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
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