This Will Last Forever
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" - Hebrews 10:24-25
Over the past 2+ years, Jesus has been teaching me a lot about community. Since I grew up in church surrounded by believers, I failed to see the value in genuine Christian relationships and took them for granted. While studying at UF, I learned some hard lessons that revealed to me that I needed fellow believers in my daily life to remind me of what is “good and acceptable and perfect” before God (Romans 12:2). The Bible tells us to “ask, and we shall receive; seek, and we shall find; knock, and the door will open”. (Matthew 7:7) Near the tail end of Sophomore year, I began to ask Jesus for fellow siblings in Christ. One by one, He graciously began to place faithful believers into my life who have challenged me into a deeper relationship with Jesus. This summer in Yosemite is no exception to that outpour of grace, but this summer's story starts back in March.
Near the end of March, my future plans turned into closed doors. I was not angry nor heartbroken from this, but I began to ask God, “What now?” I knew He had given me a life calling to mission work, so I began to look into ministry opportunities. During this search, I happened to come across ACMNP (A Christian Ministry in National Parks). The name intrigued me, and I looked up their website to see what was the mission behind their ministry. I discovered that they are an interdenominational ministry that sends students and young adults to national parks around the nation to serve as employees in these parks while conducting Sunday services from park visitors and fellow employees. While serving, the main ministry aspect is forming relationships with those in the park and showing the love of Jesus with them. As I read the heart behind ACMNP, I felt God’s prompting to apply, so I sent an interest form that evening.
A few days later, someone from the national office in Colorado contacted me. I told her I was interested in serving in the winter since I already had plans to intern with Greenhouse Church in Gainesville for the beginning of the summer. However, she encouraged me to still apply for this summer even though I would be starting in late June. I did, thinking nothing would work out. A week later, I received an offer to serve at Yosemite National Park, and my start date was one day after my internship. After a few days of praying, I accepted the park offer.
On April 26 (another important date since I finished my capstone project on April 24 which allowed me to go to Colorado without worrying about school!), I was on a plane to Colorado to attend a 3-day training from ACMNP. Up to this point, I had not yet met my Yosemite team. I would be lying if I told you I did not have any doubts or worries about this summer. On the plane, I wondered if this whole ACMNP thing was a mistake. I wondered if my team would be hardworking servants or just young adults hoping for a good time in a national park. However, I knew God’s hand was in all of this, so I did not let the spirit of fear reside within me. I figured, if God had organized all the details with dates, He would also provide a solid team of believers to go to Yosemite. Once I arrived in Colorado, I quickly learned how perfectly He had set up this summer.
At the airport, the first team member I met was Emma whom I happened to message a couple of weeks before the training. When we arrived at Estes Park, we discovered that we were also rooming together with another team member named Halle. Additionally, Emma and I ended up in the same discipleship group with our team captain, Morgan. During the training, I also got to meet two guys on our team named Jake and Grant. Additionally, several of us got paired to conduct a mock service which quickly demonstrated our unique chemistry together. All of these moments together assured me that this summer would be good. However, there was one evening, when several of us drove out to the middle of nowhere to see the stars and talk about personality questions and the enneagram, I knew this summer wasn’t going to be good. It was going to be unbelievably amazing!
Since the beginning of my time here at Yosemite, though I have encountered several trials and hardships, I have yet to regret it because of the ACMNP team whom I had the honor to call my brothers and sisters (two brothers, Adam and Akeem, were not at the training in Colorado, and I met them for the first time in Yosemite). We are all very different with varying backgrounds, denominations, and stories, but we all came together as one due to our love for God, people, and nature. Allow me to introduce you to my Yosemite family!
Adam
Although Adam and Halle were located in Wawona (a location in Yosemite about an hour and a half away from the Valley), both of them would visit the valley on some Sundays, and we would visit them when possible. Whenever I chatted with Adam, we always had genuine conversations about life. I found it hilarious how he could be serious one minute and then playfully sass Halle the next. He also surprised us one evening with his swagger dance moves while listening to a song around a campfire. He would also share with us stories of the connections he has made in Wawona with coworkers, like a baseball game he went to with a guy who has been climbing for decades. In everything, Adam was always considerate and caring toward others and eager to serve in any way possible.
Akeem
Fanny pack. Guitar named Celia. Single braid. Ability to sleep at any moment before you can say the word “Yosemite”. These are a few of the first things that come to my mind when I think of Akeem. In many ways, Akeem seemed like a grandpa who moved in his own time frame while taking in all the details around him. On a serious note though, during the short amount of time I had with Akeem, I saw that he had a huge heart for everyone he met. Whenever he had the chance, he was hanging out with people on an epic hike, on the basketball court, anywhere he could spend time with others and love them well. He lived in every moment to the fullest. During our last group gathering with him, he wrote all of us a short note just to tell us how much he loved us and cherished our friendship. He has now moved on into his career as a social worker. Although many of us here in the valley miss him, we know that he is loving and cherishing people well wherever he goes.
Emma
When we met in Colorado, I caught a glimpse of the beautiful story Jesus is writing in Emma’s life and hoped to see more. Thank God, we ended up being roommates in Huff 58 this summer. We would often hang out at the Curry Pavilion, visit the guys in Boys Town, relax by the river, or just chill in our tent having a deep conversation about anything and everything. I appreciate the small things that were special about her, like her love for fireplaces and the embarrassing stories she would share with me. What I loved the most was her sweet, gentle spirit. When I say gentle though, I do not mean weak. Emma is one of the strongest, most competitive spirits I have ever met. However, when someone opens up to her, she is gentle with that heart and sees the beauty within someone’s life. She loves hearing people’s stories, and she sees potential within others and strives to draw it out. She believes in people. Not enough people do that anymore nor do it well. Words cannot begin to explain how grateful I am to have had Emma as my roommate, a friend, a dear sister in Christ this summer. To say that she is a blessing is an understatement.
