One Month Down, One Month to Go!

I can't believe that the month of June is almost over! One month has seemed to go a lot quicker than I imagined when saying goodbye to my family before taking flight back to Arizona. After July, Adam and I will only be out here until August 8th, and then we start trekking back across the country to return home.

Since we're pretty settled in now, let me share with you all who are used to seeing us so frequently our "somewhat weekly schedule" of how time passes so quickly around here!

Mondays: Mondays are beautiful. They are the only days that we get completely off, start to finish. Usually Adam and I will try to venture to some place "new" on a Monday. Whether it be somewhere close like the Phoenix Zoo or a friend's pool or somewhere a bit more adventurous like Sedona, we thoroughly enjoy our Mondays to regroup from the hectic weekends.

Tuesdays-Fridays: The remaining days of the week are "office days." During these days, Adam, I, and the CCV Family Ministries staff will head into the office from roughly 8:30am-5pm each day. Here we connect with volunteers through phone calls, emails, and personal luncheons. Frequently, we'll complete pre and post summer camp work, and attend dozens of meetings to establish plans for upcoming weekends, series, and events. If we're lucky, we get
Tuesdays-Fridays each off their own special occasion.

On Tuesdays, Adam's host family, the Simpsons (yes, the television family, you're all so wise) provide a "family dinner" for any intern that isn't from Arizona. It's always fun to join with 7-9 other people to celebrate life together. These dinners are always fun-and the food is wonderful, too!

Wednesdays are often a day when I tackle "1:1s" (personal meetings with individual staff members) over lunch and/or coffee breaks. I'll admit, these trips are my favorite-after all, how can one be in ministry and not love to socialize.

On Thursdays, all the summer and year long interns at CCV (total there are roughly 15) gather together for "Leadership Institute" class at 8:45am. The classes are always a wonderful way to start off the day, and the topics, whether discussing organization, spiritual development, or theology, are helpful for our leadership skills.

Finally, Fridays always come as a relief, and much to Adam and my enjoyment, it's "date night." Establishing some time for us two to spend together out to dinner, watching a movie, or exploring a new date idea is important as we're constantly busy between church services, outreach events, and individual schedules.

Saturday-Sunday: And finally, the WEEKEND! These are the moments we work for! CCV has services both on Saturday nights (4:30pm + 6:15pm) and Sunday mornings (9:30am + 11:15am), so naturally, you can see where MUCH of our time is spent. It's here though that Adam and my schedule differ, too.

Saturday mornings are nice and relaxing. I'll immediately change into my bathing suit, usually spend some time "working out" on the Wii Fit (oh, yea!), and enjoy much time lounging around the pool, reading, and spending time with my host family. It's a real Sabbath-at least for a bit. Around 3pm, I'm off to work-to church-getting ready to prepare for the evening services. After serving at both 4:30pm and 6:15pm, I'll often meet Adam and some friends for dinner, (we get free "cafe passes" if we work all four services) where we'll stay until about 9pm at night. (It's a genius idea for building community at church-everyone does it!)

Sundays are similar, as I'm back at work by 9am, often finishing by 1pm, just in time to head back to my host family's house for a special "Sunday dinner." Together, usually around 1:30pm or so, we feast to a FANTASTIC MEAL and enjoy each other's company for some time. Afterwards, around 3:30pm or so, Adam heads off to High School ministry, where he's committed with service and post-service activities until 10pm or so. Sometimes I choose to join (the after-parties are quite fun), although other times, it's nice to relax a bit after the weekend frenzy.

And then, it starts all over! The weeks are exhausting, but with set days to celebrate "Sabbath," it's easy to keep up our much needed energy. Sometimes it takes getting away from "home" for a bit to appreciate how to discipline your time for your best efforts.

One month down, one month to go! It's shocking. The summer is flying, and it doesn't help; we're enjoying ourselves and learning so much! We know that it's safe to say that we're confident that this is where we needed to be this summer.

Stay posted for a schedule of upcoming trips, including one to the GRAND CANYON this Thursday, July 2nd-4th!