After two plane rides, I arrived safely in Atlanta exactly one week ago. Switching flights isn't for everyone. Especially when you have to walk from one end of an airport to another. But I love the airport in Charlotte, NC so the walk was worth it, although thoroughly exhausting. I'm thrilled to be back in my home away from home. There are new things to experience this year. For instance, we have new temporary dorm housing. I'm definitely more of a fan of where we live now than in our old dorm building. It was closer to the school of ministry I attend here, but it's definitely better to do without the bug problems we all experienced at the old building.
I do hope that these new dorms become our permanent housing, but only time will tell.
As I am back in Atlanta, I remembered a particular outreach ministry that my school goes on every Thursday called Compassion Night. This outreach provides one meal for any and all homeless people who are in line to receive it. While they wait to receive their food, small groups of people start up conversation with those in line. Normally during the school year I am unable to go on this particular outreach because I'm involved with the travel team which meets Tuesday's and Thursday's while Compassion Night is also going on. However, since school technically hasn't started for me yet due to a large fundraising event in New York, I had this intense desire to go this past Thursday night.
It. Was. Awesome. I got to hear a few stories, but one in particular really stood out to me. I unfortunately don't remember his name at this time, but he talked with my boyfriend, John, and I about his ministry. He believes in God and that He has called him to sell/give everything he had away and live among the homeless. And that is what he did for, if I remember correctly, 10 years now. It was amazing to hear this story and as he was talking, I was reminded of a particular video I was shown in youth group years ago.
The video started out with a man sitting at a diner looking kind of down. One at a time, individuals came by; the first one stood and asked how he was doing, but when they realized that the guy sitting on the bench didn't match up with their happy-go-lucky attitude, they quickly moved on; another one came, sat across and made light conversation but soon got up and moved on like the one before. This happened with a few more individuals. But there was something different about the last one. They started out across from him, but after more conversation, instead of them getting up and leaving, they got up and sat next to the man looking down. It's this last person in the video that reminded me of the homeless man that was speaking to us.
I thought that I gave up everything for God by leaving my home, my family, everything I knew in Michigan to attend a ministry school in Atlanta. This man LITERALLY gave up everything to reach the lost. That lifestyle and calling is definitely not for everyone. But it is such an inspiration to see that even in the darkest of places, there are pockets of light. It also inspired me the way he talked about his relationship with God. If you had heard him speak, I'm sure you would agree that he spoke from a real deep knowing of God and who He is. Darkness is being invaded by the light and it is so beautiful. Such an inspiration of hope.
I can hardly wait until next Thursday to go on Compassion Night again!
Thank you for reading this blog post. I really couldn't not share about who I met on Compassion Night! If you would like to watch the video I mentioned in this blog post, the Lord helped me find where it was! Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWdQRf0qbZI I hope it inspires you as much as it has inspired me.
~Samantha
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Entry #7: Long, Hard Summer
If I remember correctly, I last left this blog on a note of still needing $500 in order to complete my first year, graduate, and be accepted to come a second year. I have some great news for you; that $500 did come in. I completed my first year at ASOM debt-free, and in just a few weeks I'll be headed back for my second year. In case I hadn't mentioned it in my other blog posts, I am committed to doing three years at ASOM, lest God tells me to do something else. The great news doesn't stop there-- not only did that which was needed come in, but I had some overage. I didn't know how much it was, but I thought it was great to have that. The protocol with overage is if you're coming back a second or third year that money goes straight to paying off the next years missionary tuition. But then they had another option: if a person desired to, they could donate that overage to help out another student in need of having their missionary tuition paid. I didn't have to think about it very long. How could I not give what has been so generously given to me? I had longed for an opportunity such as this to come along. I want to be as generous as the Lord leads and He was surely leading me to do this. When the agreement paper came for me to sign, I saw that the amount was a hundred dollars.
In the grand scheme of things, is a hundred dollars a lot? Maybe, maybe not. But here's the thing: when it comes to giving, the amount isn't necessarily what matters. What matters is that I was given the great opportunity to help out my fellow classmate to get one step closer to graduating along with me.
Changing the topic, to be the most candor, this summer hasn't quite panned out the way I initially thought it would. I had a few options to consider for the summer and accepted a summer staff position at my most favorite camp in the world, Lost Valley Bible Camp. When I had thought about working there for the summer, I thought it would be great. I'd be closer to home, but not too close, and I'd be at my most favorite camp ever. I'd be at the place that really impacted and shaped my life. But then reality happened: I was three and a half hours away from home, and my parents didn't visit up north as often as I thought they might have. There wasn't anyone at Lost Valley that I really knew would be working there (though we're all good friends now). The hours were long. And hard. It was no easy feat to work at Lost Valley this summer. It was a true stress test. To be completely honest, there were a couple times the stress got so bad I was ready to call up my parents and have them come get me.
I'm an introverted person! Long hours and lots of people can quickly overwhelm/stress me out if it goes on for too long. Midsummer, I was sure that if anyone had asked me how my summer went, I wouldn't want to answer their question because I had been so stressed. Thankfully, the staff at Lost Valley really care about their workers. When they noticed the stress getting bad, they took a step back, realized some things needed to change, and things got better. A lot better.
How did I get so stressed? Yes, the long hours and the people had something to do with it, but on top of that, I was placed in a leadership position and I didn't always know the right way to go about a task. It was also my first year on staff there. I didn't know what was expected. Personally, being in a leadership position scares me. I'm scared that I'm going to come across as bossy and that everyone will hate me. I had received some really good advice over Fourth Wave that I kept reminding myself. The girl that was leading our Fourth Wave team was told by her mom that she was the mom. If they got to be friends, that would be great, but she was the mom. That was one of the lessons I learned this summer; you can't always be everyone's friend. Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions--especially if you're in leadership. If you get to be friends with those you are leading, what a great bonus! But if you don't, at least you have a team that will listen, respond, and respect you. That really is most important.
