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!