Week 3

Some of you might know the parable about the Widow's Offering in Mark chapter 12. It's one I've always loved. This week, I felt like I saw it in action all around me.

First, there was the gardener who has a plot at the community center. She sits out there in the heat and works on her garden for most of the camp day almost every day. She's out there in the sun with us pulling weeds in the heat and listening to our kids play as she waters and weeds and does everything necessary for her plants to grow. As she was leaving one day, she handed one of the staff a couple of her tomatoes. "So the kids can put tomato on their sandwiches," she tells them. When we thanked her for her generosity, she looked back in her basket and gave us two more. I'm pretty sure it was all she had. "There's a lot of kids," she told us as she continued to take her supplies back to her car. I don't know this lady's name, but I know she put so much work into those tomatoes and then just let them go to help feed some kids she doesn't know. That's pretty sweet.

Then we have our high school helpers. I told you about the saving of the kitten last week. But this week, one of our high schoolers overheard one of our staff talking about having a hard time paying for her husband's surgery. This one particular high schooler has a job where she gets a decent paycheck let me know that most of what was left after she paid back her aunt for what she owed her, was going to help pay for the surgery. I know that most high schoolers would spend their money on shoes, hot cheetos, and electronics. In all honesty, I don't know what this high schooler is responsible for paying for on her own, but I know that giving the amount she wants to give in proportion to what she makes is huge. I was humbled in awe of the maturity and generosity she showed. What a big heart.

Then we have our campers. Who daily create for us (staff, volunteers, whoever) trinkets that they work so hard on. They pick flowers for us, make bracelets and necklaces. They draw us pictures and write us thank you notes. Our smart, beautiful, wonderful children find the most creative and innovative ways to give us gifts and thank us. They share their talents of being able to tell you what day of the week a date will occur on, or awesome dance moves, or the ability to create beautiful artwork. Sometimes, they just give us the precious gift of time as they teach us the right way to dance, braid our hair, or include us in their games. When a little first grader is on their way full speed to a game of ninja, a hula hoop, or four square and they stop to say good morning and give you a hug, even that is huge. They take something that is so important to them and stop thinking about it for a minute to give you their attention. How sweet and valuable is that?

I've been convicted this week. As I'm surrounded by these sweet beautiful people, some are friends, some are campers, some are volunteers, and some are strangers, I just think of how greatly blessed I am to work in this place. It's no secret that Clarkston is a place where there is all kinds of poverty, but occasionally when I look around all I see are people sharing what they have (snacks, money, time, knowledge) to help bring someone else up. I still have so much to learn, but I'm thankful for the learning process. I can confidently say that I am rich in examples of the Widow's Offering and that is something that brings me great joy.

"And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41-44

Mad Science Week!

This past week of camp had it's curve balls. Rain in the early afternoons had us going home a little earlier than usual, but there are some really great stories from the week.

Thank you!
We had a volunteer team from Perimeter Church that continued the trend of best volunteers ever from the week one group. They just fully dived into camp life. They interacted with children, got to know High School Helpers, and encouraged staff all along the way. They really bent over backwards to be helpful and their humble, servant hearts shined all week long.

One of their team leaders shared a story at the end of the week about a conversation with one of the younger Muslim boys at camp. He was insisting that all Christians are bad. The volunteer asked if he knew camp staff was Christian. He said he didn't and then changed his statement to "Christians not at camp are bad." While we need to be praying for this camper's heart, how encouraging to hear that we are showing the right example within camp. Praise God.

Story Time:
My favorite moment of the week had to do with our same little friend from the previous story. The Chick-fil-a cow had come for a visit, and in his excitement, my little friend stepped right into an ant pile. Annalisa swooped in and saved him. After his shoes were off, we found that he was fortunate to have only two little ant bites. Annalisa then washed his feet. She was so gentle, even cleaning his toenails, I couldn't help but think about Jesus washing the disciples' feet. It was a sweet, sweet moment.

I also had quite the adventure with a few of the High School Helpers this week. One of our guys found a starving kitten on the side of the road and just couldn't leave it. So naturally he brought it to camp. A few of the High School Helpers worked hard to build a box out of broken down boxes to keep the kitten safe through the camp day until one of them could take it home. As hard as they tried...the little cat was a master escape artist. Thier perseverance was impressive, though. We ended up bringing our new little friend to a neighbor and friend of camp who had some tuna to donate to the cause. After our little feline friend had a snack, we decided Annalisa's porch was the best place to keep it until it had a home...at camp it was quite the distraction...
I am happy to announce that Avalon now has a happy home with her rescuer. She's in for a long, spoiled life I'm sure.

