The Pace at Which We Run (Week One)

Being three weeks into my internship, people are starting to ask how it is going so far.  So many people asking the same question would seem frustrating (especially for me who hates to repeat myself) but, it has actually been a two-fold blessing.  Reason #1 is that I am able to really analyze how it HAS been by talking to people about it and Reason #2 is that I have been able to see the huge support network of people that God has provided for me.


However, if you haven't heard, it's going GREAT!: 

  

I got back to Harrisonburg on Monday, May 14th, & have been going non-stop since.  I moved into Cornerstone (my SG Leader Nate's house where I am living all summer) and went to Wal-Mart/caught dinner with my other SG Leader, Brandon.  It was really sweet catching up with him and talking about our previous weeks (me- the beach & Brandon- IV's Chapter Camp).

I hadn't talked to Pastor John in a week and had no idea what time to be at church the next morning.  I had two numbers for him but both of them went to the church voicemail so I ended up e-mailing him.  I got an e-mail from him the next morning and got to church at 8:30.

Turns out Pastor John was leaving for a conference in Texas for two days and he asked me to drive them to the airport.  I said, "Sure! Charlottesville, right?"  He said, "No, BWI."  I asked where that was and he said, "Baltimore Washington International," which was two hours away versus C-ville's one hour.  So I would have to drive them up there, then come back ,then go get them the next night, and bring them home.  We decided it would be cheaper for them to just park overnight and it ended up being a win-win for everyone :)

So the first three days of being at church, my mentor wasn't there (which was strange) but gave me an awesome opportunity to connect with the church secretary, Kathi, who is super great and does a ton!  I was able to learn about how the church handles their finances, have some birthday cake, and talk NCIS with Ms. Robin (an older woman at the church) which was great and a total God-wink/ pick-me-up.

Deacon Training was being held that weekend so I sent out e-mails and made calls to confirm attendance and worked through the workbook myself to better prepare.  Pastor John got back in the office Thursday afternoon after he finished getting the sermon for Sunday ready and took me to my first-ever Jack Brown's experience where I had my first (of many to come) fried oreos!

Friday morning I went to Chick-Fil-A with Pastor John's accountability group.  I shared with them how I needed prayer for working towards adjusting with being on my own and getting adjusted at work, as well as, in my house.  


The rest of Friday was spent getting ready for the deacon training with tables, chairs, and mints.  Then that night we had part one of the training with part two Saturday morning.

Pastor John asked me how I was doing on Saturday morning and I said, "Tired, I am still getting used to waking up early and going hard all day."  He responded with, "This is the pace at which we run."  I have totally adopted this phrase ever since and tell it to myself to keep going.  This phrase sets the tone in doing whatever it takes to, "Impact the Valley and Bless the Nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," (Calvary Cross-Link's mission statement).

Sunday, I went to both services, lunch, and to Pastor John's house to rest up before visitation.  I had dinner at his house and watched some quality kids' movies.  He invited me back anytime!  Right then, I knew that the loneliness that I had been feeling with all my friends being home for the summer wouldn't be a problem because the Welborn's were now my family-away-from-family in my home-away-from-home, Harrisonburg.  

They are an answered prayer.

The Setup

A lot of people are asking me how I got plugged in with Calvary Cross-Link.  They want to know the details.  The how, who, what, and why.

Undoubtedly, God completely set up my whole summer for me just as He has set up all my days (Jeremiah 29:11).  But this post in particular is how He setup this season of my life:

Gabby and I with a Puppy We Wish Was Ours

In my junior year of high school, I decided that I would major in English and become a teacher.  I had already had my heart set to attend JMU (James Madison University) through falling in love with it during my frequent visits to see the most beautiful girl in the world, Gabrielle Gardner.

I applied as soon as the early-action applications came out and was accepted into the Class of 2015 as a English/ Secondary Education major.  Go Dukes!

At JMU, we have this event called CHOICES (like an open house) where accepted students get to come and check out the university for a day and see what their program has to offer.  Naturally, I wanted to go to the English Department's Open House.  The English Open House, coincidently,  was paired with the Department of Philosophy and Religion's and they explained how do-able it was to double-major, so I was like sign me up!

