Recommended for you

Summer Staff Changed My Life

Broken faith was fixed through the Lord.

Aug 22, 2016

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

My first article I ever wrote for The Odyssey was about how YoungLife changed my life. Now as I'm a WyldLife leader and in college, summer presents countless opportunities to serve within the YoungLife organization. There is Work Crew which is when high school students come to serve the Lord for a month at a time doing various jobs like being a server in the dining hall or in the pits or on ground maintenance. Summer Staff is where college students go serve the Lord for a month at a time doing various jobs like working in the coffee shop or gift shop, or even as a lifeguard.

Let me be clear in saying I have never been a camping type or an outdoor girl. However, I felt so compelled after leader weekend to apply for summer staff and serve the Lord. I left July 22 and would get back August 9th. Not quite a month, two and a half weeks actually. It would still be the longest I had been away from home and that idea scared me. The Lord gave me the strength and courage to go. I applied and found out that I had been accepted to work in retail about two weeks later. I packed up my stuff and left with two girls that were doing summer staff with me.

As I always do, I packed too many clothes. Getting there and meeting everyone was nerve-racking and so exciting at the same time. Everyone was so excited to meet everyone else. I had never witnessed pure excitement to meet others before. It was like I was being loved before anyone even met me. It was a really cool feeling to not be judged before being loved but rather the love coming first.

I knew summer staff would be the ultimate test of my Faith. And it was. Three days before I was supposed to come home my cat I have had since I was six got very very sick. I had to come home early to say goodbye to her. When I got this news from my mom I was angry. Here I was serving the Lord and it seemed like God was punishing me. For what? I thought what I was doing was good. It turns out, summer staff wasn't what was testing my faith, this situation was. Through prayer from myself and fellow summer staffers I have overcome the anger. I remembered that everything happens for a reason. A good one. The Lord has a plan for each and every one of us, including pets. This just happened to be His plan.

Summer Staff really changed my life for the better.

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Adulting

14 Examples Of Twenty-Somethings #Adulting

#Adulting is hard.

University of Minnesota Twin Cities

6648

Huffington Post

I think the hardest thing about going away to college is figuring out how to become an adult. Leaving a household where your parents took care of literally everything (thanks, Mom!) and suddenly becoming your own boss is overwhelming. I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of being a grown-up, but once in awhile I do something that really makes me feel like I'm #adulting. Twenty-somethings know what I'm talking about.

Keep Reading...Show less

adulting

Adulting

8 Things That Anyone Who Went To A Small School Knows

Sometimes bigger isn't always better.

Essex County, NJ

2550

blogspot

I went to a small high school, like 120-people-in-my-graduating-class small. It definitely had some good and some bad, and if you also went to a small high school, I’m sure you’ll relate to the things that I went through.

1. If something happens, everyone knows about it

Who hooked up with whom at the party? Yeah, heard about that an hour after it happened. You failed a test? Sorry, saw on Twitter last period. Facebook fight or, God forbid, real fight? It was on half the class’ Snapchat story half an hour ago. No matter what you do, someone will know about it.

Keep Reading...Show less

small high school

Student Life

12 Most Annoying Things About Working In Sales

No, I can't help you.

Oakland University

2798

Working with the public can be a job, in and of itself. Some people are just plain rude for no reason. But regardless of how your day is going, always having to be in the best of moods, or at least act like it... right?

1. When a customer wants to return a product, hands you the receipt, where is printed "ALL SALES ARE FINAL" in all caps.

2. Just because you might be having a bad day, and you're in a crappy mood, doesn't make it okay for you to yell at me or be rude to me. I'm a person with feelings, just like you.

3. People refusing to be put on hold when a customer is standing right in front of you. Oh, how I wish I could just hang up on you!

Keep Reading...Show less

sales

Entertainment

11 Things That Happen When You Suffer From Resting B*tch Face

It's just my face, I swear.

Christopher Newport University

1374

Hercampus.com

RBF, or resting b*tch face, is a serious condition that many people suffer from worldwide. Suffers are often bombarded with daily questions such as "Are you OK?" and "Why are you so mad?" If you have RBF, you've probably had numerous people tell you to "just smile!"

