Life After Camp

         So here I am, staying out at camp through  retreat season, watching most of the other counselors leave for home. After the last week of camp we had a weekend and a few days before the counselors headed home. Over the weekend we went to antler river and hung out for most of Saturday. We had a camp fire and cooked supper and threw the football and Frisbee. It was a lot of fun just spending time with the counselors a few last times. Sunday Brian spoke again and he talked about ministry. The question he had for us here at camp was are we finding meaning and purpose here at camp or is our meaning and purpose in life found in Christ where it should be? This was something I really thought about the next few days and just evaluated why I’m here at camp. Is it for myself and to make myself feel good about what I’m doing or is it for Christ, for His glory and His kingdom? What God desires most is our love. What honors God most is our hearts seeking Him, not the results of our labor. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Ministry is not meant to fill you with meaning and purpose, Jesus is. These are just the points Brian made in his sermon.

Monday was kind of a down day and we had time together just to hang out and many people packed up their stuff. It was sad seeing everyone packing, but not doing it myself. Tuesday we headed into town in the afternoon and we spent time downtown again just walking around and getting last minute things. We went to a coffee shop and hung out for a while, just laughing and talking about the summer. Then we went to Auke Wreak which is just a beach area with pavilions and a fire place. We walked along the beach and tried to find sea glass, but couldn’t find any. Then we had supper over the fire. Then we went to the waffle co. and said good-bye to everyone there. It was super hard to walk away from them and get into the car to head back out to camp. Most of them flew out Wednesday and some flew out Thursday.

Waking up at camp and not having everyone there was super weird and really quiet. Myriah and I had not idea what to do with ourselves, so we just kind of spent time together and it was nice outside so we were able to be on the beach. It has been hard to stay focused on why we are here when we are not counseling anymore. I want to take this time to be still and wait in the Lord. I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing when I get home or where I’m going to work, but I know that God does and that’s all the matters. My times are in Your hands Lord.

Psalm 100 says, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His, we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Being faithful is not about our good works, but it’s about God working in us and His spirit of faithfulness in us. We cannot be faithful, but with God working in our lives we can.

God Moved, and He Still Is

This week we had over 120 bronco campers. It was pretty crazy and I was a little nervous about how the week was going to go considering we had only one day of rest in between the last camp and it’s the last week of camp which usually causes people to not focus on the kids and only on home and making last memories with fellow counselors. Last week for Sr. High there were three campers who felt like God wanted them to come back this week to be junior counselors. This was such an answer to prayer considering there were so many campers and we have a smaller counseling staff this summer. I worked with a JC this week and we had 11 girls in our cabin. The JC’s name was Rebecca and she did a wonderful job. She is a great singer and loves the Lord so much. I loved working with her and her help was much appreciated.

The first night of camp was a little crazy for several of us. In my cabin I had two girls who came from Ketchikan and they were in a big fight and not talking with each other. Then I had one girl from Canada who was home sick and really scared about sleeping in the woods in a cabin. I told her that God was watching out for each of us and that He loves her very much. Then she started telling me that she did not want to hear about God and she hated when we talked about God and didn’t like God. I wasn’t really sure what to say to her about that and I just prayed as I talked with her that God would give me the words to say. She finally was ok to go in and sleep in the cabin but wanted her other friend to sleep with her in her bunk. This friend was actually getting scared by ants that were crawling on the wall and coming through a hole in the wall. I told them it was fine that they slept in the bunk together cause they were small girls and the bunks are kind of big. Rebecca sang them a few songs and they fell asleep. I went back to get ready for bed and prayed with Kathleen and Tim about everything and about the little girl who didn’t want to hear about God.

