The Day Camps

What an insane week this has been! Monday through Thursday we had three day camps for kids to attend from 8:30am to 5:30pm back to back and performances on Wednesday and Thursday night. Needless to say.. it was hectic and stressful, joyful and hilarious, but exciting and electric. Solely by the Lord's strength, love, patience, and energy pouring into me and my teammates, did we survive.

Adventure Camp (8:30am-12pm) was probably my favorite time of the day. We were outside (unless it was raining) and the kids learned basic skills for fishing, archery, shooting, orientation and tracking. This was when I was able to really start building relationships with the kids--reason why it's my favorite camp.

The boys getting ready to fish at Frenchtown Pond.

Bridger, Aiden, Cameron, DJ, Adam, John

Vacation Bible School (12-2pm) was a blast! The theme was Boomerang Express! I led crafts and of course I loved doing that. So the kids made some boomerangs, whirligigs, marshmallow sheep, paddle balls, and didgeridoos! I'm thankful that my mom is an elementary art teacher and that I've been able to shadow her in classes. Through that, I've been able to understand how to relate to kids when teaching a craft to them. (Thanks Mom!) The projects turned out great and I had some amazing help. I couldn't have done it with them.

To help the kids remember to Admit, Believe, and Commit they made marshmallow sheep holding a sign that says "ABC".

Laurel and her sheep she loving placed in its bag. 

Drama Camp (2-5:30pm) was the most challenging for me. The only way I like being on stage is behind an instrument with several other players around me.. I definitely had no idea how to teach my kids the skits they had to learn. Thankfully, my fellow interns were a great help to me. The kids learned their lines beautifully and even though they seemed like they weren't ready, they performed beyond wonderfully! It was awesome to see how God has gifted the kids with all kinds of different talents. It reminds me of how unique He has made us and how creative He was in the process.

The 1st-3rd graders performing the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo in the firery furnace (Daniel 3).

The best part of the week was one of the highschool girl's skit to the song "Supernatural" by D.c. Talk. The song is about the struggles and hardships that are in this life and how our only hope and strength is God. Two girls knelt down with lit candles with satan tormenting them and trying to extinguish their light. This continues for a while then a third girls comes onstage without a lit candle but after a few seconds, her candle is lit because of her entering into a relationship with Jesus.. here comes the part that completely captivated me and sent chills all through me.. The girl that was cast for that part.. isn't saved. My hope and earnest prayer is that this precious girl would become a shining beacon for Jesus' glory some day. That she would come to understand her need for Him as her Savior and realize how He fulfills us completely. Her name is Britney. Please be praying for her.

The "Supernatural" skit.

The week is over and we finally get to sleep! Ah, what wonderfulness that will be tonight. We're headed to backpack to Cabin Lake this weekend. Please be praying for safety and relationship building. I became pretty lax with reaching out to adults at the services this week (I blame it on the exhaustion) but be praying that I and the interns will be shaken out of our complacency this weekend.