Friday, July 30, 2010

The Last Night

Well....its now 1:20am and I'm back to my cabin. Today and tonight were amazing. Connections were made, friendships built, all for the sake of glorifying God together.

The worship tonight was unbelieveable. Didn't matter if it was in key or not....it was powerful. I remember hearing worship like this as a teen, but never remember it being quite this powerful. My breath was taken away tonight by the hearts engaged in worship. I couldn't even sing for a bit. I just had to sit and take it all in.

We had our Senior coffee tonight and they made me laugh all night. I have had one amazing ab workout.

I bonded with kids this week that I never knew. I have memories to last a lifetime now. I can't wait to come back again and do this all again next year.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Day 3

Today seemed like the long day to me, but yet, another fun one.
I have become Chads right hand woman in the kitchen. Seems appropriate since I don't have a small group to lead this week. Being the nurse, I get ALL of them when they are sick! We are making a great team.

Today was filled with the same rotation of activities and classes. I sat in on Brians class today which talked about how each of us are unique but we strive for perfection. Even when we can achieve it in our eyes, we are perfect the way that God made us.
Tonight we had the drama portion of the camp talent show. Tomorrow will be the music portion. All I can say is I am totally impressed with the creativity that these kids can come up with. I laughed so hard. UNTIL.....the last skit involved a dead fish that was caught earlier in the day. The skit ended when they came toward me with the fish and I took off running down the hill and Nick and the fish chasing me. Oh my goodness. I have never ran so fast in my life!!! And he finally caught up with me and touched me with it! Ewwwwww!!!!!!!! He's lucky I like him or he'd be getting a payback tomorrow.

Our devotional tonight was long and filled with such strong emotions. Seems like the middle of the week is when that always happens. But to hear the hearts of these teens is so inspiring. I have to say, the devotionals are probably my most favorite part of camp.

We had another baptism today. This one from our youth group. Its always so refreshing to watch someone give their life to Christ.

Until tomorrow......

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Day 2

Today I am reminded of the verse.....do everything without complaining. That's been my goal since Sunday...and I have had plenty to complain about, but I've prayed it away and been content with my circumstances.
I'm staying in the nurses cabin....which on a normal day is great. Comfy beads, no kids, and I'm all alone. :-) that's the good part.
However, the air conditioner has not worked well and has been getting hotter each day. I mentioned it to the camp directors, but they were not going to fix it. By today, it was obvious it was cooler outside in the 95 degree heat than it was in my cabin. Kids no longer want to retreat to my cabin for rest as its like a sauna!
I was encouraged to move, but its just easier to stay as this is where the kids know to find me. And if someone needs me in the middle of the night, they won't wake anyone else this way.
Tonight I decided to take matters into my own hands and take the air conditioner apart. And guess what I found? ICE! It was frozen solid! The front of it behind a nasty dirty filter looked like an ice rink. So I called Chad and asked for some suggestions. He came down and I started drying it with a hair dryer! (That just added MORE heat in the room) He checked out side and the lines and pipes were also frozen solid. So at 10:30 at night when everyone else is resting, he is out there trying to thaw that line with buckets of water.
Well, IT WORKED! My cabin is now SO COLD!!!! YAY!

I can finally sleep well tonight.

As for today at camp...we had a GREAT day. I sat in on Brads class where he did an excellent jon on teaching about Joseph. He talked about how Joseph landed in prison but was still promised a land of his own. Brad spoke about how we all of lands of our own....its just how what we do with our land that's important. So how can we work the land today to show our love for God? It was a really good class. And of course I loved it because he played a song with Donny Osmond singing!!!! :)

Tonight we had the Game Show Guy and I truly love him being here. He is really so much fun! I think the kids had a blast!

2 girls gave their life to Christ tonight and it was such an awesome experience to be there and witness the outpouring of love for them.

The moonlight praise and worship tonight was so amazing. These kids LOVE to sing!!!!! They are never at a loss for songs! Their hearts could sing all night! I love that!

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Day 1

Wow! We had an awesome day today! But why does the temperature always seem hotter when you are at camp? YIKES!!!

The day was filled with things like pool relay games, hockey on the ever so nice NEW basketball court, inside games, and human bowling!!! that is where you put people inside huge tire inner tubes and roll them to hit cardboard boxes. Um.....I laughed very hard!!!!! It looked fun, but I'm not trying it!

The praise and worship tonight was amazing. Its always good...but there was an extra element of goodness tonight that I loved about it. One thing I love about these groups is that they love to sing. No matter where I go, someone is always singing....and if they aren't, you can see the song in their heart and step.

Classes went well today and Nick taught a great devotional tonight on gentleness and he spoke of how gentle Jesus was with the woman in John 8:10 and how he showed an incredible amount of gentleness and mercy.

I think I can think of a few...no, make that many, times in my life where I want Jesus to look at me and be that gentle with me.

Tonight....that is my prayer.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Camp....we have arrived!

