A week at home.

I'm spending this week in my home-town (specifically in my parent's house). Where my passion is student-ministry. My mom's passion is Vacation Bible School. It is a year-long obsession for my family and I'm home this week teaching the teen class. Up here it is rare to find a bonafide "student ministry" and sometimes their own corner at VBS is the extent of what teens get. It's been a few years since I've spent this much time at home (and nearly a decade since I've done any kind of ministry here). To say it's been different? HUGE understatement. Here's the week so far:

Saturday night: Came in just in time to grab dinner with the family at the local Mexican restaurant. I had my very first taste of Mexican food there when I was 16 and it opened. Crazy, huh? I still walk in and the waiters know that I'm the white-girl who speaks Spanish. so funny. It was buzzing with local rafting traffic.

Sunday: Church in the morning. My parents are now attending the church that they started at before I was born. It's a PRECIOUS group of people in the MOUNTAINS. We do lunch with my grandma. Fried Squash? OHHHHH so good. Sunday night is the first night of VBS. Can't believe it's here already. I haven't exactly had a day off from working with students in.....um.....a month? two? But I love it and these kids are AMAZING. I love them already. They seem way more normal that my parents had prepped me for. They're leaving to go watch the MTV movie awards.....these kids are TOTALLY normal.

Monday: Ok...I need to get out of the parent's house. I'm craivng some wifi and a shot of espresso. I venture out....way out....20 minute drive out and find a coffee shop. I work on tonight's lesson for 6 hours...6 hours! How did that happen? It was good (ok..I THINK so). I forgot how hard this stuff is to do with no help. I'm worn out....but I'm LOVING getting to spend time with my cousin Samantha- she's 10 years old-a mini-me if there's ever been one. She worships me right now. I know that won't last forever- so I'm leveraging all the influence i have right now to send her in the right direction. Did I mention...I'm tired and overwhelmed? Oh, and the students explained to me that their favorite thing to do on Youtube is look up the Gaither Vocal Band. Maybe things are a little different here.

Tuesday: Lunch with the grandma....who is planning for me to come "work with the youth" at her church. What does that mean? It means they have no youth group and they want me to come in and do ....something.....for a day. I love students...but a plan is most helpful. We finally get a date...sort of ....down and I head back to the coffee shop to plan for tonight. Somewhere on the road I have a total breakdown. Overwhelm met overworked. They both collided with overcommitted and I lost it. My mom called in the middle-awesome. After explaining my somewhat broken state, my mom begins to rant on my grandmother..."She just wants you to come up here so she can brag how she's your grandma. She'll drive you crazy until you get this date down and then she'll just want another. She's not even thinking about your feelings or your life. She just wants to use you!".........the line went silent for a while and then came the breakthrough...."and I'm doing the same thing". What was that? For the first time, my mom cut me some slack on this whole thing and it was great. Now..into the coffee shop-my safe haven.

Wednesday: Better day, no doubt. I slept late and that did wonders. I have no lesson to prepare for tonight since we're having a water balloon fight. Awesome. I did go looking for coffee shops closer. No luck. Back for the 3rd day in a row to said coffee shop (why do I love it here?) for a 5pm skype meeting with our student pastor and my co-creative-content volunteer. Is it weird that this totally energizes me.....why does this feel so normal. Am I homesick? Holy crap, I'm homesick in my hometown! No wonder the last few days have felt so weird. Wow. After church, I go visit the other grandparents and wonder...just like every time..how many more visits I will get. I love them and it's hard to watch them getting so feeble. Afterward, I head to the car....stopping for a second in the rain just to soak in the feeling of being in the lot where I grew up playing, remembering what it's like to see a LOT of stars when you look up. Then I realized how much this felt like a sappy movie scene and got in my car, slightly embarrassed.


Thursday: Praise God, I'm going to Walmart. It's a 45 minute drive, but that means I get to stop at a starbucks-where I'm typing this very entry. OH STARBUCKS I've MISSED YOU!!!!! I would kiss your floors, but I've heard the stories of toilet-water mopping. I'll contain myself. Oh iced coffee with soy...OH SOY! Oh Wifi uniterrupted and nice decor. OH an espresso machine that doesn't sound like a road construction crew!!! I'm WAY too excited about this! I have an hour to get tonight's lesson ready to go. Last night of actual teaching. Want to do something special for the students. We'll see!