Friday, November 17, 2006

caution

this is our host van..."the nicest camp vehicle" we have on camp...













this is a guard rail that you pass coming into the main part of camp...













this is what happens to "the nicest camp vehicle" when the host has had a long day and it is very late and one gets a bit too close to the guard rail when leaving the main part of camp...












this is what happens when the maintanence man and the boss man find out about the little accident a week later...












any questions?

Friday, October 20, 2006

catching up...


so summer is long gone...and fall is well on its way...and before we know it...it will be winter...crazy! Does anyone else think that time moves faster the older you get? well, time might be speeding along...but my blog seems to ease ever so slowly into the present day...sorry about that...i think that part of me is still trying to catch up from the fast and crazy...but great summer...by now i should be close...it is mid-october and all...seriously :)
since my last post i have been readjusting to "normal" life...i guess...is life really ever normal??? (i'm starting to think no) anyways, here at camp april (my room mate) and i have been getting heaps accomplished around camp...we have been able to fix and improve on some of our activities and lodges...it is exciting to look around and see all that has been done in just a couple months...and even more exciting to envision what we can accomplish over the next 7 months before next summer. i would say that in the realm of camp things are going spendidly...
i however, have been a bit antsy lately...not too sure why...i guess i have a lot going on in my head right now...but then again what else is new?!? i would love prayer through this time of discontentment...thanks...
on a happier note...God has granted me with a few different opportunities to brush off some old skills and serve... i have had the opportunity to work for kendall county outdoor education center as a teambuilding facilitator and help run my church's high school fall retreat. it was soooo much fun...and watching God work through the teens was great! i forgot how much i enjoyed doing these things...i think i would really live to do them full time...if God would so choose...one day maybe...
God is letting me continue to grow in relationships with the groups that come out here to camp...the groups that come over and over agian...it is neat to see how they have changed over the last year...i love getting to know each group and spending time with them...again all those 'cultures' are great...it keeps me on my toes and keeps me thinking...God is also letting me serve in both the junior and senior high youth groups at church. God is stretching me while working with the junior high...for He has me leading music for the junior high group...meaning i am trying to play the guitar and sing and lead...something i am not too confident in...but God is guiding me through...and i am learning...for the first time i did a solo with my guitar and a song i learned from new zealand...it was over the fall retreat...did i mention i got really sick for a little over a week and went in and out with my voice...yet God blessed me with a voice when i needed it...and it went fairly well...i only screeched a little bit :)
i also just started reading messy spirituality by michel yacconeli (sp?)...the book is about christian facades and what we define as spirituality and what spirituality might 'really' look like if we were being real with one another...instead of pretending that everything is fine. it is not easy being real...being real means being vulnerable...being vulnerable means one might get hurt...or that one might not be accepted...but we are called to be real...to be vulnerable...God loves us each as we are right now! He loved us before we even knew Him...and think of who we were then...so why do we find it neccesary to achieve perfection now...to hide what is really going on in our lives from each other...and sometimes even Him. sometimes i wonder if anyone truely understands the power of the body of Christ...i know i don't...but i am learning that there are amazing blessings and power in this body...if only we could...if i could learn how to use it...i'll let you know how the book turns out...
well i should run now...it is friday night and we have two groups coming in shortly...and i am hosting this weekend :) hope you all have a wonderful weekend! more to come soon...

Thursday, August 24, 2006

summer goodbyes

look at this motly crew :) pretty hot stuff if you ask me :) this was our summer staff...three have left us to go back to school(tom on the far left; peter in the middle; and emily sitting behind peter and i) and one more will be saying goodbye on saturday(daniel on the far right)...sad day :( camp is going to be so quiet without them...and if any of you are reading this...i just want to say that i miss you heaps and thank you for one of the best summer''s i have had in a long time. :P you all are amazing and God has used each of you in more ways than you can possibly know. wade(front) and april(front) and tim(2nd to end on left) and i are here for the long hall. we will be the crew to push forward throughout the fall , winter and spring. i'm excited for the opportunity i have to work full time with them. we all have a lot of different visions for this upcoming year...i'm am stoked to see God work thorugh each and every one of us.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

