camp!!!

I spent this week on top of Locke Mountain. The air was thinner, the sky was clearer, and the days rolled by in easy, scheduled succession. The hard miles and hearty meals had the effect of clearing mental and spiritual fog. Gentle mountain vistas are a perfect visual aid for God’s goodness.

I was there with 13 kids and 4 other adults from Trinity at a camp of about 550 people total. We spent each day in rigorous physical activity and solid Biblical teaching. I watched/participated in countless capture the flag, whiffle ball, and get-to-know-you games, and facilitated several hours of basic and not-so-basic theological discussions. It was so sweet to sit in the great room of our cabin at night (which was literally on the highest peak of Locke Mountain), surrounded by sweaty, sleepy little ones and to read to them from John, Revelation, or 2nd Samuel…their questions were so honest and intelligent and it sharpened my faith to dialogue with them.

It brought tears to my eyes to watch 2 of our  girls perform sign-language in front of the whole camp – there was just something so tender about their vulnerability and shy smiles as they worshipped.

The not-so-sweet parts of camp were just as great – kids’ witty comments, their unbridled passion for pranking the opposite gender, their mystifying food choices in the cafeteria, their interesting outfits, their unbelievable ability to lose important items, and their unabashedly difficult theological questions…all of these things engaged me, entertained me, and endeared the kids to me.

In spite of the more difficult parts of being the trip director (confrontations, logistics, exhaustion, constant multi-tasking, missing my husband, etc…) I am more than ever certain that I am walking in God’s calling for my life. Spending a week with kids in 90 degree weather – eating camp food, hiking up mountains, taking care of little injuries, comforting homesickness, reading Bible stories, singing silly songs, laughing at corny jokes, cleaning up messes, playing in the pool, hugs, dancing, crying, frustration, praying…I truthfully can’t imagine anything I would rather do.

Thursdays in kidmin

Thursdays are crunch days for me. This is the day where I print, cut, sort, vacuum, declutter classrooms, and make sure every detail is attended to before Sunday. This week is “missions Sunday” for our church, and both campuses (Towncenter and Oceanfront) will be joining at our Oceanfront campus. So we are preparing for a big turnout, God willing!

I am always on the look out for ways to step up our kid’s program, which is called SHRED. One challenge that I face is that we rent our space from First Baptist of Virginia Beach, so our building is very old and very traditional. That means that, for some reason, people find it really hard to keep the space clean and decluttered. That is why I spend so much of my time cleaning up! I know that, although subtle, the difference between a bookshelf littered with craft supplies and topsy turvy Bibles, and a shelf that is clean and neat, is very important and can affect the comfort level of a child when they come in on Sunday.

I am always implementing small upgrades that are easy to neglect. For example: I recently had nametags on lanyards printed up for all the volunteers – but because they are not used to wearing them, it is a painstaking task to get them around the necks of all the adults on Sundays! Once again, I think this is a subtle change that can impact the quality of our program – when parents see teachers with uniform nametags, there is a higher confidence in our safety-awareness.

Although the relationships between staff and congregation members can be challenging, I believe that God is slowly growing in me an ability to navigate those difficult relational waters. I pray for grace and humility to love His people in the best way possible!