Weeks 4-7

Its been way to long since I have updated you guys and Im sorry for not staying on top of it! The past few weeks have been very busy for me. Not only just because of camp but also because of trying to get things finished up with school things, trying to see & spend as much time with Family and friends as possible before I leave for school, and trying to clean up and get ready/packed for school.

Needless to say its been a pretty crazy past few weeks. But These weeks have been good and a learning experience for me. Over the past 4 weeks I have had over 30 different campers and Moms. Every single one of them different in their own special way.

I write and sit and tell you about everyone of them and all the experiences that I have learned from each, but this would be extremely long.

I tried to think of words to describe the past couple of weeks that sum up all the experiences -

Fun, full, surprising, frustrating, nerve-racking, stressful, loud, hard yet easy, and many others.

But out of the words that I could come up, Accomplished and eye-opening seem to be the two that explain the past couple of weeks the best.

I have completed most of my paper work for school, including loan applications that are bring approved as I type, and everything is almost set and ready for me to transfer. So I feel like accomplished most of the hard part of that finally!

And eye-opening because of the past few weeks at camp, God has shown me a little bit of why he put my at mundo. Oviously he put me here to share his word with little girls, but a part of my is now thinking that he put me there because of my artist abilities. I do worship art. Its something that not many people know what it is. When I came to camp no one there had ever heard of it. I told them that I paint during worship so they put me on a schedule to paint durign one staff worship. Then that next week I painted 2 more times. Then the next week I painted again. Every time I have painted this summer at camp, people have told me great it was and that I have a very special talent to be able to do that. Then one day a little girl told me I should sell some of my paintings, then he mother came up and was hinting at wanting me to come to her church and paint. I had several job offers that were hinted (but not really asked) when I painted for mother daughter. But the last 2 times I have painted God has really showed me why, at least I think why, he put me at camp. One time I painted with a with a girl named macy who never had painted in front of a crowd before, so she was pretty nervous about doing it at first. But the thing is she did awesome! After we finished she told me how much she loved it and how when she was painting she wasn't focused on the crowd that she was just focused on the painting and on Jesus. Later on this past week, we had Acteens at camp that some of the staff got to work with. Macy did a special thing for their worship, where some of the girls shared their testimonies through painting. When she told me this, she told me that I inspired them and that I was pretty much famous with the acteens! When she told me that, and from hearing how I was inspiration not only to them, but also to mothers who had come the week before mother daughter, it hit me. Right when I was told all of this, I knew that God had sent me because of my worship art. He wanted me to share him through art. Which is what I enjoy most and what I am meant to do. Also over the past few weeks, I have been working on loan applications and really stressing out about taking out loans for school. But when I was painting and afterward when i was told I was an inspiration, I knew then that I was meant to go to NGU and do this at school, and that God would provide for the loans. Knowing that I know one and maybe the only reason God put me at camp, really made me open my eyes to see how much he wants to work through me and my art. But sometimes I stop him from doing that. I get caught up in trying to please everyone else, that I'm not really listening to him and what he wants me to do. And now that I know that may be one of the reason he sent me there really makes me thankful that I have that gift.

These are a few verses that have really been showing up a lot lately and that have gotten me through the past few weeks!! If you don't know them, I encourage you to look them up.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 19:21

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Week 3 - Angel Tree

Coming into this week I had no clue what to expect. All the previous staff talked about how Good Angel tree was but at the same time it was so hard. A part of me was scared and excied at the same time.

Normally the campers come on monday mornings, but this time they came on Sunday afternoon and only stayed till Wednesday afternoon. Even though this camp was short, it felt like it was going to go on forever.

Camp Angel tree is camp where kids come who have one or more parents in Jail. The girls that came were all great and special in their own way but they came into camp with a lot more "baggage". Many of these girls have hard home lives and don't know what it is like to have someone to love them and to tell them about god and how much he Loves them.

