So...I'm a Youth Worker

A strange transition has occurred. It is as though it just dawned on me...I'm a youth worker. I know...I know...7 months in and I'm just now figuring it out? :) But I have to admit...yeah, I kind of am. I think up to this point it has been all about survival. Or maybe I was approaching it like it was this good deed that I needed to get out of my system (not to belittle God's calling) :) But something clicked at the CCDA conference and has continued upon my return.

As I lay down the YouthWorker Journal (apparently that is what youth workers read)...something in me tingles. Holy Cow...I'm a youth worker.

Tomorrow WDLM leaves for Romania...the same mission trip that I took last year that changed my life. I spoke with Dave Jolly today who is leading the trip, "Is there anyone you want us to try to find for you?" "Yes...at the baby hospital...see if you can find Zena Rostas...she will be around 4 years old...just love on her awhile." It is impossible to even imagine them half a world away seeing...holding...loving...Romania's jewels. May blessings rain down.

What breaks your heart? Mine was utterly shattered in Romania...but again when my eyes were opened to the realities in Rock Island. Often laying amidst your broken heart there in lies your calling. I initially assumed missions, 3rd world conditions...orphans...but have since then come to understand it is simply broken for the hurting...for the hopeless.

But I no longer see hopeless...I see endless potential. As I sat today playing Connect Four with the little guy that broke out the Sunshine van window...I saw an innocent little boy vs. the terror that nearly scared me out of CF, it hit me....so...I'm a Youth Worker.