The next few days were pretty good. We had a lot of fun with the girls and they started to warm up to us a little and wanted to hear more about God, but they still weren’t opening up much during cabin devotions. I continued to pray for each of them and that God would work in their lives. I am continually reminded of the fact that it is God who changes the hearts of those here and it’s not me. I can only share with them what God gives me to share and let God use those words for His glory. Then by the middle of the week the girl who didn’t want to hear about God asked me if she could pray after we were done with devotions. I was so happy that God was softening her heart and that I was able to talk with her about who He is and how much He loves her and it was the first time she had heard anything like that. Before she left I gave her a Bible and wrote a little note in it just encouraging her and letting her know how happy I was for her. I had another girl who was confused about things with God and angry with Him because her grandma had committed suicide a few months before and she didn’t understand why He couldn’t have stopped her from doing that. It sounded like her mom wasn’t very helpful in the whole situation and was kind of like, well I thought it would happen one of these days. My heart went out to this little girl and I talked and prayed with her and explained how much God cares and loves her. She was so amazed about the fact that God would send His only son to die on the cross for us, someone that we feel like doesn’t even know us. I was so happy that God was working in her heart and showing her His love. She didn’t really understand how God forgive us and I told her the story about the prodigal son and how much the father loved his son and that God loves us even more than that. She was in awe at this and just couldn’t really get her head around it. I prayed with her and just told her that I cared about her and was there if she ever needed to talk about anything again. Later that week she told me that she had asked Jesus to come into her life and be her savior. I was so happy and gave her a hug and prayed with her. I pray that God would be with her and continue to show His love for her as she goes home and with everything going on at home.
It was really hard to see the girls go, mainly because I got to know each of them more and got closer to them, but also because it was the last week of camp. I love talking with these kids and sharing God’s truth with them. It doesn’t only help them, but I am continuously reminded about His great love for me and just the little things that many of us tend to forget about the Gospel. Thank you Lord for everything you did this week and I pray you would be with each of the kids as they go home, you know the situations that these kids are going back to and the hard things that are going on in their lives. Continue to show them your love and help them to have a desire to learn more about who You are.

This week for chapel was really good. The same speaker from last camp spoke and he did a great job. The first night he talked about when Jesus calmed the storm and he had a canoe brought into the chapel and Nick and Ralph were the waves and I was chosen “at random” (he wanted to get me back for the toe nails) to be a disciple. I sat in the canoe and he gave me a rain coat. Then they had the lights flicker and Nick and Ralph shook the boat and Brian (the speaker) poured water ALL over me. He sprayed me with a water gun and then took the rain coat off of me and poured more buckets of water on me. I was soaked, but it was enjoyable. As I was getting cleaned up I was just thinking about how the disciples must have felt being in that storm and then having Jesus wake up and calm the wind and the waves. That would have been amazing, but scary at the same time. It was a really great week and I’m so thankful that God was present during every moment of it.

This next week the counselors leave on the 8th and I’m not looking forward to that day. We are planning on doing some fun stuff this weekend and Monday and then go into town sometime Tuesday and hang out there till they have to leave Wednesday morning. I did have my plan ticket for the 8th, but felt like God was calling me to stay and help out with retreat season. So I tried to get my ticket changed and went through a few places and was told that it would be around $400 dollars to do that and then we figured out a way to get that bumped down to around $180 dollars which is so much better. So now I am leaving Juneau on September 14th and going to Chicago for a few days with friends from camp who are leaving the same day. I’m looking forward to the time I can be here to help out with retreat season and to see what other great things God has in store for me. Thanks for your prayers and support!!!

Sr. High-2

I was blessed to be able to counsel for Sr. High week and just focus on the girls in the cabin and not just on a medical stand point. I worked with Lauren which was a blast and I loved it cause we had counseled together last year for the second Sr. High camp as well. This week there were only a little over 50 campers there so it was super small and kind of weird. We had 5 girls in our cabin, I thought it was going to be hard and not good at all, but God used it to help us all grow so much closer together by the end of the week. Two of the girls I had in my cabin last year so it was great to reconnect with them and get to know them much better. The first day or so was hard during devotions. They would not open up about much and they continued to get off topic (much like colt campers do). Lauren and I continued to pray about it and asked God to give us the strength to persevere and the words to say that can only come from Him. Then one devotion time we had the girls go around and share their stories and how they have seen God work in their own lives, if they have at all. Lauren and I had shared our testimonies the night before so we just wanted to them to kind of do the same so we would get a better idea of where they were spiritually and also that they could hear each other talk and see that they are not the only ones going through tough times. All the of them came from broken homes and it was really sad to see the hurt and pain that leaves on the kids. Their lives are not the same after that.

