Stint Briefing 2010

This picture may say it all…if you could multiply it by 50. We just finished our commissioning of 350 STINTers, many of whom are arriving at their locations around the world right now. To live in community for Jesus, to love others around them and draw them in, to share words that give life, bring light, give hope.
The images of this last night keep coming back this morning: teams of students with flags posing for pictures, like the winning team of a relay in the Olympics, or the festival on the closing night; or unlike the Olympics, teams spontaneously gathering to hug and pray and commit themselves to each other and the Lord for the year. It is an amazing sight to behold.
I’m exhausted from the intensity of the week, but it feels great - prepping our team leaders the first day, short conversations in the hallway, laughter in elevator rides, a thousand cups of coffee, and in the middle of it all, a whirlwind 36 hour trip to Duluth, Minnesota for my Uncle Bob’s funeral, and a return to Chicago for the last day and night of commissioning.
Kim and I celebrated an outstanding week by going out for ribs at Smokey Bones. This morning I’m just sitting here, trying to get my brain to work with a cup of coffee, numb with a STINT hangover.
Last night I told Kim, “This past week is why I’ve never really wanted to do anything else.”