Checking in with Annie Downs!

Here's our next installment from our friend Annie Downs. In this interview she tells us all about what God taught her during her two weeks in Scotland and about what's next for her publishing dream after facing a major setback last week. Enjoy!

1. You recently returned from a missions trip to Scotland. Tell us a little bit about what you did there. Wow. What an amazing mission trip! I haven't been on a mission trip since 2003, so it was so nice to use that part of my heart and mind that really only gets tapped in to when I am given the chance to serve others on a full time basis, with few distractions. Why can't I live like that all the time?!? We were in Scotland for two weeks. What an AMAZINGLY beautiful country!! The middle seven days of the trip we hosted and ran a Youth Camp for a local church. The youth of Scotland are not attracted to church of Scotland or what it offers them - many churches have a large group of children and a large group of adults, but the young adults are missing! God is moving, though, in our generation and in the teenagers, and calling them back to Himself. We were able to work with this church to offer something that many Scottish students have never experienced- a week away from home and school and a week that is fun and exciting but fully focused on God. We brought all our camp supplies from our Youth Camp here at our church (which led to many interesting airport stories and explanations thanks to the variety of weird messy game supplies) and the students were amazed at the amount of things that came to camp with us!! Before the week was over, we saw multiple students give their lives to Christ for the first time and many more renew their commitment to Him. It was beautiful.

2. What is the one thing God taught you while you were there? There were many mini-lessons throughout the trip, about how God hears us when we pray, how He answers, about the reality of spiritual warfare, about how God is all about our world and the people in it. But the number one lesson I learned this time was the joy of joining in with what God is already doing. Jesus talked about it in the Bible- how He sees what His Father is doing and joins in, and I've never really grasped that. But what we experienced at Camp in Scotland showed me that truth- the idea that God has a BIG plan in motion already and it is our privilege as Christians to step in with Him and join Him in what He is already doing in our world. It really made me look closely at my life- where in my life do I see God already moving? And how I am joining in with that? Am I involved in ministries where God's move is evident? I have been definitely reassessing how I spend my free time, and how I treat my full time job as a teacher. This one experience changed my perspective on every area of my life.

3. Recently you endured a tough blow to your dream of becoming a writer. What are you learning about God and about yourself in the face of this disappointment? Oh boy. I wish I knew how to answer this question correctly. I honestly think I'm still figuring this one out. So bear with me. I know it happens to everyone who wants to be a writer (or so they say), but it was my first real rejection letter. I received it last Wednesday, August 3rd. And eight days later, it still sits on the same spot on the counter that I put it when I opened it. And that's the only time I've read it. Saturday is my clean-up day and I'm kind of dreading figuring out what to do with it. If it was winter, I think it would be good kindling. :) Instead though, I may make a file folder, maybe labeled "things to read on a really confident day", and put the letter in there. Just a thought...... As far as me and God, it's been hard. I love Him so much and trust Him with my life, but that doesn't make things easier when it appears that He is not providing for me, or at least not in the way I expect Him to show up. In times like this, after a little pouting, the truth is that all I have to cling to now is scripture. And the Bible promises that God has good things for me, that He DOES provide all I need, and that His plans for me are perfect and good. So I believe that. Or at least I'm going to keep reading it and writing it in my journal and running it through my mind until it becomes true in my HEART. What am I learning about myself? I'm learning that I've got to be tougher. I think I'm a wimp and a bit of a brat when I don't get what I want. But I'm asking God to refine my character and my writing so that they both glorify Him at all times, good and bad. But truthfully, this rejection hasn't changed that I feel God calling me to be a writer and that is one of the purposes He has my life. I just have to go back to square one and see what the next door is that He opens for me to walk through.

4. What's your next step in stepping toward your writing dream? I think, now that the initiation into the rejection letter club has worn off, I would like to send that same manuscript to some other publishing houses. Why not work on building my collection of letters, right? :) And I keep having to remind myself that it only takes ONE person to like what you wrote for you to get published. So I'm hoping that person is in my near future. I'm also going to continue to hone my writing skills through writing and submitting articles as well as through blogging. I've also been contacted by a few of the schools that I spoke at last year to schedule something for this fall, which is exciting.

5. You're a teacher, what's the best part of the beginning of the school year for you? You know, personally, I'm really a creature of habit and I do not prefer change. So the first week of school (which is this week) is never my favorite. I love meeting my new students and their parents, but I miss the students who moved on to the 5th grade. The new students in 4th grade don't know how things run in our room, they don't know me, and I don't know them. But it doesn't take long for us to get comfortable around each other- 8 hours a day 5 days a week will get you familiar with each other real quick! I guess my favorite part of the beginning of the year is that all of my jokes are fresh, so the kids don't roll their eyes at my dorky sense of humor....yet. It's coming though. Nine year olds have a surprising low tolerance for bad jokes. Which is unfortunate because I have a large bank of lame jokes at my disposal. But at least at the beginning of the year the students are nervous enough and polite enough to give me courtesy laughs. :) An example, you ask? Well alright. If you insist. What did the zero say to the eight?NICE BELT! Ha- that's my favorite one. I think I'll tell the kids that one tomorrow.