When I decided to come to the DR, one of the things I was most excited about, aside from the work I would be doing, was the opportunity to spend time with my friend Hannah. Hannah just finished her first year at UNC, and is one of my former youth girls from 1st Pres in Winston-Salem. I met Hannah when she was in 6th grade, and during her seventh grade year, she chose me to be her mentor for Confirmation class. We met once a week for an entire year, and have continued to have a close relationship since then. I went to her volleyball and basketball games in high school, drove back to Winston-Salem to see her on Homecoming court during her 11th grade year, and now we are here working together. It has been a truly powerful experience to work alongside this woman who is now mature, wise, strong in her faith, and an incredible example of what it means to be a woman of God. I am amazed by what God has done in her, what God is currently doing through her in this place, and for what God has in store for her life. It has a huge blessing to reconnect with someone I have spent so much time laughing with and praying for. I find myself every day standing back and watching her work with this group and being thankful that God has given me this chance to see how teenagers can grow into amazing men and women of God. 

I think one of the reasons my work and play time with Hannah feels so significant right now is because this week, this group of 50 high school students, along with the ten college students serving as staff, are reminding me of how much I love youth ministry. I feel alive when I am with teenagers, which was something I thought I was finished with, something I thought I was burnt out on. I 

am realizing I may have been wrong. It is a powerful demonstration of God at work to see a teenage girl transformed into a woman of faith, leading her peers, and serving in revolutionary and sacrificial ways. I don't know what any of this means for my future, but I know that right now, I am excited to invest in these high school and college students. I cannot wait to see what the next 5 weeks brings, but I hope and pray that they will each grow in their ability and desire to lead, in their faith, and in their call to God's service to the world.