Well I don't know what you came to do...

...but I came to praise the Lord!

This was the way one of the songs I got to sing at Sugar Creek Bible Camp this past week began. I had never heard the song before, and some of the songs I did know we're interpreted a little differently, but the most important thing is that I got the chance to once again experience outdoor ministry during the summer! The last time I had been at a summer camp during the summer was at LMC in the summer of 2007.

I was at SCBC as part of the Youth In Mission office (sensing a theme with my summer jobs this year?) as an Outdoor Ministry Ambassador. Basically what that meant was that I got to hang out with kids all day, hike some gorgeous trails, and most importantly, talk with counselors about where they saw God in their lives, and what they felt they were called to do in living out their baptismal vocation. I also got to talk to counselors about other types of ministry in the ELCA that might be a possibility sooner than seminary, such as Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Border Servant Corps, Urban Servant Corps, and Young Adults in Global Mission. On top of that, I got to share my own call story, and how I came to be in seminary at this point in my life.

I once heard a statistic that 72% of seminarians cite outdoor ministry as a major part of their faith formation, and it doesn't surprise me at all...I was one of them. And so, if these counselors go on to seminary or not, it was an absolute gift to be able to walk with them on just a tiny portion of their journey, and to get to hear the calling of God in their lives. I am constantly amazed at the passion for serving Christ in those I had the pleasure of talking to.

Where has God called you?