Well, I'm just finishing up my first week on the job at Calvary CRC in Holland.
I think the first week doing something new, in a new place, is always bound to be difficult, no matter what it is. So although this has been a wonderful first week, there were definitely times I felt overwhelmed and under-prepared. There is so much to learn and I know that most of the time I'm only scratching the surface.
There were some things that I found very encouraging though. The first thing is that I can tell already that this is one of the best working communities I've had the privilege to be a part of. The community of church workers is important to these people and they work hard to cultivate their staff relationships. This is something that I've learned is very important for me in a place of work - I need to work with people and I need to be able to develop relationships with the people I work with, otherwise I will be miserable. So, I've already been very encouraged by this.
Another thing that has been encouraging for me is that despite all the busy work of making copies, addressing envelopes, and cutting things out that they've had me do this week, I've also gotten to take part in some work that was really creative and exciting for me. I got to help plan an evening working time with some very creative elements, and I got to make initial plans for the summer children's worship time. These were both fun and rewarding projects that I'm looking forward to seeing through to completion.
I'll be singing for the Sunday morning worship time already this week, though I'm not leading directly, so that is also exciting. This is all a very different environment than what I am used to at Calvin college. Some aspects of this new environment intimidate and scare me a little, but others are wonderful, exciting and helpful. So I finish this first week with only a few frustrations and a very great deal of hope and excitement for the rest of the Summer.
Please keep me in your prayers as I learn and grow in this new environment!