We made it to camp today about 4:00. Have to admit, I knew I'd miss my Sunday nap so I slept on the way here:)

It took a while to get everyone unloaded and settled but everything went smoothly!

Dinner tonight was the typical first night "sandwhich" dinner. Not complaining as their food is always good here and I know I'll gain 10 pounds by the end of the week.

There are 3 churches here and everyone is split up into teams by the color of their bandana. Sadly, I didn't get a team as the nurse has to be on all teams. I can just fwel the love already! :)
We had some great group games tonight where each team had to come up with a skit to represent their team. They were really cute too. We have some creative thinkers in the bunch!

Canteen was good and I of course couldn't pass it up without my usual camp favorite.....rootbeer float!

Trent led our devotional time tonight and it was awesome. We watched a clip from the green mile where the jaoiler is taking the prisoner in while shouting "dead man walking". He reminded everyone that we don't have to be a dead man walking....because we have Christ in us. Forgiving us for those sins we continue to commit over and over.
I thought it was very interesting that his topic tonight really bled together with my sunday mornimg bible class and reading from Phillipians and Romans.

I pray that the message everyone hears this week is clearly a message from God.

As for the first aid on the first day?
6 Bandaids
Eyedrops
1/4 of a tube of anti itch cream
1 ice bag
And already almost 1 trip to find a doctor....but I worked it out....and the child is fine:)

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Final Thoughts

I know these won't be all my final thoughts about this trip because there were just so many blessings to me.

I can't help but think how lucky these teens are for getting the opportunity to do things like this at their age. I never did and I can see that I missed out on so much! What an incredible difference they are making!

For me, the difference each of them has made in my life now has been one I won't forget. I've watched each of them grow so much! I've loved every moment I have spent with them.
I've also had a chance to spend time with the adults and its been one fun moment after the next. Jason continues to make me laugh and blesses me with uncontrollable laughter. I have grown to love him more everyday. Just really getting to know Nick this week has been a highlight. Its amazing how much we can just sit and talk about and find so much common ground on. I've grown to love him like I have known him forever. Getting to drive with Christi was a lovely highlight. And since her navagational skills are just about like mine, I am just sure we are in great company. :o)

Getting to work with Trent and Angela again has brought back so many fun memories! It's like we just picked up where we left off many years ago. Same fun! Same laughter! Only our kids are all older now!

Spending time with Bobby and Melissa was such a treat. Just seeing the work they are doing here in this community is such a blessing. I am so honored that they asked us to come and be a part of it. Departing tomorrow will bring sadness, but, there is joy in seeing what they have been called to do here.

I can't keep saying how loving this community is. I know the host I stayed with was very gracious and showered us with love and kindness. Even today they showed up with Taco Tierra cups as souvenirs for all the female counselors!

The cook out tonight was wonderful. We had such a fun time. I left early, along with Jason, to get some time to rest and relax before we have to start driving in the morning. (I've become that "responsible" adult) LOL!

My week has been full of so much love and greatness and I have loved every moment of this trip. I am excited to come back home tomorrow and be with my family and friends and share all the great things God did this week.

Tomorrow I pray for a safe and uneventful drive home. It will be long....but we'll make the most of it and have fun along the way.

Last Day

Today is our last day of Sports Camp. We had 24 show up ready to play and have fun!
They are really on fire today!
The kids got a special treat today. The fire department showed up to spray the kids with the fire hose! It was such a treat!!!


This afternoon we will finish our service project at the local pool and helping with things around the church building. Later this evening we have a community cook out in the church parking lot and then a moonlight movie.

I have been very excited about all the work that we have done and the impact this is having on the kids and community here. They are so loving and welcoming.

As for first aid we are up to 22 bandaids, 8 drops of visine, 4 squirts of nose spray, 18 ibuprofen, 1 ace bandage to wrap a knee, lots and lots and lots of anti itch cream, one ankle wrap, 6 bags of ice, and again lots of TLC and reassurance!

Its gonna be a great day!!!

Friday, July 09, 2010

Whoa! EXHAUSTED!

Okay, I know I'm an adult, but I know these kids are wiped out too! But its all for the sake of doing what we came here to do and that's serve this community through the love that God has lavished on us.

Sports camp today was amazing once again! Can't believe how well its going.
This afternoon we split into our groups for a day of fun.
jason and I drove a couple of loaded vans to Indiana (about an hour away) to a beautiful water park. It was so fun and the water was just perfect for relaxing.
Now....something they should never let me do is take the lead while driving. I will fully admit that I have NO navagational skills whatsoever! However, on this trip, they have had me drive A LOT which finally led to us getting VERY lost over in Indiana. (I did have someone else reading a map though)
We finally figured it out and I quickly made a u turn! Needless to say, today consisted of lots of unnecessary sight seeing. I was so proud of the teens for making it into such a positive situation as I was really frustrated with myself. But we got home safe and in time for the bonfire and mosquito roast! Yep! They are that bad out here. But smores were good too.

