The second summer in Colorado Springs has just wrapped up. I remember not even 3 months ago heading to Wisconsin to meet the team of Next Step staff that were committing to serve the Colorado Springs community. At that time, I had a lot of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. I remember thinking ‘How was God going to show up this summer?’ and ‘What did He already have planned and stored up for us?’ Amongst those butterflies was a bit of anxiety for how things would go. As a Partnership Coordinator I feel a little bit like a party planner.

Imagine sending out the invitations, planning the venue, setting up activities, setting the table, and getting everything in order – yikes, feels like a bit of pressure. But as the team arrived to Colorado Springs I realized the pressure quickly faded. The team began to seep into every nook and cranny of partnerships, gaining relationships and taking the lead. This summer was definitely a reminder that a team is vital. That saying, “many hands makes for light work” was surely my lesson.

During the last couple of weeks when projects were winding down, I remember going into the kitchen of FUMC and seeing a sprawl of banana breads being taken out of the oven. I asked the ATL what’s the occasion for stepping up our cooking game? But Etta responded that they were for some of the partnerships we had been working with. Whaaat?!? What a great idea and I had nothing to do with it.

The final week the team decided to end the summer with Ms. sweet sweet Gloria to visit with her and take care of a couple things around her home. I never imagined going back to see Gloria after the second week but what a fantastic idea and way to end the summer on a good note!

There are so many other instances and things that I don’t even know about that happened this summer. I am so thankful for the team this summer, for getting after it and taking their own initiative to lead. God will bless them in multitudes for their work. Go team.