For as insignificant as this group of words was the first time I heard them in the summer of 2002 at the opening welcome at a teen retreat, they've since changed my life. Now doesn't that sound like a dreamy, inspirational story? But quite honestly, it's true. Well, OK, it probably wasn't just those words that changed me, though they still hold a priceless meaning. It was the entire weeklong venture of S.E.M.P. After a rocky start to my summer, a good does of bible camp was just what this emblematic teenager needed. .
Let me set the stage for you: 11 teens, 3 supervisors, 2 guitars, and all our belongings all packed into the Dalesburg Baptist Church mini-bus that was fully equipped without an air conditioning system on that unjustly hot July day. And a partridge in a pear tree, right? Not exactly. The trip wasn't quite what I had anticipated during those, for the sake of this argument we'll call "memorable- 12+ hours on our quest for Denver. Our destination was the University of Denver. It was time for S.E.M.P., "Students Equipped to Minister to Peers- conference. .
What I dreaded as being another one of those "love yourself- motivational seminars, turned out to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest weeks of my life. Throughout the course of the week I cleaned the banks of a river, scrubbed toilets in a public restroom, and picked up trash in a chaotic park. Now doesn't that sound like fun? It was. I was given the opportunity to give back to a community and make a difference. I wouldn't trade a minute of it. .
We spent the beginning of each day finding ways to reach out to our friends back home who were having difficulty committing to a solid relationship with Our Savior, while spending each afternoon influencing Denver by offering our time to volunteer in some of the city's most desperate neighborhoods. .
I loved having the enlightenment of knowing each morning when I woke up I was going to spend the day helping people in one way or another.