How?

How is it that on Monday we start week 5 of the internship? That by Thursday we will be halfway through this? How is it that I feel like we just started yet the end is nearing? How is it that I have already lived in Bend for almost a month? How is it that I am still wearing jeans in the middle of summer???

The fact that Monday starts week 5 blows my mind! I cannot believe that we are already halfway through this internship. This internship that has given way more than I was expecting and I am loving every moment of it and still learning new things! I think the realization of how fast my time is flying this summer has made me think about what I do with me time. The only problem that I face is not having a car. I feel like the only parts of Bend I know is the Old Mill District, where the office and the Kilns are, Drake Park, and the loop my house is on. Thats it. I want to go explore Bend. To find the cute little shops that are unique to Bend. To walk around downtown and just explore or sit and talk at the tea house. But without a car its hard to get places that take 15 minutes to drive to. So that is why it is my new goal to take every chance that comes my way to go explore, and get to know the interns even more. 

During Solitude God told me to love the people of Bend and the people of Antioch, including the interns this summer while I was here. And to love them well I had to see the example set by the greatest lover of all. So I have been reading every story that God shows love in, which is a lot, but I am loving it. I also took advantage of hanging out with some interns who I havent spent much time with last night, and I had a blast!! Some of us went and saw Brave, which was so good! We even got to have our show upgraded to 3D for free!! Then we went to dinner and just talked about our parts in the internship and life back at school which was so good! After dinner we met up with a few more people and played Ticket to Ride Europe and talked Grey's Anatomy! ha I loved last night, maybe one of my highlights for the summer. Today we are going to go to this thing called Bite of Bend, where there is local music and food, and then tonight we are having an intern worship night! I love worship so I am pumped for tonight! 

I recommend this movie!

This week was pretty chill, nothing really exciting going on. Just working on the usual curriculum, updating the check in sheets, figuring out my next Mission Kids close up, etc. One thing I have really noticed is how much I have been given responsibility over. Which I love, and am really learning from, but it is more than I expected. I mean, the Mission Kids Close Up that I wrote was put on the website the weekend of the Mission Kids launch at Antioch. So any parent who went to read that to their kids this week, read the story I wrote! How awesome is that!?! I am so grateful for this experience and I love that this summer just keeps on engraving children's ministry into my heart!

The other children's intern finally got to Bend this week after graduating from UCLA! Her name is Kim and she is awesome! I am so excited to have another intern to work with down in the children's area and she has been rocking it all week! 

Probably the coolest thing that happened this week was when I got the email containing my jobs for the week. Mission Kids has these things called supplementary curriculum which can be used as a VBS or broken apart into Sunday morning lessons. There is already one on compassion, but Linda wants one on love and justice as well. So one of my assignments for the week was to start working on the supplementary curriculum for love! God is really working on me getting love right this summer, and I am super excited to get to study it and break it down into simple terms that kids, or myself, will truly understand it. Yes I know that God loves me and is love is never ending, but what does that really look like for me and I can I share/show that locally and all over the world? I am so excited to dig deep into the Bible and learn all about the love of the creator!

Have a great week ya'll!!!!