Zo-a:: First Days

I just finished my first day at the worldview office. It is a bit surreal that this is my life now. Because of my involvement with Worldview exclusively during the summer over the last several years, a part of me expects to just pick up some day soon and head back to College Station where all my old friends are. The reality of a new home base, a steady job, and the task of finding community here hasn't hit me too hard yet, but I will admit to being a bit lonely for the first couple nights, as I haven't even had the chance to see my host family since I have moved in.

No doubt about it though, this is going to be more than I could have asked of a job coming out of college. Topics of discussion on the first day included a task list for the year and a division of the responsibilities, national marketing and advertising ideas for our smaller camps, and ways that we can make the program of our summers even better.

Small business and entrepreneurship have long been interests of mine, so while these types of discussions are exciting for me, their weight is overwhelming at times, and accompanying the opportunity of working here comes a healthy dose of fear of failure. Thankfully, the sovereignty of God is the trump card to any doubt or fear that attempts to make headway in my mind, and the reminder is that while this is in some senses a business, it is also a ministry where God is in control and where He will accomplish what He chooses despite our strengths or failures.

Along with the weight comes the mundane, thousand details that take up the day - taking out the trash, tying up the loose ends of the summer, and cleaning out the desk from the previous occupier.

But when I think about it, it is exactly where I want to be. When the alternative is working at a desk crunching excel spreadsheets all day tucked away in a corporate office, having the opportunity to have a hand in the very tangible success of a national organization is invigorating, even if it means sweating in the sun and taking out the trash now and again because there isn't anyone else to do it.

Please keep me in your prayers over the next several weeks - first, for the transition to a new town and the finding of community here. I am planning to be gone for the next three weekends in a row, so I anticipate that finding a group will be difficult for a while.

Also, wisdom for how to use my downtime. Now that I have the ability to leave work at the office, I want to be intentional with how I use my downtime, so prayer for a vision of the skills and leisure activities that I want to develop, and how best to go about it.

Third, for the relationships in the office. With a whopping full time staff of three in the office and one from long-distance, the relationships in the office will be critical to the success we have going forward - not just that we would get along, but that we would work well together in terms of communication, support, and helpful feedback during the year.

Lastly, for support raising. Prior to the summer I was able to raise about half of the support for the next year, and now that I have finally settled in I am hoping to continue the process with some older friends, as well as with newer ones that may not know me but are familiar with the ministry of Worldview. Pray that I would articulate well the vision for this ministry, and that God would work in peoples hearts to give out of joy and a desire to participate in his work, rather than out of a feeling of guilt. And pray that I would be worthy of their contributions!

Thank you for your time. It is so encouraging to know I have friends that keep up with this and lift me up in prayer as I'm starting out on this journey, and I look forward to hopefully seeing you down the road!

Here are some pictures of my team and our travels from the summer!

Here is our administrative leadership and faculty team: Mark Bertrand and his wife Laurie, Jeff Baldwin and his wife Linda, Holly Nelson our Associate Camp Director and Registrar, Brandon Booth and his wife Liv, and myself.