Ohio Camp

As soon as we left Tennessee we were on our way to Ohio. So made the marathon trip to Ohio and made it there around 8:30 that night. To greet us was Kristen, the camp director, to show us around and to show us where we were going to be staying. Along with getting us settled we had a counselor meeting of sorts and learned all about the invisible tree and dish duty.  So first we get the girls in their dorm and get them settled, and then Kehl and I head to our dorm. The first thing we noticed was that the whole inside of the building was covered in permanent marker. People from ages ago had written on the walls of the boys dorm. I mean we found a signature from 1958 Wow! This building was old but with lots of character. Soon we asked so, ” where are the showers?” With a small chuckle they let us know that there is no indoor plumbing in the guys dorm and that the showers and restrooms are across the camp grounds. So this week I learned as long as there is a bed in a building and I am dry that is pretty much all I need. It was not bad at all not having indoor plumbing because we were out of the dorms so much I barely noticed at all.

Anyways, we arrived during the first service so we did not get to meet the kids until after the service was over. So after the service we had a meeting where we could meet all the teens. This was a small camp and there were only about 21 teens so we got to know them really well. Upon meeting the teens I knew that we were going to have an experience that was totally different from the first camp. Because we had a opportunity to really get to know all the kids, and that is what happened. The days were planned out really well but there was also ample time for hangout time with the kids.

We started out each day with a devotional in which each counselor had the opportunity to give one each day. I think it was a great way to start of the day. It is great to see how each camp has really emphasized the importance of bringing Christ into every part of your day. After devotion there was breakfast and breakfast dishes in which each team alternated meals. After breakfast was the morning counselor meeting, which I loved because we got to pray for the campers and tell stories of how we saw them growing. After the meeting we had morning worhsip.

Worship was like aerobics. Each song had cool moves to go with it and involved lots of jumping around. It was a really cool way of making sure the kids were awake. But about half way we would slow things down and really get into singing and having time to just focus on the words we were singing.

After worship our speaker, Roger (Doc) McKenzie got to speak to the campers. He did a amazing job that week. I learned SO MUCH from him being at the camp. I was really blessed to see how he interacted with the teens especially at the altar. He even included our team into his services.  His sermons were exactly what the teens needed to hear and I could tell he dreally listened to what God was telling him to preach on. I felt I got to really learn so much about ministry from him. I am really glad that he was there.

From there we had lunch, games, dinner, service and afterglo. The kinds of games we did depended on how much it was raining. We had a mystery place day where we went and played video games all day a churches youth building. The kids loved it I think they could have played all day.

The teens at the camp were such good teens. I got really close to them really fast. The second or third day of camp an bunch of the teens found out that some of their friends got into a really bad car accident and the prognosis did not sound good. So it was an emotional night for them and we were just had to be there for them. Their friends are going to be alright, but they have a long road of recovery for them so please still remember them in your prayers. The teens were so open to me and I loved hanging out with them. I felt honored that they would share their stories with me, and tell me things about themselves that they would not tell complete strangers, and yet told me. I got to play and grow with them daily. I got to pray with my guys at the altar and discuss what their prayers meant.I just hoped I could show them what a Christ follower looked like.

God worked in those teens lives. We had one service where many of them went down to the altar and just let go of the chains that had been weighing them down. They wanted so much to be back into relationship with God. Some of those kids already knew how gruel the world could be, but they also knew how good God could be. Many of them were reconciled with God that week. I felt so blessed to be a part of that process with them, I got to pray with them ,have discussions with them, and got to encourage them as they took new steps in their journey. God was truly amazing at that camp!

Many other funny things happened that will be posted hopefully later this week. Anyways we are headed to North Carolina in the morning for our next camp. Pray for safe travels and safe Urgent Care team members. Take care and I will try my best to keep you all updated!!