Last year I had the blessing of 104 days of summer vacation. I made the most out of every day, and made sure that each day was unique. With high expectations, I knew that this summer would be a Monstrous one.
Leading up to the summer one of the things I was most looking forward to was the amazing timing of the release of Monsters University.
I am a huge movie fan. Disney or not I always get excited for the summer blockbusters. While I was excited for Lone Ranger, Star Trek, Iron Man 3, and The Wolverine, Monsters University came at the perfect time. Monsters University invoked a reminder of just how much I loved Monsters, Inc when it came out in 2002. Monsters University also geared me up for the exciting life of living at a university. It's almost as if Pixar planned this movie just for me.
Later In June I was blessed once again to be able to attend Enter with my middle school youth group from Salem Alliance. This year Enter was at Corban University, which made our Salem crew the home team. Enter has always been an opportunity for me to build relationships with the kids I don't normally get to spend a lot of time with. Enter is our districts mission retreat. It is a chance for middle schoolers across the North West to "Enter" the mission field and learn to "Serve God by Serving Others". It was rainy and miserable weather wise for the first part of the retreat, and we even encountered a few Butt Ostriches. Enter was a great experience for the kids that came, and for me as a growing leader as well.
In July it was all about my 8th graders. After watching them grow from crazy 7th graders to crazy 8th graders it was almost time to pass them off to high school. We took the 8th graders on a special missions trip just for them to Seattle, Washington. For some of them it was their first trip to Seattle. On our first day we visited Bread of Life and served dinner for the homeless, as well as performing simple chores around the shelter. The next day we helped renovate a plant church. What would have taken the small church months to do we were able to do in hours. On the third day we went to World Relief to help shop and gather household items for refugees coming to the United States within the next few days. It was an amazing experience for me as a leader to step back and watch eager hearts do Gods work on this trip. Other highlights from the trip were Despicable Me 2, Playing Sardines, and of course the Space Needle.
Immediately after the 8th Grade Missions trip, we were joined by the Mariners/Wildwaves trip! I have always loved this trip, and it was the 7th one I had been on. We went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and saw ALL of the animals. We watched the Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians, and enjoyed an awesome day at Wildwaves. It was an amazing week in Seattle.
In August I went down to Redhawk Summer. It was a chance to meet with other students that would be at Simpson for the first time in the fall like me. We hung out a bunch on campus, and toured the city some too. It was an amazing experience that helped me prepare for being a Redhawk.
This summer I was blessed by God to have a wonderful job at Enchanted Forest. He allowed me to earn funds to pay for school, while having some left over to use for myself. Spook was by far my favorite job I did at the park. I was even able to step into a leadership role in the dreaded Parking Lot, but nothing God hadn't prepared me to handle. It was the perfect place for me to work this summer, and I am incredibly grateful for him providing me the opportunity to work at the little park on the hill.
Over the last few days many of my friends and family have said their goodbyes to me. I am truly humbled to see, and hear just how many lives I have left my mark on without even knowing. I even experienced my first surprise party.
To those who said goodbye, Have you not learned anything from me? I never say goodbye, instead I say what Mickey Mouse says, "See Ya Real Soon."