Though this summer has easily been marked as the hardest summer of my 21 years of living, I did grow immensely as a leader. I gained more tools to use when it comes to leading. On top of that, now any work that seems to be a lot, I know it will pale in comparison to what I had to do over this summer. I really thought I had long days at ASOM... I catch myself laughing at the fact that I once thought that. And even the fundraiser jobs I volunteer to work at to help pay off my missionary fund still pale in comparison.
Did Lost Valley want this to be a hard summer for me? No. I had been told time and time again that it's normally not that stressful at all. Does it get hard sometimes? Sure. But it was never as hard as it had been this summer.
Changing the topic again, since I am going to be heading back to ASOM for my second year of ministry school, I am asking for your partnership in what God is doing there through me. Over the span of the next nine months, I am to raise $6,400 again. Through my service at Lost Valley, I committed to saving $100 a week and send that towards paying my missionary tuition. I am proud to say that I have all $600 ready to go and send in today.
I am very grateful for those who became monthly supporters and partnered with me last year. I am also thankful for those who gave one-time gifts. Every little bit certainly helped me accomplish everything God had for me that year.
This year I am asking for monthly supporters who would commit to sending $25/month for the length of my time there at ASOM. I am also looking for those to give one-time gifts of any amount.
I will, of course, be working fundraiser events during the school year as I am able to. This past year I was able to fundraise over $1,400!
If you are interested in partnering with me financially, you can get in touch with my parents, Bonnie and Larry at:
(616)-846-4478
Funds can also be sent to my PayPal email:
angelistic124@yahoo.com
If you are wanting to send a check, contact me for more information at:
(616)-846-4478
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. God bless 😘
Samantha Scott
In the grand scheme of things, is a hundred dollars a lot? Maybe, maybe not. But here's the thing: when it comes to giving, the amount isn't necessarily what matters. What matters is that I was given the great opportunity to help out my fellow classmate to get one step closer to graduating along with me.
Changing the topic, to be the most candor, this summer hasn't quite panned out the way I initially thought it would. I had a few options to consider for the summer and accepted a summer staff position at my most favorite camp in the world, Lost Valley Bible Camp. When I had thought about working there for the summer, I thought it would be great. I'd be closer to home, but not too close, and I'd be at my most favorite camp ever. I'd be at the place that really impacted and shaped my life. But then reality happened: I was three and a half hours away from home, and my parents didn't visit up north as often as I thought they might have. There wasn't anyone at Lost Valley that I really knew would be working there (though we're all good friends now). The hours were long. And hard. It was no easy feat to work at Lost Valley this summer. It was a true stress test. To be completely honest, there were a couple times the stress got so bad I was ready to call up my parents and have them come get me.
I'm an introverted person! Long hours and lots of people can quickly overwhelm/stress me out if it goes on for too long. Midsummer, I was sure that if anyone had asked me how my summer went, I wouldn't want to answer their question because I had been so stressed. Thankfully, the staff at Lost Valley really care about their workers. When they noticed the stress getting bad, they took a step back, realized some things needed to change, and things got better. A lot better.
How did I get so stressed? Yes, the long hours and the people had something to do with it, but on top of that, I was placed in a leadership position and I didn't always know the right way to go about a task. It was also my first year on staff there. I didn't know what was expected. Personally, being in a leadership position scares me. I'm scared that I'm going to come across as bossy and that everyone will hate me. I had received some really good advice over Fourth Wave that I kept reminding myself. The girl that was leading our Fourth Wave team was told by her mom that she was the mom. If they got to be friends, that would be great, but she was the mom. That was one of the lessons I learned this summer; you can't always be everyone's friend. Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions--especially if you're in leadership. If you get to be friends with those you are leading, what a great bonus! But if you don't, at least you have a team that will listen, respond, and respect you. That really is most important.
Though this summer has easily been marked as the hardest summer of my 21 years of living, I did grow immensely as a leader. I gained more tools to use when it comes to leading. On top of that, now any work that seems to be a lot, I know it will pale in comparison to what I had to do over this summer. I really thought I had long days at ASOM... I catch myself laughing at the fact that I once thought that. And even the fundraiser jobs I volunteer to work at to help pay off my missionary fund still pale in comparison.
Did Lost Valley want this to be a hard summer for me? No. I had been told time and time again that it's normally not that stressful at all. Does it get hard sometimes? Sure. But it was never as hard as it had been this summer.
Changing the topic again, since I am going to be heading back to ASOM for my second year of ministry school, I am asking for your partnership in what God is doing there through me. Over the span of the next nine months, I am to raise $6,400 again. Through my service at Lost Valley, I committed to saving $100 a week and send that towards paying my missionary tuition. I am proud to say that I have all $600 ready to go and send in today.
I am very grateful for those who became monthly supporters and partnered with me last year. I am also thankful for those who gave one-time gifts. Every little bit certainly helped me accomplish everything God had for me that year.
This year I am asking for monthly supporters who would commit to sending $25/month for the length of my time there at ASOM. I am also looking for those to give one-time gifts of any amount.
I will, of course, be working fundraiser events during the school year as I am able to. This past year I was able to fundraise over $1,400!
If you are interested in partnering with me financially, you can get in touch with my parents, Bonnie and Larry at:
(616)-846-4478
Funds can also be sent to my PayPal email:
angelistic124@yahoo.com
If you are wanting to send a check, contact me for more information at:
(616)-846-4478
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. God bless 😘
Samantha Scott
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