Amy & I had 5 girls in our cabin. Needless to say that was just about all we could handle. All of our girls had very strong personalities. They all wanted to be the center of attention all at the same time. They complained about everything and didn't want to do some of the activities that were planned. (I know I'm making them seem horrible, but I'm getting to the good stuff;) ) As much as our girls complained about having to sit up during bible study, not talk during rest time, took almost 2 hours getting ready for bed and going to sleep, creamed and argued at each other, each one of them in their own special way taught me so much. Not only about caring for kids who are don't want to listen, but also so much about God and about myself.

I don't know what situations these girls came from (even though I put some pieces together and had a good idea) but I hope with every inch of my body that if they got anything out of the week, bible studies, devotions, or anything Amy and I said to them, it was how much God loves them even when no one on earth does.

It was such a struggle to have to watch them yell at each and disrespect Amy & I and each other because they were at camp. Camp is their safe place for four days. Camp was the place they were supposed to forget about everything for a few days and have fun. By the end of week some of them did let their guard down a little and did seem to have a little fun. The last night the girls were here Amy & I let them paint our Toes and finger nails. This was the first time all week that they laughed and smiled and got along with each other for more than 20 minutes at a time. I can't tell you how much it touched me to see them smile and laugh. They each had such beautiful laughs and smiles, that I knew they didn't get to share very much with the rest of the world. It kills me knowing that. I came home this week with carolina blue toes and strained finger nails, to remind me of them.

Surprisingly the things that I learned from these girls came in the smallest moments of the day. I guess people are write when they say that sometimes the little things are the best. There was one girl in our cabin who came into camp with shoes that didn't fit her feet like they should. The AD's at camp or Tammy got her some shoes and gave them to me give them to her. At first I didn't know how to give them to her without all the other girls seeing and getting mad that they didn't get something. I pulled her into our little room and sat her on my bed and handed her the shoes. She just looked at me for a second with shocked face. I told her she could have the shoes but she had to promise me that she wouldn't brag about her new shoes and she wouldn't make a big deal about it. She said she promised and put the shoes on her feet. I'll never forget the look on her face or what she said to me that night. She said "I can't believe I actually have shoes that don't hurt my feet, and that I can move in." I don't think I have ever seen someone so happy to have a pair of shoes in my life. It's moments like that where God is showing me everyday why he has placed me at a camp this summer. It was amazing to see how just a simple pair of shoes can mean so much to someone. Earlier that day I thought to my self how ugly my shocks were because they were dirty and starting to turn grey and brown from dirt, then to be able to give a girl who's shoes didn't even fit her feet and new pair was so eye opening for me.

Along with those little moments, God really showed me to be thankful that I grew up and still have 2 parents who love me and who would do anything for me. Some of these girls don't have that. They don't have homes to go back to where they have someone to love them all the time.

That is what made it so hard to watch them leave. As much as I wanted a break and as much as my girls drove me crazy, it really hurt to have to send them back. Camp was their safe place. I had to send them back to homes where they aren't showed as much love as they could be (some of them). While they were loading up and before I left I hugged each one of them and told them to be good and that I loved them. It was so hard to watch them leave and not know where and what they were going home to, but at the same time I knew that God is and always will be there for them. Even though I might have given their only Bible studies for the rest of their lifes, or showed them the only love they can feel and see for a long time, I knew in my heart that God loves them. If got anything out of the week, I hope they took home that God does and always will love them for exactly who they are and no one can take that away from them. Not their parents, drugs, sexual abuse, friends, no one!

Both of the following verses I used through out the week. Even though this was a hard week for all of us, I feel blessed to have been able to experience each and every moment of this week.

I ask of everyone who reads this, please pray for all the girls who came to camp this week. That even though they went home (some good and some bad) that they alway remember the things they learned this week. Pray they stay safe and alway remember that above everything else, God does and alway will love them!

Colossians 3:12 - "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance again someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on Love, Which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Romans 8:37-39 - "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death no life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will e able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."