Sunday, June 16, 2013

Cry Out All the More

I don't have time to write a whole lot, but I wanted to give a quick update. We're heading into Week 3 this afternoon. Week 1 I had an overnight cabin of 2nd and 3rd graders, Week 2 I had a day camp cabin of 3rd and 4th graders, and Week 3 I will have an overnight cabin of 4th and 5th graders. I got the camp crud last week, which means I currently have every manifestation of a cold. The most challenging thing currently is that I feel so drained. I relied on the Lord every day last week to provide me energy during the day, and it was amazing to watch him provide for me. Going into this week, I know I'll be doing it again. As I sit here typing this, I don't think I even have enough energy to make it past lunchtime.

In the midst of this, I've been relying heavily on a verse from Mark. In Mark 10, there is the story of blind Bartimaus. He heard that Jesus was passing by, so he cried out for him, in the hopes of being healed. But the officials and others in the crowd rebuked him and told him to be quiet. And you know what he did? He cried out all the more.

"And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more."

How cool is that? And because he cried out all the more, Jesus heard him, had mercy on him, and healed him. So as my body is telling me to not go all out this week, as my selfish desires want to preserve my energy, I'm reminded to ignore them, and simply cry out all the more. To lose it for the Gospel day by day, hour by hour. 

If you think of me at anytime this week, it would be so precious to me if you could shoot up a prayer in my name: a prayer for energy, for excitement, and for great things to be done in the hearts of my campers through the power of God and God alone. 

Week 3, go hard.

Ciao!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Let's Camp

It's that time of year again - summer. This post is only going to be a real quick update, because with summer comes summer camp, and that means limited internet access! I've been at camp for two weeks now, for training and orientation, and today is finally the day that campers come! I can't believe it's already here! This week I'll have the youngest cabin, a group of girls who just finished first grade. Crazy! I am certain that the week ahead will be crazy and hilarious all at the same time. And I'm stoked!

But rewinding a little bit, orientation and training were so much fun (camp has a way of making everything fun, doesn't it?) I made some wonderful new friends and got re-trained on our ropes courses. We spend two days in a big convention center doing all camp staff orientation - going over major rules and policies. With all of us together, I think we total something over 1,300 college students - so you can imagine how much fun we have! It's a magnificent time compiled of worship, lessons, skits, and a LOT of dancing. Those two days really are my favorite days of the year, second only to Christmas.  

So as I'm typing this now, I'm sitting on my bed in my cabin, trying to relish these last few moments of rest. The Bible verses are all posted on the walls and everything's ready to go! My hope is that this week will challenge me in new ways and give me an opportunity to share the Gospel in ways that are rare outside of camp. I may or may not have time to write on the weekends, but hopefully I can keep this semi-updated! If you're my friend on Facebook, I've posted my mailing address at camp and always love a good letter! 

Ciao!