GoTell, Wilroy Baptist Youth, 2011

The summer after my senior year (summer before college), I got the awesome opportunity to go to a Go Tell Ministry camp in Georgia with Gabby's church (Wilroy Baptist Church).  At camp, Gabby and I both stepped out in a call to dedicate our lives to ministry in whatever God has for us.  Together or separate, our life's mission was now to share the Gospel anytime and any place; mission trips, at the store, in the high schools we would possibly be teaching in (both planning to be teachers at the time), wherever.

After camp, I was like this is so sweet!  I will go to college, five-year program, get out, teach English, witness to kids, mentor, stoked!  But then I started looking into the Religion major at JMU more and more.  In my study, I found that there was a Pre-Seminary concentration where I would have a special advisor that would work with me in my Religion major to help me choose classes to prepare for seminary if I was to go.  So I said, why not?

Me with my Small Group Leaders, Brandon & Nate

My freshman year of college was getting closer and closer to being over, and I was starting to like my English classes less and less.  It started weighing on me that I couldn't go to high school and teach English everyday for the rest of my life and there were more important things than what this or that author meant in their text.  I have the utmost respect for teachers but it began gnawing at me that it wasn't for me.  That's when the Holy Spirit started pushing me more and more towards full-time ministry.

Entrance, Stage Left, Calvary Cross-Link:

Three or four months ago, a girl that Gabby disciples/ mentors named Diana asked Gabby to come with her to Calvary Cross-Link (led by Pastor John Welborn) one Sunday morning to check it out because she thought that Gabby would really like it.  Of course, Gabby really liked it and wanted me to come the next week to make the decision about if that's where we would start going while at school.

Pastor John mentioned that he was taking classes at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (a school that I heard about while at camp in Georgia) which, I had been looking into as a future possibility.  Needless to say, this God-wink grabbed my attention and knew that Calvary Cross-Link was legit- Gabby and I kept going.

A couple weeks later, Gabby and I went to Sunday School.  When it starts, they break up into "care groups" that share their prayer requests.  After introductions, I shared that Gabby and I were praying about summer plans (I might be working at a camp and she was either staying in Harrisonburg at Chick-Fil-A or coming home to Suffolk).  Then, Pastor John's wife, Ashley (who was in the class), told me that I should talk to John about interning with him because before their family was at Calvary Cross-Link and were full-time evangelists that they had hired interns all the time and we might be able to work something out.  I got some more details from her after and called the church that week to set an appointment.

Pastor John Welborn

I met with John the following week and we got to know each other more.  He asked me about what I felt like my call was and I told him my whole story.  Long story short, he told me to type it all up and send it to him and I did so that same night!

He called me a couple days later to set up a lunchtime for the two of us the following week to discuss it all more.  During that lunch he told me that after meeting with his leadership team, they decided to go through with it and that I would be working with him all summer!!

In between all this a lot was going on!  I had been given a spot on staff at Triple R Ranch for the summer, I wasn't sure how my family would respond to me being in Harrisonburg the whole summer, Gabby and I would be apart, and my car was spotty.  None of these were obstacles for God.  He blessed me with a godly boss at Triple R, Jeanette, who would hold my spot until I knew about the job at Calvary, my family wanted me home but were very supportive and excited, Gabby said, "DO IT!", and my Grammy was in the process of getting ready to buy a new car and passing her's down to me.  God set it all up.


I called Jeanette at Triple R back and explained the whole situation to her and she said that she was very happy for me and wanted people to be where God wanted them and she would be praying for me.  Everyone in my family was on board with me staying in Harrisonburg and shadowing Pastor John.  Gabby (as always) was my main supporter has she has been unfailingly for the past three years and my Grammy was getting closer and closer to getting her new car.

Finals week happended, then I went to Frisco in the Outer Banks for a week with some awesome people for beach week, came home, received my Rav 4 from Grammy, passed down my first car "White Lightening" to my cousins, celebrated Mother's Day, and hit the road for Harrisonburg to continue on the journey that God had already planned for me.

God has plans for my summer.  He has plans for my entire life.  He is going to prosper me, He will give me hope, and a future.  All I have to do is listen as He speaks.