How God has been directing my path this summer

Wow I have been so busy and have not blogged in such a long time. We were so busy in the spring planning for our big fund raising banquet and camp. Both were very successful. Thank you Jesus! We brought in over $20,000 for our banquet. This was the first Camp that Gateway has ever put on, so Chad and I did a lot of work and planning for program. We had 3 leaders that were our go to girls who went all over town to get the supplies we needed. We ran middle school and high school camp the same week on different tracks. Over 30 kids came to know Christ that week. I was home for one day then I left for young lives camp in AZ. For those of you who don't know Young Lives is a ministry for teen moms and their babies. This was definitely an eye opening experience for me. The week was a long hard week emotionally as well as physically. I was on the child care team so basically we watched babies so that the moms could have the best week of their lives and hear about Jesus. We had the babies about 8 hrs. a day and some days even more. My heart was torn in two different directions. The first as a youth worker and the other as a mommy! I wish I could express to you how God intentional this trip was for me. My eyes were opened to so many things. Many of the teen girls were also a product of their moms being teen moms. It's this unbreakable cycle. Why? Because they are 15 yr. old girls who can't get a job and many don't finish high school much less college. They can't get out of their surrounding therefore the feel stuck and they can't seem to change the pattern of their life or their child's life and so the cycle repeats again and again. On the very last night I told my 10 three yr olds good bye and gave them a hug, kiss, and a prayer and fought back tears with each one. I wondered "God, why you placed me in the lives of these children for only one week I don't understand". The next day before we got on the bus to go home we had a say so service so all the child care workers got to go listen and watch as the teen moms one by one stood up and said "I'm giving my life to God" "For myself and my child" I'm changing my path" "I'm choosing to let God change my destiny" Many of the moms of my three yr olds stood up. I love that God directs our paths and I love that He directed me all the way to AZ. to teach me and grow me and start a process in me. I'm thankful that he chose me to play a small part in the lives of these moms and babies for only one week of their lives even though they will never remember me, it was most defiantly the most important week of their lives weather the will ever realize it or not. So I got on the bus for a 3 hr. trip to the air port. I sat down and began to read letters from family and friends back home and as I began to process through my week, missing my kids, and family and friends and ministry. The tears could finally come.