I'm the Guy that does that Thing

So I am AWOL from my normal life again, this time for a good two weeks. I have fled, once again , to the wilds of Virginia - but this time to the mountains, not to the sea. Oh, and I am about to be surrounded by 300 some-odd middle schoolers.

Because, you see, I have skills. Arcane and strange skills that involve the ability to make a fool of myself in front of large groups of people without collapsing into embarrassment, which comes in handy when you are wanting to do things like, oh, get hundreds of twelve-year olds to sing along with you.

I am, once again, doing that youthworker thang.

This time, though, it's a little different. Instead of being a grunt, I am actually the music leader at the Massanetta Springs Middle School Conferences for the month of July. Which means, hallelujah, I am being paid to be a musician (as most musicians will tell you, this is a rare and wondrous honor).

I've never done anything like this before. I've done some small-scale song leadership, but here I am hooked up with wireless microphones and power-point projectors and I am referred to in the planning schedules as one of the "Big 3" (along with the Keynote leader and the Recreation leader) and I get my own room. If you've never been to a youth event before, lemmetellya - your own room is worth more than gold.

So I have gotten my callouses back from playing guitar so much, and I have learned or re-learned about forty songs of various stripes from traditional hymns to "contemporary Christian" hits. Plus I've written one of my own - the theme song for the conference (which is standard practice for the music leader to do).

I premiered it for the staff this morning, and they were very enthusiastic about it, which was a very good thing (as I was and remain quite nervous about the whole enterprise. But hopeful, and prayerful, too).

So tomorrow the youth arrive, and this thing gets off the ground for real. I'm quite excited. And hopeful. And nervous.

And prayerful.