The end of camp is near...

and though the days are long, the sun is hot, and there's only so many times I can listen to campers ask me where their water bottle is, I don't want it to be over.
We were extremely blessed this week with some short termers from Virginia that love working refugees. They were flexible, willing to serve however they could, and our kids and staff loved them. I am so thankful for their servant hearts and for their passion for missions. It was so nice to spend our last week at the Clarkston Community Center with volunteers who were so easy to work with. Each of our teams this summer has been a blessing, but the added complications of 4 grades going to the pool and a talent show, this group deserves a shout out for their ability to flex. Thank you!
This week there were a lot of extra things going on outside of camp. Tuesday night one of our very own middle school campers and her friends helped plan and host a block party at one of the nearby apartment complexes. We had hotdogs, chips, bananas, brownies, music, games, and great company. The girls stayed after camp and went with me to Sam’s to get enough food for 300 people, pack my car full of games, and set up for the party. They invited everyone they saw and made it a great success. It was so much fun to have people who live and work in the community, apartment residents, McKendree volunteers, GFM staff and interns, the short termers from Virginia, and as many of our kids from camp that could get a ride all together in one place. I got to reconnect with old campers, catch up with some current ones, and meet parents of campers. From my perspective, I loved watching the girls fill with pride over their hard work paying off (they have been planning for a long time).
Wednesday and Thursday were busy days as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade all went to the pool. Wednesday the younger ones went and Thursday the older ones went. This threw our camp schedule way off, but our staff and volunteers are amazing and able to keep up as we continually have wrenches thrown in our plans. The kids all had a blast and we now know who can swim and who can't (valuable information before next week!).
Friday was our talent show. Our kids have been working towards this day all summer. It's always a delight to watch them strut their stuff and show off what they can do in front of their friends and family. This year was better than ever as the extremely talented Sarah and her squad of awesome volunteers hosted a great show. Sarah worked with each of the kids on their acts including some large group performances by the elementary grades. There was food from around the world, crafts for sale that our campers made, and the opportunity to share about our program with some people who came just for the show. It's so much fun to be able to share how great the kids we work with are with our friends and families as staff. Thank you to everyone who came out and made it so great. It was the perfect way to close out camp at the Clarkston Community Center.
*Sorry no pictures this week...I was sick and not on my picture taking game. Please pray that my sinus infection clears up quickly so that I can enjoy the last week of camp with the kiddos. 

Spirit Week!

Having McKendree come as a short term team is always a nice treat for me. I love being able to see how the group grown and changes over the years. This year was especially exciting as I had the experience to share with some of the newer youth how their group got to be involved in Friends of Refugees 6 years or so ago. It all started with a few of us in the then tiny Jolly Avenue Community Garden. Our first time visiting there were only a handful of plats that were just piles of dirt. We worked hard pulling weeds, spreading some worms, and getting dirty and sweaty. We also had a chance to do some home visits where we were going to see if any tenants needed help filling out work orders for their homes. I was a part of an especially lucky group that was invited inside a home for a feast where we met an entire family and got to learn about their story and how they came to America over some delicious food. As we debriefed as a group, the leader told us there was a summer camp and that they were always looking for groups to come a serve a week to help out. This was right up our ally and we gladly signed up for a week...we told our youth pastor about it later (whoops!). As we stood in the garden now, with almost 100 plots all bursting with green, it was surreal to look back on that first experience. Because of that one short day 6 years ago, I'm on staff, 2 more are interns, 20-25 youth come each summer to serve at camp, and even more come in the evenings of McKendree's camp week to help host a 3 night VBS at Clarkston UMC. What a blessing to get to now facilitate opportunities like the one I had that brought me here.

This is where it all began. You must stop but if you're in town!

This week was also Spirit Week. The first day, every Monday actually, we wear our awesome camp shirts (designed by our very own Jess Bullock). Tuesday was twin day. Wednesday was whacky sock day. Thursday was grade color day (each grade has a specific color they have been assigned and a chant they created, the two were combined to see which grade had the most spirit). Friday was a group favorite of Super Hero Day. It was so much fun to get kids, interns, and McKendree alike all excited for the day with this special week.

1st grade interns rocking twin day.

This intern/high school helper combo stole the show. 

This intern and her 1st grade twin might have been the cutest.

The week was also special because it was Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila. At camp, we love little more than free food so we packed into our local Chickfila off of Memorial Drive with as many kids as we had cow shirts to all eat together. Like one big party, we all ate together, played together, and enjoyed some extra time with the kiddos. Don't they make cute cows?