Best Friends

Friday I was having was a rough day. It was a "got up on the wrong side of the bed and forgot my lunch" kind of day. One of my long time camper friends was just the trick to make me smile. He built a rocketship out of legos and was telling me all about it:
"It shoots magic!"
"It can headbutt its enemies!"
"It can go into hyperdrive and travel to the future!"
"AND...Ms. Emily look...IT CAN SELF-DESTRUCT!!!" *broke it into so many pieces it would never look the same again
It was just what I needed to get out of my slump. These kids that I spend every day with are crazy...but they are also creative, loving, welcoming, goofy, imaginative, and some of my favorite humans on this earth.

Lately, there has been a trend among anyone who visits camp for a few minutes or week. They all have the same thing to say. They walk onto the field and it's chaos with kids and toys everywhere...but they feel like they belong. They feel welcomed. And I could quit my job happy now. We've successfully created a space where anyone from anywhere can walk into the middle of our day and feel like a part of our mix-matched, loud, messy, hot, crazy family. Don't worry, I'm not actually quitting my job, but I am busting with pride over the shout outs campers, high schoolers, and staff receive. They are the best. I am honored to be a part of this summer with them!

Many hande makes for quick work de-flooding the blacktop

Week One: DONE!

Well, folks. We made it! the first week of Summer Spectacular 2016 happened!

You might think "happened" is a funny word to use to describe such an exciting event as the start of camp...let me explain.

Some of you might remember a few months ago when we weren't even sure we had a location to hold camp this year. There were several weeks of desperate prayers, phone calls, emails, and meetings trying to secure a location for over 100 Clarkston youth to come together with staff, interns, and volunteer teams to come together and make this program happen. As of a few weeks before camp, we had about 2.5 interns (which for the record is not enough). We even went into the first week of camp with no food provider. That means we had no help from the state in feeding all of our kids breakfast and lunch every day.

Oh, and my family lost a loved one last week. The drive to Kentucky and back to spend time with family and celebrate Roger's life is something that I wouldn't miss for anything. The lost sleep and time away from camp was worth it, though it added to the week one madness.

See what I mean by week one happened?

But let me tell you, the Lord provides! 

Not only do we have our first choice for camp location (the Clarkston Community Center field and Northlake Church of Christ) we added some indoor space from Clarkston International Bible Church so all the kid can have some inside time during the camp day. Parents have been asking us to find a way to do this for years!

We also have a team of interns that is one of the most prepared, competent, passionate, excited group of interns I can remember. All the intern teams I've worked with have been special and awesome, but something about this one let's all know for sure the Lord has big plans for them this summer. We have an intern per grade plus an extra one even to help with administrative stuff! Praise the Lord!

Not having food last week means that our wonderful food coordinator facilitated over 100 people getting two filling and nutritious meals a day. That's a feat, my friends! As my wonderful husband would say, "teamwork makes the dream work!" There were a lot of people that came together to make sure we had more than enough for campers to eat this week and the state food start next week! AND we have people willing to help supplement the meals so the kids will have more options and healthier choices.

I also found myself surrounded by the best as we celebrated Roger's life. Getting to see so much family that we normally see once a year or less just a month after the wedding was truly a blessing. And though our reason for being together was sad...I just feel blessed to be a part of such a big and loving family. All of us putting everything aside (work, school, etc.) to come together and greive and laugh and eat and catch up is just what all of us needed I think. So while we are missing Roger here on earth, we also can't help but smile knowing he's got the better end of the deal living it up in paradise with his son. Thank you so much to everyone who called, texted, facebooked, or made it possible for all of us to leave and be a family.

Story Time
I know this is really why you read my blog...so here's some cute pictures and a couple of funny stories.

One of my new little first grade friends who happens to be Muslim came running up to me the first day of camp. She jumped on me, grabbed my cross necklace, and said, "you are a Christian?" I told her that I was. She looked confused. "So you are Napoli?" "Nope, not Napoli, just American." She still looked confused and finally concluded, "You're just Christian, not Napoli..." I confirmed her statement and she ran off to play with her friends. I sometimes wish I could understand their logic...but mostly I am just entertained by these little moments.

A couple of my 2nd grade friends helped me add some beauty to camp in the
form of chalk art. I love quality time with these two!

Another new camper who is older was having a hard time obeying his intern. Instead of listening to the Character Ed story, he wanted to make paper airplanes. I asked him to return and sit with his group. He stared at his feet and didn't move. The standoff continued for a little while. After about the fifth time I asked him to sit with his group he finally looked up at me, "are you Ms. Emily?" I told him I was. He sighed and went and sat with his group. Apparently my reputation proceeds me!

This little buddy of mine never fails to make me smile.
He's the camp goofball for sure (or one of them).

Pray for us!
Week 2 will be a blast. As we all now better understand our role and are getting to know each other better pray that relationships form. Pray for opportunities to share with the camper and their families about Jesus. and Pray especially for our Muslim friends as they fast for Ramadan and continue to play hard at camp (we don't want any dehydration issues or heat stroke!).

Thanks, guys! You're the best!