"When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2

During the church sermon a few weeks ago at Oak Cliff United Methodist Church, it really hit me. I will never go back to that house I grew up in. That house is no longer mine to call home. As long as I have waited for this exact moment, there is something so bittersweet about it that brought me to tears. I've been through hardships, triumphs, heartbreak, healing and growth in that house. From second grade until senior year of college, it has supported my family and I through some of our darkest, as well as our brightest moments.

Day after day I spend here in Dallas, my sadness for losing that house seems less severe. Bonding with the interns at Project Transformation, learning more about the city, and feeling really and truly at home at Oak Cliff UMC, I miss that house less and less. The more time I spend here, and the more people I meet, opportunities I take, the more I can see myself building a life here.

My first week here was full of frustration, fun, and facing fears, all in our intensive training schedule. But at the end of that seven days, when all was said and done, I found myself at the North Texas Annual Conference with 90 other interns, balling my eyes out at the raw beauty of the choir, the preacher, and this life I get to live.
As the past few weeks have gone by, meeting and growing close to the kids at Oak Cliff, I feel as though that last day of Urban Camp at the end of the summer is already in sight, and that absolutely breaks my heart. This year, I have a real group of kids to grow close with and to see everyday instead of only seeing the same faces once a week. Not only do I get the opportunity to be with the same kids, but these aren't just any kids. I get the immense privilege of working with the L.I.T.E. (Leaders In Training Experience) program, which are high school aged youth that come back after completing the program (or sometimes just hearing about it from a friend) and volunteering day after day with us.

My days are broken down differently from last year, my team has a entirely new dynamic, and after these first three weeks of site, my life has forever been altered by these kids. I knew working with high schoolers would be a new and foreign experience for me, just as mountain biking with middle schoolers was new last year, but this has exceeded any and all expectations I had predetermined for this summer. Most sites across Dallas average around 8 to 10 LITES a day, depending on the location and population of that area, but at Oak Cliff United Methodist Church, I proudly get to work with 22 high school volunteers every day.

I have already cried at site, thinking of how blessed I am to have met these LITES, and they have already started talking about how much they will miss sharing their days together at Oak Cliff as well as with each other. From being called "Miss Kristen" by the elementary aged children to "Mama Kristen" by the senior high kids, I can feel myself being called to the kids in Dallas. In the wise words of one of the staff at United Methodist Reporter Communications, I have found what I'm passionate about and who I want to surround myself with, now all there is left to do is run towards it.

Listen to this --> We Are by Kari Jobe :)