One girl said she had a hard time seeing God as her Father and she hated that because her step father had run out on her and her mom for another lady. She saw a father figure as someone who leaves when you need them. That was really hard to hear and we talked a lot with her about forgiveness and just what the Bible says about God as our Heavenly Father. By the end of the week she was ready and willing to forgive her step dad and wanted to start fresh with Christ. That was super encouraging to hear and I praise God that He was able to work in her life/heart. Another girl opened up about a lot of things she was going through in high school and that she had given her life to Christ a couple years ago and was just striving to live for Him. She said it wasn’t easy and sometimes she wanted to give up, but she knew she needed to give it all to God and continue to have faith. It was so good to hear her story cause it was a lot of things that I had gone through in my life. I talked a lot with her and I just loved sharing God’s word with her and the other girls. One of the girls was not very open about anything, but by the end of the week she had started to open up a little about things. I pray that God would continue to work in her heart and that she would be able to know His love and live her life for Him.

It was hard seeing all the kids go. As a smaller camp we were able to grow a lot closer, even guys and girls. So it was sad to see them all go with the relationships we had started to build with each of them. The speaker this week was wonderful and I learned so much from him and was reminded of many things that I needed to hear again. There was a lot of suffering going on with the kids and questioning why God would let that happen. Brian (the speaker) felt God calling him to change his lesson one evening and he talked about suffering and what the Bible talks about it. It was so good for all of the campers to hear (as well as myself). That was an answer to prayer and I thank the Lord for using Brian to share His message with the kids. During my own devotions I was reading Lamentations 3:22-24 which says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” I was just reminding of His great love for me and I thank Him for giving me those opportunities to talk with the girls in my cabin as well as others in camp about His love for them. Verses 40-42 of that same chapter say, “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in Heaven…”

One a lighter and more fun note, we had an amazing skit night this week. This is where each cabin comes up with a funny skit or act to do and many of the counselors/staff members get involved with it as well. Last year they had done one that was wonderful and Lauren and I did it again this year. We had five guys come up front (not knowing in advance they were coming up) and they were blind folded and had to take their shoes and socks off because we were going to have them feel things with their hands and feet, taste things, and smell things and they had to guess what each thing was. While they were doing these things we had some girls with nail polish come up and paint their toes. At the end I had them stand up and take their blindfold off and take a bow and they saw that their toenails were painted. They were super surprised and had no idea we had done that to them. It was really funny and they enjoyed it even though their toes were painted. It was a super great week and I thank God for every moment of it. Continue to pray for us as we work through this next week with over 120 bronco campers!!!!! And it’s the last camp of the summer:(

Nursing It Up...

This week past week I was the "primary nurse" which meant the kids came to me first with stuff and that I was taking care of all the medications and things. I was a little nervous about it when Aimee told me that, but I knew that she was there whenever I needed her for help and more importantly, God was watching over everything I was doing and was there with me. The week was actually pretty quiet in the nursing area. There were several medication, but not many kids needed extra stuff; just a cold here and there or a little cut. Praise the Lord for that.

I was a little sad to not be in a cabin this week, but I knew God had me where He wanted me. I was able to join in on the games during the week and walked around during the activities and loved doing that. I think the kids really enjoyed that as well and they felt better having the nurse right there with them at their activities. I remember a group of little boys chasing after me during on of the field games and they were yelling, "Get the evil nurse!!" It was just cute to see them get excited about getting me out even though I wasn't with them very much. It made me feel as though I was still a part of their time here at camp and that I was able to make a difference in their lives.

In my devotions this week I was reading through Jeremiah and chapter 29 verse 13 stuck out to me. It says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." It just reminded me that I need to have that desire in my heart to seek after Christ in order to truly know Him. He has to be the thing that I am striving after in this life, not money, not a relationship, not a good job, not friends or family; not that any of these things are necessarily bad, we need to be focusing on our Lord and Savior, not the things of this world that do not last. Thank you Lord for being my provider, my help, my joy, my Savior, my protector, my EVERYTHING. I could not ask for more Lord, except to desire you more.