships. The youth group fell in love with Steven immediately. They could feel his enthusiasm and love for them and were totally open to him. It took me a little bit longer to get to build relationships with the girls (probably partly because I'm not as outgoing as Steven, and partly because I think girls are a more hesitant to trust just anyone).
We went to Camp last year and it was amazing. I never particularly loved Camp as a teen, but these teens LOVE it and now I know why! We stay at Logan Valley, out in the middle of nowhere. The Camp has a creek to swim in and a huge water slide. We go to Johnson's Shut-Ins and on a Float Trip. Last year's camp was awesome, and we had only been at the church 2.5 months, so I know this year's will be even better because we have established even better relationships.
We have had our share of confrontation... parents or members who held the opinion that we should be doing something differently. Now, we have had a year to establish trust. One of these members ultimately ended up leaving the church (the issue with us was just the straw that broke the camel's back for the church leadership), but some have come to us later and apologized and have supported us ever since. People not liking us is something that I know God prepared us for long before we got here... and I am thankful that as long as Steven and I are a united front, following God's plan for OUR lives, He gets us through it!
We went through Discipleship 1 and are on our way through D2 right now. It has been great to listen to Dan teach the Bible in a small group setting. Many of the things in the first class were Review, but I think it was very beneficial for us to hear from Dan why our church believes what we believe, and it was just a good refresher since we will likely be taking students through this course (actually Steven is taking 2 through it right now).
We have learned a LOT. About teens, about people, about God. We truly have a LOVE for these teens... some of them have been through more in their 15 years than anyone should in a lifetime. Our prayer is that through us, God will reveal Himself to them and they will become true Worshipers and Followers of Christ... grasping His love for them and His plan for them.
It has been an amazing year. Not all rainbows and butterflies, like you can see from my below post. But knowing that we are in the Center of God's Plan is the only place I want to be.
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