Full week #7

So this week i feel like so much happened, but it was still only 5 days. To start off with I had a group of day campers who were slightly more rambuncious then most, well ok, really loud and un-disiplined. So that challenged me to think about how to best manage them. I lost my voice for three of the 5 days, but that is only i think because of having to speak loudly to get thier attention, also laughing in the pool.
I met a 6 yr old boy who has the same imagintaion as me, that was fun, we played a game in the pool called "Toast" where i popped him in the water, threw him up and then caught him "buttered" him and then ate him (tickled) then he came out my nose. *perhaps that last part has to do with Mahaffy.
Well then it was my birthday on wed. That was exciting, but 22 is pretty stinking old! i feel like anciet! But my counsulars organized my kids to spell out happy birthday with thier bodies. This was very adorable. I then went for dinner with my family last night, and i have to sya that that is the first time that i have celebrated my b-day with my family in 6 years. I was excited, it was fun, i got a guitar of my very own. It is brown and it is 3/4 size, but i think it will be good.






if you read all the way to the bottom way to stick with it. I may or maynot have run through a corn field on my birthday and we can just say that perhaps i was wearing the appropriate clothing for the day.

Discovery:)

SO this was my 6th weeek of camp, my final week of discovery, it was heaps of fun and I again say God encouarging me exactally how i needed right when i needed it. I had an amazing Chaplin the first 1/2 of the week, but then the second 1/2 was when things started to get really crazy!
Remeber how i had said that i was playing the guitar. Well i played the guitar, coordinated, and was the chaplin for the 2nd 1/2 but God provided and all went well. The chaplin left all of her stuff and her "lesson" plans for me, so that made it heaps eaiser.
Anwyaz, guitar playing went ok, but i still cant strum all that well, but i am pretty stinking determined to learn yet, i got some helpful hints from friends when i was home last weekend, and that worked out well, but then i started playing and things did nto go that well. but still ok, the hints were defintally helpful.

Oh and the funniest story ever, There was a little 8 yr old boy who had a crush on me the first 1/2 of the week and his counsular helped him make a duct tape ring and he gave it to me!:) He told my chaplin that we were pretty much married!:) It was stinking cute, and i hope that when he does get married my chaplin is there and tells that story. It was adoarable, now all i need are the big ones to start proposing:)

Also my staff is going along together well, i think, i had a great time with them this weekend. All in all maybe the best week of camp ever. So two weeks left and then 5 days and i leave for BC
Thats all for now!:)
i love Sankfo!

Week of 43

So this is the end of the largest week of camp for the entire summer! but i have to say that i love the children that come. All in all it was a really good week. We faced our challenges but God is moving mightly.
I began the week with 43 daycampers and that was an adventure i could tell. I had two full tim summer staff, one ex summer staff and 4 highschool volenteers for counsulars. That i felt would be a bit of a challenge, but i was impressed with how well all of my counsulars (including volenteers) stepped up to the challenged and everything worked out really well. God just took care of me in many many ways this week.
Going into the week i felt alot of tension and discord on my staff and it really hurt my heart. we are supposed to be unified under Christ for a common goal of sharing his love with campers, but that is hard to do when there is discord amoung us. I was just feeling more down and tired then usual. BUt God knew that i need one of my volenteers (the ex-counsular) to come so he brought her at the perfect time. She ended up being exactally the encouargement that i needed this week to help put things in perspective. and to learn how to keep loving.

BUt what i have learned is that maybe i am not meant to be at camp this summer. Every time i turn around i can see a reason why i should have stayed in sioux center this summer, but i am stilll at camp. I am sure God can use this summer as always, but sometimes i feel like i made a wrong desision to come here. It is very tricky to see what in the world i am doing at camp this summer. I enjoy it but i wish i was a million other places. Oh well. anywaz, your prayers would be apperciated as we go into the next week of the summer.

Guitar

i Forgot something on that last post! I learned to play the guoitar this week, i am not that good, nothing like my dear friends who have been playing for ages, but i am doing alright, My finger tips are permeantlly numb, and i think i have finally figured out how to strum! This was a major task. But i am determined to play for my daycamp chapels. So not this week but next week i will play for campers to sing with. I have lots to learn! ANwyaz guitar advice?

PRAY!!!

Hello everybody!

So it has been along time scince i have gotten around to this thing. Something happend this week that i feel is prayer worthy. So if you would like to pray my staff and i woudl much apperciate it.
This last week we struggled imensly with spiritual warfare, and it was tough. Satan was working hard to prevent the word of the Lord from being shared and it was tough to withstand, but through the grace of our faithful and loving God we made it through. next week we have our camp with at risk kids and that is always a challenging, but rewarding week. I am looking forward to it with appernehnsion. Our staff could too use prayers for unity and loving confrotation. I guess you could say we have left the honeymoon stage. bUt that is alright, it will either make us stronger or kill us, one of the two, i am hoping for streagth.
So i guess this blog turned into more of a plead for prayer, so on things that are going well....

...campers are still wodnerfully adorable and there were definitally times this week when, if it weren't for the campers, i would have quit. But on other things i had some good descussions and i have begaun to think about what it means to be a servant leader. I think it means being a servent to the people you are leading, but also realizing your own limitations and knowing when to step back and take a break. Does anyone have any elightenemnt on that subject? i have to say that i have little contact with the outside world, but the contact that i do have is apepracitaed. Anwayz, i bought blueberries today and i am really really excited to eat them!:) I love blue berries!:) Also, for the first time in a long time it feels like summer, hot and muggy instead of just hot. but i can defintially say that i would rather be hot then cold.

... our nurses are also amazing! I just want to praise God for bringing amazing people to serve as nurses and chaplins for our weeks of camp. They are truly amazing!:)

well, taht is the sum up of the last week, i really hope to have some contact witht eh outside workld this week!
Cheers,
Rachel:)