challenges

Hey everyone!

I hope this post finds you all doing well. Life in Vail these past few weeks has been both challenging and amazing. A lot of people asked me what my expectations were for the summer before I got out to Vail, and to be honest I didn't really have many. The only thing I really asked was that the Lord would challenge and grow me. A bold request, I know, but He has continued to do that physically, mentally, and spiritually.
This past weekend the majority of our team participated in what we called an "Adventure Race." It was this amazing race through the Vail Valley. We formed teams and essentially it was a race to see if the student teams could beat the staff team. Let's just say, the staff smoked us. Anyways, this race took us a good 8 hours to complete and it consisted of 26 miles of biking through mountain trails and paths along the creek, as well as a good 7 miles hike up the Vail Mountain. It was an intense 33 miles, but 33 miles that I never would have completed had I attempted the race on my own. My team determined from the beginning that there was no way we would win, so we simply set out to have fun. And we did...a lot of laughing and enjoying each other's company as well as the beautiful creation we passed along the way. The Lord really showed me the importance of encouragement and community. He is continually showing me how vital every member of the team is to the entire team's success. Our entire project group is learning just that, as our staff team left this past Thursday morning. For the next 5 weeks this project will be student led and will really become our own project, flavored in whatever way we desire. It will be incredible to see how the Lord really calls people to step up and lead in areas that will cause them to step out in faith.
Work is going really well. I am really getting to spend some good time and have good conversations with one of my co-workers. You can be praying for this relationship and that the Lord would give me the eyes and ears to recognize the opportunities that He gives me to minister and love on her. Work has also be really enjoyable, and the number of children we have each day is really picking up. Yesterday, we had about 21 children, including 2 babies, so it makes for a really interesting and somewhat chaotic day. But all together, work has been awesome and I really love my co-workers. Each day it proves to be exactly where the Lord has called me to work for the summer. Please pray that I would learn to how to best love my co-workers at the exact place they are at in life and that I would be bold and full of joy.
The last few weeks the Lord has really answered a lot of prayers and is really challenging me spiritually. He is continually reassuring me that His plan is perfect and is really allowing me to see that He is in control of my life and I am exactly where He has intended for me to be this summer. He is giving me peace about a lot of areas of my life that I have been holding on to for a long time and really showing me that there were a lot of things I needed to surrender to Him so that He could best use me this summer. Isn't it amazing how the Lord constantly reminds us of His faithfulness?
I mentioned earlier that as the staff led this past week the last 5 weeks of project would be student led. I also mentioned that I really asked the Lord to challenge and grow me this summer. Well, the Lord has answered that prayer to be challenged as I, along with another girl named Brittany, will be leading the women on project this summer. I feel very inadequate to be leading these women, as there are 26 other women on project, all of who would make excellent directors. However, I am extremely excited about how the Lord will grow me through this experience and I am continually encouraged by the 3 others on our director team. I really want to love and serve the other members of this project, so please pray that the Lord would show me how to best do that. No doubt He is going to challenge and grow me through this position and I pray that as a servant team we would be able to create and environment where everyone on project would really be able to engage with and experience the Lord in His fullness.
I hope everyone has a restful 4th and that the summer continues to treat everyone well.

In Him,

Lauren