culture shock

out here at camp we get such a wide spectrum of groups. groups that are from the inner city, or suburbs, or even the boonies. groups that are conservative and groups that are liberal. we attract various denominations...ethnic groups...and so on. diversity is the word to use when describing the groups that we serve here at dickson valley camp. watching these groups come and go over the last year, i have seen that these groups have an established culture...with that in mind, i start to wonder if these groups attract a particular culture or if these groups create this culture.
culture defined: "the predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization. the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought."
according to this definition i am led to believe that culture is created and taught...interesting...what do you think?
but then to some this is just random nonsense...what's the point of all this culture talk? well, i think back to some of the groups that have stayed here and remember thinking how odd some of them were compared to what i knew and had experienced. i remember being curious about why these groups did what they did. i remember struggling with know how to react or just act when coming into conact with groups that seemed so foreign to me. then i started wondering why i was so afraid to learn about these different groups...to ask questions...talk about their faith...and so on...sometimes i fear that i have missed out on wonderful opportunities to learn and grow by being so comfortable in my own little culture and not being very open to or accepting even to other cultures.
the other thing i find interesting is the need some people see to convert others outside of their culture into one's own. where's the line between tolerating and accepting another's culture? i think this comes into play because of fear and lack of understanding of other's cultures.
so i guess all of this babble is to challenge myself and even you to learn to be inquisitive of others' cultures...find out what makes them tick...why they tick that way...what makes you similar...what makes you different...does any of that stuff really matter...can we love those so different from us as Christ loves us??? i would love to say that i got this market cornered...but it is not the case...i am still learning to look outside my bubble...to not be afraid travel outside my bubble a bit in the relationships i seek...to not put up walls...to not just surround myself with people just like me...i mean how boring would this word be if that is all there was...God created us to be diverse...shouldn't we celebrate in our diversity and seek God in the diversity of others?

Saturday, August 05, 2006

...still waiting...

...waiting...what exactly does this word mean...well according to the merrian-webster concise school and office dictionary, to wait is to "remain inactive in readiness or expectation." to remain inactive...well there is something i am not particularly good at...me be still?!? that is one discipline i am still working on. what exactly would one be waiting in expectation for...well for those few faithful bloggers, one might be waiting for the day i actually update my post...some may be waiting for mr./mrs. right to come falling out of the sky...some might be waiting for God to open up the sky and strike you with lightening to hear what God's next step is for my life...a rare few might be waiting for school to start...and then there is me...waiting for this group to come upstairs for a hayride and camp fire an hour and a half over due...so i wait...
what exactly is one to do when one waits...well sometimes one must be still...sometimes one can pick up new tricks, like twiddling one's thumbs in various ways...one must always be patient...oh, that's a hard one too...one can read a book...catch up on e-mails...post a blog long over due...etc.
...still waiting...a discipline...God calls us to wait in life more times then i particularly care for (i'll be honest)...but HE knows best...His timing is perfect, always and forever...so what will i do...i will wait...i will wait on the Lord for He is my stregnth...i will wait for mr. right...i will wait for the group to be ready for their activities...i will be patient...and will take up as many new tricks of the trade/little hobbies as necessary to keep myself from going too crazy...as i wait in expectation of what is to come :)

