These people are awesome!

This has to be one of my favorite pictures. Deanna is the drama person on staff here and she's amazing! At staff meetings it's fun to hear the drama team speak...you just never no what they'll do next. If I could use only one word to describe Deanna it would have to be 'random', but more than that she's passionate about what she does. It's very cool to see someone who is totally on fire using their gifts to reach kids for Christ. I only got to meet with her once, but it was amazing. She has incredible discernment and I felt like in only an hour and a half she knew my heart and her encouragement was such a blessing to me. I'm willing to overlook the fact that she had me looking like a fool on the stage as she had me skip back and forth while quoting my lines from the teach...and playing patty-cake while doing the same.
Both Barb and her husband Dave Dewaard work in PML. Dave serves on the operations team and was pretty much our go to guy for things. He has such a servants heart and was willing to help us out whenever we needed. Barb is the age 4/5 D leader. She's pretty straight forward and you never really need to wonder what she's thinking because she'll let you know. Her sense of humor and laughter are what I like most about her.

Sheri is the grade 4/5 D leader. I learned a lot from her about how to build things into your schedule that sustain you. Conversations around that topic came up after a rough weekend I had where I left so drained that it took a few days for me to feel recovered again. While many were telling me that, that was the normal pace of children's ministry, Sheri took time to explain different things she did to physically, mentally and emotionally prepare herself for the weekend. I know that what I'm learning about sustainability will help me far into the future.
I love Erin and Tony. They are such an amazing couple. It's been great getting to know them both this summer and spending time with their family. The one thing I love the most about them is the high value they place on parenting their three kids. I've seen the laughter, singing and dancing and fun they've brought into their home...but most important is prayer. Not only do they pray about being the best parents they can be, but they also pray with their kids...what a gift that will be to them as they get older.