California, Here I Come

I went ahead and started a new blog, because I somehow lost my old one. Leave it to me to be able to lose something on the internet.

One week from tomorrow I will be on a plane on my way to Fresno, CA for my internship (hence the ever-so creative blog title). I'm going to be working with 3rd-6th graders, which is awesome. It has been interesting, though, watching people's reactions when I tell them I'm doing children's ministry. Most people give me a sympathetic look and say something along the lines of, "well, that's ok...you'll probably have fun doing that" or "children's ministry? that could be fun, I guess...". As if children's ministry isn't legit. It's not real, it's just singing songs, telling cutesy stories, and playing on the playground. Real ministry doesn't start until high school. To be honest, I have struggled with believing this lie as well. I have friends all over the country, even all over the world, doing all of these awesome things. And I'm going to be playing with kids.

"Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -Matthew 19:13-14

Why do we have this idea that children are not capable of doing incredible things for the Kingdom of God? Kids are young, fresh, impressionable. They have so much potential. What a great opportunity to be able to pour into them and teach them at such a young age! I can think of countless people who wish that they would have heard about Jesus as a child. And this summer, I am blessed to have the opportunity to teach them this summer.

If nothing else, I'm excited for the chance to learn from kids. Everything is so simple to them. I hope that this summer I will be able to truly develop of child-like faith. I'm going to try to update this semi-regularly with what's going on in Cali and prayer requests and probably some humorous stories. For those of you who don't know, Liz and I are both going to be in Fresno this summer. Emily + Liz + new place = LOTS of entertainment.

Welp, see ya later!!