Friday, June 09, 2006

quarentined and craziness

summer has come at last!!! for the last two weeks i have been involved in summer staff training/bonding (or as we have come to affectionately call it staff "bondage"). we are gearing up for our busy summer season here at dickson valley camp. and despite the sarcasm...i really have enjoyed the time i have been able to spend with this summer's staff. we have a phenomonal team :) i am excited to watch God work through this community this summer! things have been a bit chaotic...but after tomorrow it will all start winding down (well winding down for summer anyways). tomorrow is one of my dearest friend's wedding...i can't believe she is getting married...then she is moving to nebraska...crazy...i am truely excited for her and incredibly extatic for her...but at the same time i am going to miss her like none other :( but that is life...life is full of change...and if it wasn't how boring would that be.
speaking of change...guess i should let you in on how God has changed the direction i have been heading in latley. first off, as of right now i am not pursuing school full time. up until sunday i was pursuing an internship with a program called leadertreks. this was a two-year program based out of wheaton. this program worked hand in hand with youth groups, building leaders by planning, preparing and running wilderness and mission trips...and some other stuff to boot. i had an interview and was all stoked about going. that is where i wanted to be...but God has other plans. i found out sunday morning that i did not get that position. so now i am not sure as to what God has in store for the future. i was disappointed and yet joyful that God had answered my prayer by closing the door. to be honest, since sunday i haven't thought too much about what i should pursue next...part of the reason being i have been too busy to do so...oh, well. i did however, get an e-mail from the director of the camp that i worked at in new zealand. he asked if i wanted to come back for their summer season...i could use some prayer about this...i just don't know. i have a huge desire to go back...and yet i am torn...so who knows...only God...and he will tell me when the time is right. :)
on a different note...my new found roomates/flatmates are GREAT!!! emily and april...all of us girls are hosts for the summer. emily is originally from africa...her parents are missionaries over there. currently she lives with her brother in new york during the school season...april is from south dakota...she has moved to dickson for the long hall...she will be staying on full time after summer is over. also, we got another full time staffer...a mantainence man to be percise. tim, he is a wonderful addition to this fine community. as to the rest of the staff...tom p. is still working here and is humorous as always...peter (emily's brother) also from africa and is the youngest on the team...and daniel another one from africa...this whole group has very much a take charge attitude...again i expect GREAT things from this summer to come.
what else can i share...um...well my birthday is coming up...not too long from now and i will be 22...wow...did this year fly by...oh, if you think about it i would love some prayer on this whole adventure weekend i am trying to put together for the jr. highers at my church. i have a few interested teens...now if i coule only get them to commit...just pray that God's hand will take over the whole thing. whatever happens, happens...and God will be glorified for it! :) well i should stop babbling...i hope all is going well with you...let me know what is going on in your lives when you get the oportunity...hope to hear from you all soon. :)

Friday, May 05, 2006

Road Trip


Back right before Easter, Priscilla and I went for a road trip. We went on a college tour to be precise. We travelled from Illinios, to Indiana, to Pennslyvania, to New York, through Canada (bypassing the Nigra Falls), to Michigan and home again. Throughout this trip both of us were searching for what God might have in store for us next. We both had big decisions to make when we got home. So while on the road my mind traveled in every which way as well. For those that know me, they know that once my mind starts spinning it is hard to stop...the whole "what's put in motion, stays in motion..." kinda thing. So I was searching and praying and questioning, "Lord, where do you want me to go?"
Though I still don't have a complete answer, I have decided to pursue school full time...Where you might ask??? Well, I haven't quite decided on that one yet. I am torn between two...Geneva College in PA and Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. I know that in a lot of ways that it doesn't really matter where I go...God can and will use whatever I decide. But I have to make a decision by next week...Please pray with me on this...Pray that I will have wisdom and unselfish motives in this choosing.
So with that on the back burner...let's talk about camp for a minute :) Camp is going great! We are gearing up for summer...Along with that there are a couple of projects that I am working on for this summer. One of them being a Jr. High Adventure camp. I am trying to plan and prepare for this weekend in July. This will be my first endeavor in planning and leading a short camp like this. I am excited and praying that God will bless this weekend with campers. God will work according to His will and it will be GREAT!! On top of that we have a couple of new activities being introduced this summer...and it is my job to make sure that these programs get up and running for summer. Needless to say that I am happily kept busy and working :) I am just soo excited to see what God has in store for the next week, month, etc.

Thought for the day: "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but gave of themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping God's will." (2 Corinthians 8:2-5) Do we give ourselves FIRST to the Lord? Not just our actions...but our entire being...first and foremost to the Lord??? Then do we carry on and give to those around us. How aften do I think of myself above others...above God???

