My Heart Has Been Stolen

Jr. Coed is over and Jr. Girls has begun. Jr. Coed went really well this year. I had a great but talkative cabin. I think that the girls really did get a lot out of what we learned and talked about. One of them even accepted Christ which is totally awesome! I definitely had a favorite camper this past week though. I know I’m not supposed to pick favorites but I did. It wasn’t a camper from my cabin but one from my team. His name is Jarell and he stole my heart. He wasn’t the best behaved camper but he definitely was my favorite. Whenever he would come to sports he would give it his all until we were losing or when he got out and than he would run off but I would run after him. I would talk with him and get him to come back and play. He would listen to me and we made a good team. I made us matching bracelets so that we could always remember each other. Saying goodbye to him and the rest of the Kenosha kids was really hard. I ended up crying a couple of times. He definitely stole part of my heart when he left but he turned to me and said don’t worry I’ll be back next year. I met so many amazing campers this past week and I know so many of them will go on to do amazing things for God.

My cabin for girls week is great but half of them are homesick so just be praying for that for right now.

Sugar, S'mores, and Bracelets

This has been a long and difficult week. I still have 2 days left but God is faithful and will get me through. My cabin is still very talkative and they don’t really listen any better than they used to. Continue to pray that they would start listening better and that they wouldn't be so talkative during chapel and devos. We had a carnival last night where the campers got snow cones and cotton candy and than later that night at about 10:30, all the girl cabins got s'mores so needless to say it was a little difficult to get my campers to sleep last night. But can I just say that the quiet game works when the consequences are scraping the table at every meal the next day. My team is doing really well. They've been awesome this week. I have a couple of boys that get upset when things don't go our way but they are doing a lot better. It doesn't take as much time to get them to come back from running off. They just need to be loved and not yelled at.Pray that I can show them the love of Jesus and that some of the guy counselors would step up and not be angry or mad when they run off but that they would show them that they are loved. With one of them, I've made matching bracelets and he seemed to really loved that. I've also had a couple of campers make me some bracelets, so needless to say my arms are going to be covered by the end of the summer. Pray that I get sleep and rest. Pray that I can spend as much time with my campers and show them that I love them all but that more importantly Jesus loves them. Pray that their hearts will be open to the message tonight.

Week 1 Day 2

So camp started yesterday. I'm excited to finally have campers and I just love my girls so much. Its really awesome to see some of my past campers and one really cool thing is that my co-counselor this week was actually one of my campers from teen camp last summer. It's really awesome reconnecting with her and being able to work alongside her and pour into campers. I have a really great cabin. I've had a couple of the girls on my team or just know them from past summers. My girls are very talkative as they all are going into 6th grade and just love to chat. This is awesome during the day but makes going to bed difficult. Just be praying that they would be open to the word and that they would want to hear about God's love. Also be praying for Tiffany as she is very homesick right now. She cries mostly at night but she really misses her parents. That's about it for now. I'll try and update in a couple of days.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been at camp for a week and a half already and have been super busy. I love being here. Last week was crazy busy in the kitchen. I worked from 7AM- 10 PM getting food ready, cooking, cleaning and odd jobs all over the place. I have a new found respect for my friends who have worked in the camp kitchen in the past but also a new found respect for those who work in the food industry. There is a lot of unseen stuff that happens behind the scenes in a kitchen. You not only have to cook and serve the food but you have to prep all the food as well. So for me that meant I needed to make enough pancake batter for 525 people in the span of a couple of hours. For a batch of pancake batter for 250 people there is 22.5 lbs of flour, 60 eggs, and mass quantities of other ingredients. Needless to say I was covered from head to toe in flour and everything else. Haha

The rest of the counselors got here this past Friday and it was a good day. We’ve had a lot of fun getting to know each other and I’m really excited to see us come together as a team. There are a lot of different personalities and people on the counseling teams and I think we will all get along. The rest of the staff is wonderful and really supportive. I’m excited to continue to get to know them and joke around with them.

Things that you can be praying for as we finish training week and start camp:

-That we continue to grow as a team and come together. There are still some differences between us and we need to come completely together before the campers get here.

-That this first week is a good week and that campers come with open eyes, ears, and hearts.

-Pray that I can be good counselor and know what to share to my campers.

-That my cabin comes together and that there isn’t a division between them.

-Prayer for safety and health. This will be a long and tough summer and I just pray that I stay healthy and safe.

I love you all so much and would love to hear how you are all doing. Mail, emails, texts, any form of communication is greatly loved.

Until next time.

10,080

10,080 thats how many minutes I have to make an impact on my campers. 10,080 thats how many minutes there are in a week.

These past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about having an impact on people and what I would be remembered for doing or being. On May 8th, one of my friends went to be with the Lord. Bianca was my age when she died. Bianca was so full of life and served God with her whole heart. I only had hung out with Bianca a few times but her smile, her laugh, her love of life was so contagious. I miss her a lot but it made me realize how we don't know when our last day on earth is going to be. We aren't promised tomorrow so we should live our lives to the fullest each and every day. I looked at how this will apply to this summer. I don't want to miss any opportunities to share God's love with a camper or their families. I want to be goofy and crazy. I want to make a fool of myself. I want to lose my voice cheering on my team (we all know this will happen, haha) I want to give my all this summer. I want to impact the kids that I work. I want to shine with the light of Jesus. I want the kids to see Christ in me.

I leave for camp tomorrow. I'm really excited about this summer and about working alongside some amazing people. I would love to hear about your summers and what you have been up to. I love getting mail and I promise you if you write me I will write you back. I will be updating this blog multiple times a week my goal is at least 4 times a week. I love you all so much!

Lake Geneva Youth Camp

W2655 South Street

Lake Geneva, WI 53147