While this question trend can get annoying, there are a couple of pros to having RBF.

Keep Reading...Show less

rbf

Recommended for you

Summer Staff Changed My Life

Broken faith was fixed through the Lord.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

#Adulting is hard.

1. Taking care of yourself when you're sick

2. Making a to-do list

3. Planning your activities around the weather

4. Scheduling your own doctor’s appointments

5. Getting your own toilet paper

6. Making food without needing to ask your mom questions

7. Holding your tongue

8. Saving your paycheck (or your tax refund) to pay your bills

9. Balancing your checkbook

10. Going places alone

11. Packing your own lunches

12. Actually eating your vegetables...on purpose

13. Taking a multivitamin

14. Planning a life after graduation

Sometimes bigger isn't always better.

1. If something happens, everyone knows about it

2. Never getting to be invisible

3. Knowing every single thing about every single person in the town

4. New kids are a big deal

5. It’s hard to make new friends

6. On that note ... the dating pool is even smaller!

7. Teachers are weirdly close to their students

8. It forced you to make friends out of school

"I'm hopeless and awkward and desperate for love"

1. That Time He Tested Out His Flirting Skills and This Happened

2. When He Was Willing to Do Anything to Avoid Confrontation

3. When He Couldn't Handle Awkward, Emotional Situations

4. How He Reacted Whenever His Friends Ignored Him

5. All of the Times He Worried About His Failing Love Life

6. Whenever He Tried to Whip Himself Into Shape

7. How He Handled New People and New Experiences

8. Whenever His Friends Got Annoying, He Was Always the Voice of Reason

9. He Always Knew How to Jam

10. He Finds a Way to Make Any Situation More Fun

No, I can't help you.

1. When a customer wants to return a product, hands you the receipt, where is printed "ALL SALES ARE FINAL" in all caps.

2. Just because you might be having a bad day, and you're in a crappy mood, doesn't make it okay for you to yell at me or be rude to me. I'm a person with feelings, just like you.

3. People refusing to be put on hold when a customer is standing right in front of you. Oh, how I wish I could just hang up on you!

4. Having the same conversations over and over again! To be honest I really don't even want to talk to you right now, or have this fake ass smile on my face!

5. Always having to have a smile on your face. I promise I'm not as happy as I may look!

6. Customers not understanding that sometimes, mistakes happen. I am a human being, we all mess up sometimes!

7. Having the boss from hell, it's their way or the highway! Even though I did my job correctly and efficiently, if I don't do it the exact way you do, I'm a piece of shit.

8. Having coworker who don't help out, who bend the rules just enough to screw you over.

9. Having to be at work after closing because a customer is taking forever and half! Not like I'd like to go home or anything!

10. Having shitty hours and more shifts than you asked for. Just because we don't have enough workers, doesn't mean I want to pick up every shift that you cant cover, oh great boss of mine!

11. Not having time for a social life. It gets old saying, "I can't I have work..." Every day of the week!

12. Having that lazy costumer who can't do anything for themselves... no please I'll get that, it's no problem at all!

It's just my face, I swear.

1. When you meet new people, they automatically assume you hate them or are rude.

2. People are constantly asking you if you're OK.

3. After being friends with someone for a while, they confess to you, "I thought you were so mean when I first met you," or, "I thought you hated me."

4. You get told to smile more, but they don't understand how scary that would be.

5. You're always labeled as seeming "judgy."

6. Passing a friend with your RBF in full force and not realizing you just shot them a death glare.

7. Being sarcastic, but everyone thinks you're outright rude.

8. Not knowing how mean you really look until you see a picture of yourself in resting face.

9. Your apologies never sound sincere because of your emotionless face.

10. Your "mad face" scares you.

11. And, lastly, people are constantly asking you if you are happy or having a good time because you look bored to death.

Trending Topics

Top Creators

Trending Stories

Best of Lifestyle

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments

Subscribe to our
Newsletter