Monday, March 20, 2006

mississippi and back again












we made it...there and back again...6 of us...and what a trip it was :) on march 12th at 6:30 am tom, danI, priscilla, jessie(my sister), lynsey (my cousin) and myself hopped in the mini van and started off! we made it 30 minutes down the road before we hit our first delay...in the midst of packing...i accidently grabbed someone elses bag that was sleeping over, but was NOT going on the trip with us...ooops! so we had to fish it out and return it...luckily we were only a short ways down the road. the rest of the trip down went very quickly and smoothly. that was a blessing, aparrnetly we mised a couple of major storms on the way down too! so we arrive at the "compound" - as they called it - at about 11:30 pm. we were greeted by my dear friend and old roomate tiffiny...it was GREAT to see her and spend the week with her :) monday morning...bright and early (6am) we get up and get ready to start our day/week of work. we get assigned to be with "the man" (orley) and his wife bonnie, to help them finish a couple of houses they had been working on by themselves since thanksgiving! so again we hopped in the mini van and followed them to alabama (it was only a 45 minute drive). we spent the week priming, mudding, sanding, painting, putting in floors, putting up trim, putting in doors and so on. we were able to meet and know the owners of these homes. the first home was the tilmin home. they were so sweet to us...everyday they would come out of their trailer to see how we were going and brign us refreshments. mr. tilmin was determined to set us girls up with some fine alabama boys - he even tried teaching us the indian "love" call - no boys ever came though :) we decided that my attempt at making this indian "love" call scared them all away :) oh well...we found out at the end of the week that the tilmin's had had this home in the family for generations. if it wasn't for the volunteers putting it back together...they would have lost this home for good.
the other home was cequoia's (i am not sure that is spelled right?). again they were living in a trailer just waiting for their home to be finished as well. both of these homes were flooded majorly due to the hurricane. the town we were in was bayuo de barte...this was a shrimping town. it was amazing to see all of the shrimping boats. one of the ways this town has suffered the most due to the strom was losing their boats to the land. there were numerous boats land locked...later in the week we also went to see where the eye of the hurricane was and traveled along the coast to see the damage. it is beyond words...there's is nothing left but debri...6 months have gone by and parts of alabama, mississippi and louisiana looks like the hurricane just went through a few days ago...wow...
in mississippi, we were helping through an organization called nazarene disaster relief. it was amazing to see all the churches helping in these areas. the goal of this organization and others like it are to rebuild the churches first, then supply these churches with the necessary means to rebuild the communities...they are trying to set the churches up as the foundation of the communities so as to show these people God's love. all of these organizations are church oriented. i can't even expain the urgency and need of the communities in these areas...volunteers are continually coming and going...there is still so much left to be done...some people are even commited for the long haul. the nazarene disaster relief has borrowed a church's gym for the next four years...there is still so much work to do...and hurricane season is on its way again...
well, the 6 of us worked hard all week...watching God work through our team again goes beyond words...then it was time to say goodbye...all of us really wanted to stay another week...but we had commitments back home...so we left bright and early saturday morning...and God brought us home bright and early sunday morning...(this is a whole other stroy in itself...i'll have to tell later...let's just say we had a little car trouble and learned a heap about patience...no one was hurt or in danger and that was a blessing as well.)
PLEASE be in prayer for these communities down south...if you have the opportunity go and help...it is still very much a need...if you don't know the means to get down there let me know and i will give you a number to call. please pray...please try and go...they need you!!!