Now.....off to bed. Tomorrow starts early:o)

Day 2

Wow! It was really hard to wake up this morning after a long day yesterday.

Due to the power outages, we had our dinner by candlelight at the church. We split up into groups and some kids went to Garys house, some stayed at the church to play hide and seek in the dark and some (including me) went to Indiana to a Walmart and Dairy Queen!

We came back for our late night devotional and then headed to our home to sleep. OH!!! And I was blessed to see the host family for Ian brought in a cake to celebrate his birthday with him.

It rained all night and was still raining when we got up this morning. Funny thing is, we prayed for rain and cooler weather and God provided. So this morning our prayer was for the rain to stop, and well......it hasn't rained one drop!!!! It looks like it could...but God is holding it back. All the kids are outside having a great time!!! Today we had 28 show up and 2 of them were new ones. They are so excited and working very hard at memorizing their Bible verses. They have each shined in their own unique way and it has been so beautiful to see. I really feel this week and this community is blessing us so much by allowing us to work with these amazing kids.

I have been so blessed to work with the singing group each day and we have had so much fun leading the kids in songs. Yesterday they didn't know the songs but today they are sending out requests for their favorites!!! Its great!!

After lunch today we will head to Evansville for a day of fun and playtime.

As for first aid again, were up to 15 bandaids, 6 drops of visine, 2 squirts of nose spray, 6 more ibuprofen (which I took some of) lots of anti itch cream (bugs are bad here), one ankle wrap. 5 bags of ice, and lots of TLC and reassurance!

:)

Thursday, July 08, 2010

reflections of a new experience

I've never been on a mission trip before so I didn't really know what to expect.
In my mind, I pictured it like summer camp. You know, all the arts and crafts, and canteens, bible stories, etc......but its so different.
Mission trips are work! A LOT of hard work, and I love it.
we have done more in the past few days than I ever imagined we could do and the focus of everyone here is all directed right where it should be by keeping our eyes on the Lord.

I love the thought of getting out and meeting new people. Last night, we went through the drive-thru at McDonalds and met a young man named Troy. He was so neat and in our 2 1/2 minutes there, we found out he didn't go to church and we invited him to the cook out on Saturday night. I'm not sure if he will come, but I at least intend to visit McDonalds 1 more time to check on him and let him know someone cares for him.
Today the man in charge of the pool was just overwhelmed ny our hospitality and willingness to help him fix his doors....at no cost to him. Well...I think we would all LOVE to get in that pool at least once while we are here! ;o)

I have to admit, my nights are lonely. I'm used to always being surrounded by my friends and family but out here, getting in touch with anyone is sometimes difficult. Phone service hardly works, to get a text to go through is sometimes difficult so you just think the people back home are not hearing you, and you just don't have your family around. That can be difficult.

I love being able to serve people I have just met and I am excited to see who God introduces me to next. I'm not sure what His plan is for me, but I know He loves me and wants me to be here doing great work for Him.

Day 1 cont

After Sports camp today we were treated to a wonder lunch at "Hogg Heaven". It was a great time of fellowship with each other....and great food too.

We came back to break up into groups for service projects. One group was sorting clothes that will be donated, another group painted the nursery at the church and the rest of us went to the community pool to scrape doors and prepare them for painting! Boy! Did they ever need it!!!!

Today, at the end of camp, it poured down rain and it was welcomed very much! We were so thankful for the showers to cool everything off.
The softball game was cancelled for tonight due to the all day rain so we get some extra time to rest and relax this afternoon. Were not sure what God has in store for us tonight, but I can say for certain that a shower and nap is in the plan.:)

So excited to see all the great work is doing in the lives here at Mt. Carmel as well as the work He is doing is all of us on this trip. We've had some amazing God moments and its all because of the wonderful work He is doing through us.

VICTORY - Day 1

Camp Victory is off to a great start.

Yesterday we spent all day preparing for the camp, practicing drills, skits, songs, and setting up. Last night we had the honor of worshipping with the Mt. Carmel family. Bobby had some very inspiring thoughts to share to help us prepare for this week. The church body here is so encouraging and welcoming. I feel like I have known them forever already.

This moring we started very early with last minute prep work. Registration was to begin at 8:30 and our first family showed up at 8:10, and then they kept coming!!! Today we registered 32 kids from the community. Only 3 of those are actually from the Mt. Carmel church. They are having so much fun and I anticipate they will invite their friends tomorrow. You can tell by the look in their eye that they haven't had this experience before and you can tell by their smiles they are loving it.

I'm so proud of our group of teens and adults. They have worked so hard without any complaining.

Today we will go to "Hogg Heaven" for lunch. this restaurant has graciously agreed to feed our entire group today. This community is so loving and welcoming. They really show us that they are happy for us to be here.

As for the first aid count, I've given out 3 band aids, lots of ibuprofen, and a lot of reassurance that some will be just fine! :o) I've promised them I won't let them die of heat stroke! ;o)