So much free food, so little space to sit. 

Though this particular week was especially busy with camp and VBS, it was a great busy. At the end of each day I feel the kind of tired that means you accomplished something that day. I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to work hard for something I believe in and that makes a difference. 

Harvest Week

This week we were blessed with some time off from camp. We weren't just sitting around though. There was a lot to catch up on!

Our group outside of Chickfila headquarters.

Monday we deep cleaned the community center where we hold most of camp. Tuesday was filled with meetings and research one of our interns is conducting to see how we can improve parent involvement in our program (my nerdy side is really excited about this project!). Wednesday we took the High Schoolers for a tour at the Chickfila headquarters (it was really legit and the kids loved it). Thursday was more meetings about what the youth programs will look like when school starts back. Throughout the whole week we got to do one of my favorite parts of the summer...Mid-Summer Evaluations!!! The MSE consists of nothing more than about 12 questions Josh and I go through with small groups of interns. I love this time so much because on a day to day basis we don't get to check in too much with each other individually. It's so great to have an hour and half to sit down and talk about the summer, life, and how truly good God is. There is so much growth that happens in this precious time.

Mr. Josh in Mr. Cathy's office.

Friday was we took completely off. I took some time with my sister and mom to get lunch, find a wedding dress for me, bridesmaid dresses for my girls, resize my engagement ring (turns out it was a size and a half too big!), and then dinner with the family. What a productive day and great way to end a restful week. I'm feeling rested and ready to finish out the rest of the summer strong. I can't wait for my McKendree people to get here in a few days and I'm looking forward to the shenanigans we have planned for the coming week.

Spirit week, here we come!

Week 3 and 4

This past week I noticed a change as we all got better at our individual roles. Overall camp went more smoothly and there were generally less bumps and kinks than the past two weeks. We seem to have fallen into our groove. It's so nice to step back and watch camp.

Though the Lord has taught me many lessons this summer already, there are two things I've learned that stand out among the rest. 

1. The Lord always provides. 

2. The body of Christ is made of many different parts for good reason. 

Provision

I can't count how many times this summer our staff has doubted, worried, and paced over fear of not having what we need. "We need transportation." "We need hot, running water." "We need rest."  "We need to know what to do." "We need (fill in the blank)." Each and every one while we were busy worrying the Lord was at work solving the problems before they ever arose. My roommate Carrie and I have had to remind each other over and over again that the Lord's arm is not too short. I've learned to stand in amazement and simply look forward to the incredible ways the Lord provides for us. God is so good. 

Goofy kid making me smile on a tough day. 

The Body 

We hear about the how the eyes should not be jealous of the ears because each plays an important role. But sometimes when you're the pinky toe it's hard to see yourself as important as the thumb. At camp there are a lot of moving parts. It's easy to compare your role to others' and see yourself as less important. The truth is though, everyone is important. Whether you're a supporter, intern, staff member, camper, family member, or friend...each and every single person is important and plays a key role in the Kingdom coming to Clarkston. I'm thankful for all of the people that play a part in encouraging, working hands on, donating supplies, and managing the chaos. THANK YOU! 

Campers teaching Mr. Josh some new jokes. 

Update

It's been a long two weeks, but they just keep getting better and better. I love getting to spend so much time with these awesome kiddos. We've fallen into a good routine at camp and enjoy having a houseful of people over for cookie baking and movie watching after camp as well. I feel so lucky and so blessed that I get to have a job where I get to know some of the coolest kids in the world. In the past two weeks, I got to go to the pool with some 5th graders, had three groups of people over to my house to bake cookies, one group stopped by to watch a movie, and several who stopped by for dinner. There have been countless hugs and smiles, a few tears, and one sentence that I never thought I would ever have to say, "Hey, let's just stick to walking on our hands, okay."

The kid who was walking on his hands instead of his feet...and really good at it. 

I LOVE MY JOB!!!

Week 2

Update:

What a week. I feel like I say that every week...but each one is filled with its own challenges and accomplishments. We had two of our staff out of town this week and another few who were gone a day or two. We are blessed to have such a large staff this year, but we could definitely feel the difference with not having them. Each person contributes so much and even their seemingly small tasks that they help out with have a ripple effect through the whole camp. (I can't wait to have everyone there next week!)

On that note, team dynamics are important. Even when a few are missing, the willingness for all the rest to step up and share the load is impressive. Our group this year is filled with people who are true servant leaders and who love God and each other. It's really fun to be a part of leading these interns and I feel like I can never truly express to them how essential and valuable they are to camp and how thankful I am for their contributions.

