Ever since the start of high school, a couple of my older cousins and I became really close, and basically are best friends.  One of them is actually my second cousin, and I didn’t even talk to her at all until around my freshmen year of high school. This began when our church in Clear Lake was looking for a youth pastor.  At this time, I had just been confirmed, and I was fairly new to the youth group.  When I heard about the people that were being interviewed, I heard my cousin’s name.  Her name is Heidi, and at that time, she was attending a church in Amery.  When I heard this news, all I thought was that it would be cool to have my youth pastor be related to me.  She ended up getting the job, and becoming our youth pastor instantly.  Never did I realize how this might strengthen the relationship between Heidi and me.
The first time Heidi started teaching our youth group was on a Wednesday.  At our church, supper is served at 5:30, and class starts at 6:30.   When we were eating, the youth group, like always, gathered to eat at the table in the corner of the fellowship hall.  Heidi was sitting with her family at one of the middle tables, and you could tell in the presence of the youth group, that we were very excited to have a new teacher.  As we sat at the table together, we talked about the upcoming events, fundraisers, and of course, what we thought would happen in class later that night.  After we finished eating, we all went to the youth room to sit on our couches.  Since there was spare time before class started, we sat and continued to talk amongst ourselves until Heidi came into the classroom.  Instantly, the room became silent.  Never did we think about how we would greet Heidi for the first time, so we just sat there, waiting for somebody to say something.  Thankfully, the awkward silence didn’t go on as long as we expected it to go as Heidi started introducing herself.  She told us what church she had come from, how happy she was to get to be our youth pastor, and who she knew, not forgetting to mention that she was related to my twin sister Lily and me.  It wasn’t until a youth trip that I actually started to take great delight in talking and getting to know Heidi.  
The first youth trip that Heidi went with the youth, was called M.U.U.U.C.E. which stands for Most Unbelievable Ultimate Urban Camping Experience.  The youth always come to the church about ten minutes before departure so that we have time to load the van, use the restroom, and pray as a group before we leave.  After we had prayed, we quickly loaded the van, anxious to get to this weekend long event.  Since nobody was sure whether or not they would be comfortable talking to Heidi the whole hour and a half there, people filled the seats from the back seats, forward.  Seeing that I was one of the few people who was comfortable talking to Heidi, I sat near the front along with Lily and two more of my friends.  The start of the ride was quiet, but once my friends and I started talking to Heidi, one part of the last conversation let to another.  When we finally arrived at M.U.U.U.C.E, we had to first check in, then go to the huge rectangular gym to set up our sleeping bags.  Heidi and I, still talking about random things, decided to put our sleeping bags right next to each other for the whole weekend.   This was the start to a great weekend ahead. 
The weekend was full of activities such as Valley fair, roller-skating, bowling, going to a waterpark, chapel sessions, and plenty of church group time.  At nearly all of the events that had gone on during the weekend, I usually stayed in a group that Heidi was in.  I found that I loved to talk to her about almost everything and talked to her whenever I could.  During the whole weekend, the whole youth group was obviously very adjusted to having Heidi around.  There wasn’t one person that seemed uncomfortable to talk with her either.  Soon the weekend was coming to an end, and we started packing up to go home. 
After the last chapel session, we all hauled our stuff out to the van so that we could start driving home.  I packed my bags into the van first, then quickly claimed the passenger seat so I could talk with Heidi all the way back to our church.  On the way back, everyone fell asleep in the van except for obviously Heidi, and myself.  She ended up asking me how I’m doing at home, and if everything was going well.  At home, I was actually having a pretty rough time with siblings, and homework, and was extremely stressed.  I told her all of the details, and that when I’m stressed, it usually helps for me to talk to somebody.  She told me after my rant, that I am always welcome to come talk with her whenever I ever need somebody to talk to.  This was the moment I realized that Heidi not only welcomed me to come talk to her whenever I need, but she also wanted to talk to me, and liked to talk with me as much as I like to talk with her. 
We eventually arrived at our church, and we all unpacked, and waited for everyone’s parents to come and pick them up.  My parents had texted Heidi and asked if she could take Lily and me home.  So we waited with Heidi to make sure that all of the other youth member had a ride home.  Once everyone was picked up, we locked the church van, and got into Heidi’s van to head home.  There was never an awkward silence on the ride back to Amery.  We talked about what we did, what we learned, what our favorite part was, and what we planned to do when we get home.  Both Lily and I never knew how this youth trip would not only introduce us to Heidi, but also have all of us get to know each other. 
Heidi and I also talk daily and hang out with each other at church, family events, and randomly throughout the year.  We are still just as close today, and we both know that we would have never been this close, if it had not been for her being accepted at our youth pastor.  We are both very blessed to be able to get along so well, as some families don’t get the opportunities to have, and are thankful that this relationship had been revealed to us through the work in our church.