Sunday, March 05, 2006

throw a wrench in it...


well, it is sunday again...the last two weeks have just flown by...it is crazy to think about all that has happened since my last blog :) where to start??? how about with mississippi...since before new years i have been praying that God would open the door for me and a small team to go down south and help serve a community still suffering from the effects of hurricane katrina. God has opened that door! :) gautier, mississippi...here we come :) it has really been amazing to watch God put this trip together. my desire was to go down over spring break...but for a few days i was starting to doubt that was going to happen...my next desire was to take a small team down with me...again there were a couple of days i doubted that was going to happen as well..."oh, ye of little faith..." my God is a GREAT BIG GOD!! :) He works out His will every time. within a week God provied me with a place to go, a team to go with, the money to get down there and even a reliable van to drive!! how cool is that?!? i've just been in awe...this past friday however i was put to the test again...i recieved a phone call from my contact in mississippi. she informed me that somethings had changed over the last week and it was looking like we were not going to be able to go down. needless to say i was shocked!! stunned actually...i didn't know what to think or do for a few minutes...i mean i was in the middle of writing a paper for school that i had been putting off all week (did i mention i am a horrible procrastinator...). i was trying to figure out whether or not i should try to finish my paper then figure out what to do or something like that...i opted to for go the paper and pursue God to find some answers. "where were we going to go?; what ws i going to tell my team?; can i find another place to go?; everybody is going to be sooo dissapointed...Lord you pulled everything into place...and now you're closing the door...i...i just don't understand..." these were my thoughts and prayers for the next hour or so...i called a few people and just asked them to be praying with me. before i started work at 1 pm friday, i decided to call back down to the church in mississippi that we were originally going to go to...just to re-clarify that we weren't able to come down...i think i was still in shock and denial...i called...come to find out that within that hour or so i was dazed and confused, things worked themselves out and we are scheduled to leave for mississippi march 12th!! how amazing is God?!?
the last two weeks have just been filled with similar instances...there were multiple things in my life that i thought were under control and i was well on my way down a steady path...it just seemed to make sense...then there goes that wrench...into the machine...what?!? how did that happen? and i am left clueless again...
you'd think that with all God has done and provided for this life of mine, i would have unshakable faith...but i don't...yet God is still in control! despite what i might feel at the time...He is Omniscient and Omnipresent!! AMEN!! :)
i may not understand or even know what God is up to...and i am learning and re-learning that i don't need to...all i have to do is wait, watch and follow when called to do so.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
~Hebrews 11:1~

would you belive it...it is snowing!! :) it was almost flip flop weather yeasterday...and this morning it is snowing...everything is white again :)

well unitl next time...in light of the group on grounds this weekend...i leave you with a 'warm fuzzie': "may God bless you and keep you safe while we are apart. may you be surrounded in His grace and may you feel His love with an abundance." :)



Sunday, February 19, 2006

winding down


Well it is Sunday afternoon...I am waiting for the group on grounds to go home, (not that I am pushing them out or anything) So while I wait, I decided to try out this whole blog thing. This would be the second time I have tried something like this...i didn't keep up with the last one (my bad) but maybe I can do it this time...do you have faith in me? Anyways, like I said...it is pretty quite around here. As most people would be desperately trying to get the most out of their last day off before jumping into the new week...I am just winding down from mine. Actually, if I remember correctly tomorrow is a holiday...so I guess most people have one more day of relaxing and/or accomplishing tasks around the house. Either way, tomorrow is my day of comotose. I am always exhuasted after a weekend of hosting. Exhuasted in a good way though.
This weekend we had 2 groups on grounds. One was a college group and the other was a high school group. It has been absolutely figid this weekend. The coldest it has been all winter. The only upside to this is the snow we made earlier this week is not going to go anywhere. It is kinda funny to look around outside and see all brown and gloom until your eyes come upon the tube hill...then you are struck by white!! I am not a fan of the cold...but I DO love the snow...ecspecially when it sticks to the trees :)
Oh, well...it will be spring before we know it :) By the way...if you are looking for something to do...and you like movies...i highly recomend Hoodwinked!! I just saw it last Wednesday...very clever. My favorite character had to be the squirl...watch it and you'll understand why :) Well I should sing off for now...Have a SPECTACULAR day! :P

~ random thought~
"Are we daring enough to be different, humble enough to make mistakes, wild enough to be burnt in the fire of love, real enough to make others see how phony we really are?"

~Brennan Manning~
Ragamuffin Gospel