Grant
The Bible describes the church like a human body with many parts and with Christ as the head (1 Corinthians 12:12). On our team, Grant was like the middle finger toward the devil. He is a man of few words, but, whenever he spoke, you knew his words were deep and meaningful. He would say challenging statements of truth that caused me to pause and ponder frequently. He loved asking us personality questions and then reveal to us what our answers said about our personality. He would also surprise us with his amazing humor and facial expressions. Often, he was playing his guitar Noora, and he is so talented! We all have told him that, when he creates and records his music, we will be his first and biggest fans. He was always willing to serve our team in the Valley or at Wawona with his musical talent or in any form of service that was needed. All of us loved and cherished Grant’s presence on our team.
Halle
As stated before, Halle lived in a different part of Yosemite, but that did not alter how valuable her presence was within our team. When she would come to visit, I would immediately feel the pure joy coming from her heart. She has a smile that insists that you smile back. She also had an enthusiasm that was contagious. She was always envisioning fun adventures we could do together, and some of these ideas came true. On the last Sunday Halle and Adam came to visit us in the Valley, Halle’s identical twin Hadley also came. There was so much energy with both of their presences which was hilarious and wonderful to witness! While both were present though, I realized that, despite them being identical, Halle was unique, and Hadley did not produce the same joy and love I felt when around Halle. I think that’s how I would describe my dear friend Halle, uniquely joyful. Halle would often tell us all how much she loved us and appreciated our team this summer. I would say the same for her. I love her so much and am beyond thankful to God for placing her on our team. He knew how much we would need her loving, joyful spirit.
Jake
Out of all of us, Jake might have had the hardest summer between housing and work. However, despite all of these hardships, he gave his time, love, and effort sacrificially. Among everyone else, Jake had the most similar upbringing to me with a southern Baptist heritages while our understanding of God expanding outside of a single denomination. Whenever we chatted, I knew he understood my thought process about God, theology, and spirituality. We would often talk about theology, the enneagram, music, or things we were processing. Within our team, he would speak truth into our lives with authenticity and authority. In one of the sermons he led, he shared with us the power of spoken words over ourselves, the people around us, and our feelings in that given day. Getting to know him this summer, I can see that he practices what he preached. He would often hum or chuckle letting you know that he was thinking of how to adequately phrase a response to whatever we had previously said. In many ways, this summer showed me how Jake is a strategic warrior for God who is not afraid to fight the lies and attacks that come from the devil with Truth and Hope.
Morgan
When I first arrived in California, Morgan was the first one to greet me at Fresno airport. My first amazing memory was our two-hour drive to Yosemite filled with genuine conversations about life. In many ways, Morgan was like the mom in our group. One day, she even prepared lunches for several of us before we went on a camping trip. Whenever we had the chance to chat, I knew Morgan would give her real self. No mask. No pretense of life being all flowers and rainbows. Morgan would be Morgan, and I valued her just as she was, authentic. She would often tell us how much she appreciated our flexibility and cooperation with one another, but she was the glue that kept our team flowing. Every week, she would be responsible in organizing the following Sunday and delegate who would do each needed task. In each service, she would help keep the services flowing properly to decrease any awkward pauses. Not only was she a servant to us and the ACMNP ministry, she was a servant to those whom she lived with in Red Bud new housing. When she had the opportunity to move in with Emma and me, she chose to stay with her roommates to continue loving them and connecting with them further. From the stories she has told of her time with them, I am so glad she did! If I could describe Morgan in one word, it would be “selfless”. Morgan gave her time, food, energy, and love to all she met this summer. If any of us deserve this saying from this summer (and I think all of us do), I think Morgan will hear Jesus tell her, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
It is with these seven amazing brothers and sisters that this summer was filled with memorable moments. The mornings we would gather on Sunday’s to conduct services for whoever showed up. The day we all played team building games and treated ourselves to some yummy desserts. The afternoon I bumped into Morgan by the riverbank, and we prayed for those in the valley. The evening Emma took me to The Couches to see the bright stars and the valley floor. The time Grant told me to jump into the freezing river for the first time. The afternoon Jake, Akeem, and I hammocked by the river and had an improve jam sesh. The day we hosted a Christmas in July with several others we had added to our family in Yosemite. The night we had a bonfire out by the stables. The day several of us camped near Fresno Dome and repelled off a cliff in the moon light (one of my favorite evenings in my life!). I could go on and on just to prove that this summer would not have been the same without each of these amazing, Jesus-loving persons.
Several of us have left the park to go back to school or careers, but there are still a few of us in Yosemite (Morgan will be in the Valley for about another week while I will be here until September 15th. Adam will be in Wawona until the 17th, and Grant has moved to Tuolumne until only Jesus knows when). We can all feel the absence of our brothers and sisters who have left/stayed. However, we all know that this is not the end. This is just a "see ya later" until we meet again, either in this life or in the glorious life to come! Until that "see ya later", I just want to say this: "Thank you all for a radical, memorable summer in beautiful Yosemite! I love you and am so grateful for your friendships! I cannot wait for a reunion because... well, cause this shit will last forever!"