Moving Right Along

So I just returned from my summer missions orientation today, and Amy and I moved from the house we were living at together into separate houses for the month of June. Orientation was not at all what I expected it to be. All the people I was able to meet and fellowship with were an incredible blessing. The four days I was at first dreading turned into a great time of meeting new friends who are also on mission in Hawaii. Rather than sitting through lectures about how to behave myself this summer, I was given information that I really think will prove to be useful in my own ministry.
Moving into a new house after being so comfortable at the first one has also turned out to be another huge blessing. Not that I wasn't looking forward to living with the family I am now with, but I was afraid of the transition and how I would fit into the new setting. Sometimes I think God just really enjoys surprising me in the sweetest ways! As soon as I entered the home of my new host family I was recieved with so much love and kindness. They had the cutest room all set up for me when I arrived complete with a gift basket and a note welcoming me, and the three women living in the house have made me feel right at home. 
After getting settled, Amy and I went to a meeting with Dani Beth and some of the youth girls to work on some Summer Fun* stuff. This was my first taste of the planning Dani Beth has been telling us about. Basically for about and hour and a half, me and two of the youth girls sat down and drew out a rough eight day outline of bible-based, life-changing lesson plans. It sounds like it would be easy, but sitting there trying to prepare all of this I realized some things. 1) I don't know as much about the Bible as I though I did. 2) Organization, creativity, and abundant amounts of energy are all things I could use more of. 3)It's important yet challenging to not half-heartedly create a lesson plan for kindergarden through third grade kids when taking into account their comprehension level and attention span. I'm starting to see what ministry looks like from a leadership perspective, and I'm beginning to understand that it's a lot of work. I'm nervous about the upcoming events and if I'll be able to keep up, but I'm trusting that God is going to really allow me to grow in this area in the weeks to come, and I'm excited to see what He will do.