the three L's

as a leader, there are a few (well, a million wouldnt fit, so well stick with a few) lessons im learning along the way, they are the three L's of leadership, i would like to call them. they are, in no particular order, as follows:

leaders:

1. listen

2. are always last

3. need to have a whooole lot of love!

number one: ive learned that as a leader, the biggest gift i can give to me leadee (?) is simply listening to them. sometimes, you just need a safe ear to vent to, and then everything has worked itself out in the course of words spilling forth into the air. i know thats the case with me most of the time. if im not listening, always interjecting my thoughts and opinions, no matter how right or wise they may be, im not really caring for my student, and giving them quality time. i think thats what they are after, after all.

number two: always, always, always, leaders are last. no matter what it is, i am always last. when we leave a location, we stick behind to make sure everything got cleaned up and thrown away. always last in line, of course so we can pay. last to the internet cafes, as we usually need to got to the store and buy food or supplies. the demands of the team always preceed our own demands, and as such, we are always last. this is the hardest lesson for me to truly grasp, and live in, but ive had many wonderful leaders in my life who have demonstrated the grace and composure that accompanies this pasrticular lesson.

number three: love. lots and lots and lots of love. because not everyone on the team is always going to love eachother, and everyone needs to feel accepted. i HAVE to have a lot of love for every student here, otherwise i will let me emotions and human-ness take over and very quicckly will make an annoyed face and say sarcastic things (which unfortunatly, i have done more times than i care to admit), which is pretty much the most un-loving thing to do. this lesson is one that im demanding God meet me on the most, and He has come through perfectly. such is His character. Go God! haha. thankfully, i am part of a team that is pretty easy to love (most of the time :), and who loves me in return, even when i make mistakes. for that, i am most grateful, and for that state, mutual love flowing between both parties, makes absolutely everything worth it, and fun besides! i never knew i had the capacity for so much love, and i know this is only the beginning of a life-long journey of discovering just how much love i am actually capable of receving, and returning. good thing God is love :)

well, we are about to head to chiang mai, which is apparently the western capital of thailand, AND THEY HAVE STARBCKS! notice the emphasis on that sentance, haha, more so than any other statement previously made. i plan on dropping my stuff off in my (hotel!) room, spending a major amount of quality alone time in my favorite place ever (besides my home, of course!), meet gary at pizza hut, and spend my evening trolling the night market in search of the best deals for sarongs, a jewelry box, and maybe some dvd's :)

au revoire!