To paint you a better picture: we have 3 who come earlier and leave later than all the other interns every day to transport kids to and from camp. They deal with van difficulties varying from shattered windows to kids missing the bus to no AC. They always deserve a shout out. We have a few others who take turns staying late to help make dismissal a little smoother, giving up a portion of their personal rest time for the day, and all of them have committed to loving these kids despite bad attitudes and being under appreciated by campers. These interns are seeking the Lord to learn how to best discipline kids so they can leave camp better people than when they came and handling the tougher issues like champs. They are hardworking, loving, and pure-hearted people who make camp what it is. They also encourage me, make sure Josh and I rest, and never complain about the heat.

Our campers are pretty amazing too though. They chip in and help out in more ways than we could ever expect. Coming up on a flooded blacktop this morning, the kids jumped on board grabbing brooms to make sure we had it cleared off before breakfast could be served. They took turns, encouraged each other, and even little first graders helped out. We also had some guys who took it upon themselves to fix one of the broken soccer goals. They worked hard and manufactured some pretty clever ingenuity to get the job done so that all of camp could enjoy soccer with 2 goals instead of 1. They are full (most of the time) with smiles and hugs and the most random complements  you could think of: "Miss Emily, your hands are so soft." Even though they struggle sometimes and make some bad choices, they almost always are able to turn around, forgive and accept forgiveness, shake hands, and move on. It's easy to focus on a few kids who struggle more than others, but big picture, our kids are beautiful, wonderful, and smart kids. I am so thankful for each and every one of them.

A Day in the Life of Emily:
If you're a little confused about what exactly it means to be a Summer Camp Co-Director, my day today explains it pretty well. I started the morning at 7AM setting up and cleaning the tables to get ready to serve breakfast. When the food arrived, I helped unload the food and then the breakfast crew takes over. Right after that, I start sweeping off our giant mud puddle of a blacktop only to be nicely surprised by a group of campers who came to help. I was then met by one of our bus drivers with news that one of our campers had thrown up in his van. I handed him my keys to drive to where the extra van was and continue his routes while I looked into how bad the situation was in the van. I got a text from another van driver who needed money to go get gas (quick trip gift cards are a blessing!) and passed that off to her. I was (again) nicely surprised to find a few people to help me clean the van as I get another phone call from the first driver. The extra van won't start. Awesome. He takes my car to pick up some kids while we try and quickly but effectively clean his van. The third van driver finishes early and passes of her van to the first guy who is still trying to finish his routes. Whew. Are you tried yet? So now all the kids are here and we are almost ready to dismiss to Fun Friday Activities. A quick conversation with Josh makes it clear that I am going to need to take the van to get cleaned more thoroughly during this activity time. Off I go. Vacuum the van. Wash the Van. Good enough for now time to get back to camp before the chaos we call lunch. I help get lunch set up (it's running late) and we collectively decide that we need a camp wide game fast. 4 Corners, everyone to the blacktop! We play a few rounds. We line up by grade. We practice our cheers. The food is still not quite ready. Practice a few more cheers. Sing Happy Birthday to a high school helper. Yes! Lunch is ready! Everyone gets in line and gets food. Whew. Just one more hour left. We get ready to play for free time. No one can find their water bottles. The water horse we use is causing conflicts between kiddos left and right "she sprayed me!" "he started it!" so no more of that. I'm the water monitor. Help some boys with ideas on how to best fix the soccer goals. Settle a few minor conflicts "Now say sorry and shake hands." Dismissal time already? One last (highly regulated) water break. Head to the blacktop! Head to the blacktop! Head to the blacktop...I need a recording of that. Settle a few more disputes. Now time to catch the kids before they get on the vans to make sure everyone in going to the right place. Whew. So hot. Someone offers we some water. Uh oh. I didn't breakfast or lunch...oh there's another van. Alright. It's 2. The kids are home. The Community Center is clean enough. Send addresses and phone numbers to the interns who have asked for them throughout the day. Sit and catch up with an intern for a bit. Alright. 2:30. Time to head to Chickfila for a big, cold sweet tea and meal while I update my blog. Later tonight I will go out to dinner with a few kids. Tonight, I will sleep like a rock. There's your day in the life of Summer Camp Co-Director.

PS: I still absolutely love my job.

Prayer Requests:

• We are still smoothing out a lot of bumps.  
• Interns and staff to stay encouraged and not lose hope. 
• Interns and staff get enough rest.
• Campers' attitudes are positive and they are able to make good choices. 
• The Kingdom of God is closer to Clarkston because of Summer Camp.