This past week the other interns and I met up in Columbus, Ohio for General Assembly. This is my sixth General Assembly in my 22 years. My first was in Kansas City in 2001, then Charlotte in 2003, Fort Worth in 2007, Indianapolis in 2009, and Nashville in 2011. I always have loved attending General Assembly because I am able to catch up with friends that I might not see often because we live on opposite sides of the country.
This year was different. Not only was I able to see old friends but I was able to see fellow counselors and campers I just worked with over the summer and (bonus!) hang out with the other interns whom I have missed dearly!After the closing worship I was talking with two families from my home region when a counselor from Oklahoma came up to me. She had a bracelet she wanted to give me and as she handed it to me she mentioned something about my journey. We chatted a few minutes, hugged, and said we would have to meet up sometime during the school year. After she left I looked more closely at the bracelet and the paper it was attached to. Only then did I realize that originally there had been two bracelets and the paper said, “I share this bracelet with you as a blessing of peace. I wear the second bracelet in honor of your journey.”
For the first time this summer I realized I was never on this journey alone like I had originally thought. I may be traveling from camp to camp alone but as I enter a new camp I take all of my previous campers and counselors with me, while some take me as they continue back into the real world (like the camper from my very first camp who showed me at the GA DPF booth that he was still wearing the red yarn from my human trafficking workshop).If you have never been to a General Assembly I really recommend looking into going to the next one in Indianapolis in 2017. I promise it will confirm for you that you are not alone on this journey of faith!Till next time y’all.