Second Week Here: Training Week

So a week ago from today new counselors were still trickling in from all over the country for the second official project. From Montana, Idaho, Oklahoma, Michigan, Indiana, and the list goes on. Eventually everyone got here by Monday night around dinner. Two people I know from OU came down, so that was good. It's nice to have some familiar faces around and to see some friends.

After dinner, we had to get dressed in crazy, random costumes and go on a photo scavenger hunt at a nearby shopping complex. For those of you who don't know what that is: you get in teams, one person has to have a digital camera, then you get a list of things you need to find or do and take pictures of. Each item on the list was a different number of points. Some easy ones were less points, and ones like "scare a stranger (for real)" were 300 points!! At the end of the hour the points were totalled. They never announced the winner, but from talking to the other groups, I'm pretty sure my team won. We were sprinting around like crazy trying to get as many points as possible. Then we all got rewarded for being silly on the scavenger hunt by getting icecream or slushies at Sonic.

The next day we took a prayer walk on one of the trails. It was nice to get in groups and pray and connect with some other counselors. During the busy weeks when kids are here, I won't always have a chance to contemplate the beauty that's surrounding me, so it was nice to enjoy God's creation for a little.

Another thing we did that day was practice for the "Banquet" night. The first night the kids are here is a banquet theme, so we use trashbags to make dresses for the girls and ties for the boys. It's silly, but fun and the kids love it. As an added twist for this week we had the guy conselors make the girl's dresses, which turned out pretty funny in some cases, but mine was actually pretty good (I added a lot of suggestions because my Project Runway mode was kicking in, haha).

We also had a campfire that night, which was nice. The guys made the girls smores, so that was an added bonus. We learned some more campfire songs and talked. It was pretty chill.

The next day we organized workshops, which is what the kids do between breakfast and lunch when they're here. I get to help organize the dance workshop, which is really exciting! I'm going to teach them a dance to the chorus of "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns. We did a dance to it with Daughters of the King fall quarter, so I pretty much just modified the moves we did for that to be simpler for kids of all ages.

After lunch that day we went on the "expedition." On the expedition, you take a trail and along the way there are stations that each explain a different color of the gospel beads. For those of you who may not be familiar with the gospel beads, the first color is yellow which stands for God's light and love with which He created the world. Blue stands for our sin and sadness that causes us to be separate from God. Red is for Jesus' blood which washes us clean, so the next bead is Clear. And the final bead is Green for growing in our relationship with God once we have been cleansed of our sin. I think it's such a simple and clear presentation of the gospel; I really love that they use it here to reach children. At the end of the expedition trail there's an outdoor chapel where the kids can make their own braceletes. I already have one from Christmas Conference, which I still have on!

Next, we had a workshop on worship. It was interesting to hear people's thoughts on the different types of worship and what the Bible has to say about it (which is A LOT). And of course we got to worship, which is always awesome.

The next day, Thursday, did some team building exercises like the trust fall. We also talked about discipline. It was interesting to hear about how to really discipline through love and what that looks like. It definitely made me feel more confident about the coming weeks and handling a variety of situations. Another workshop that day was about spiritual gifts, which is always an interesting topic. I feel that God has really given me the gift of knowledge, particularly about His Word. It made me think a lot about what God really wants me to do with the gifts He's given me. He's given me this insatiable hunger for studying His Word; and now I just need to be listening more about what I'm meant to do with it!

Friday we watched Freedom Writers after lunch (if you haven't seen it, rent it! it's sooo good). I'd seen it before, but it has the same emotional impact every time. It sparked conversation about how to reach kids who come from a rough, inner city background. One thing is for sure, it's not easy. I think the most important thing sometimes is to just listen, especially when you can't relate. Pretending that you can, or trying to won't work well. These kids just need love, and it won't matter to them where you're from if you can show them real love.

After lunch we had our poverty simulation. This meant bringing only our toothbrush and toothpaste and the clothes on our back, going into the worst part of Cincinnati to experience where our campers our coming from first hand. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life. If you know me well you might know that I spend a lot of time avoiding potentially awkward situations, and here God threw me straight into the most awkward situation ever. I wasn't really scared; it was honestly pure discomfort. I just didn't know how to act. But in the end, it was good to have been there and to see what our campers are used to. We actually ran into one kid who had been to camp before hanging out outside his home. It was so interesting to talk to him in his setting and here his opinions and thoughts. We spent the night in a church in Cincy and helped with a CityCure program the next morning before heading back to camp. CityCure is the program that works with innercity youth that sends us a lot of our campers.

Saturday after getting back from the poverty simulation, we got to shower (yayy!) and chill for a little. After dinner we went night rafting, which was so much fun!! The Little Miami River isn't anything really awesome, but it was so pretty at dusk and another great opportunity to get to know my fellow counselors. There's one part of the trip where you can get out and swim, there's a small current that you can let carry you (the water is like 2 ft deep, mind you, so you can stand up at anytime). It was great.

Today we went to church at Antioch, which is at the largest YMCA in the country. It was a good service. It seems like they played all my favorite songs and the message was good. Dave, the pastor (who is also Wendell's son, Wendell is the camp president), came to speak on Wednesday or Thursday, and gave a good talk on Ephesians, particularly preparing for war and putting on God's armor. Today the message was about Joseph and how even in the toughest situations, he knew that God was with him and acted that way.

I have to go to a meeting now, so I can't proofread this at all! I'm learning so much, and I wish I could share on a deeper level all that God is teaching me, but I don't have time right now!


In Christ,

Audrey