Week 5- Camrose

Our whole team was recovering from a sort of rough week going into Camrose. We were also just passing the halfway mark of our summer so fatigue started settling in a bit as well. However we were excited about Camrose because Phyllis (Bev's sister) was the church coordinator and she had trained all the assistant coaches quite well. The assistant coaches were prepared to lead devotions, coaches' corner and do testimonies which was awesome. Not to mention that there were over 10 of them which made leading small groups and world cup a lot easier. One thing that stuck out in this camp particularly, is that Phyllis made every single volunteer and coach pray every time we had devotions, debriefs, etc. Phyllis was really focused on building into the volunteers and she really wanted to make sure they grew in their faith this week. After our volunteer orientation we went back, Kaitlyn stayed with Britney (who is from camrose). While Lane and I headed to our billet's house which was outside of camrose. As we drove we were kind of disappointed that this house was so far and that we would not be able to sleep in as much. But..when we got there and our billets showed us around the house, we decided that it was worth the drive. We stayed in the basement and there was a home gym there, pool table, well-stocked fridge with drinks, two queen sized beds, 3 couches and a big flat screen tv. Our billets were amazing this week, they brought us snacks in the middle of the night and packed us amazing lunches everyday. They even made our beds...and restocked our fridge with drinks daily. We were spoiled, that 10-15 minute drive to Camrose didn't seem so bad after all.

Day 1

Probably one of the smoothest first days of camp so far this summer. The campers were awesome, super attentive, super skilled, great kids in general. We had two kids specifically, who were extremely skilled. Both of them were Eriks, and both of them were amazing. One of the Eriks plays on a club team, don't remember which tier but he is more skilled than pretty much all of our volunteers. The other Erik is just as amazing, he played in a swedish league a few years back I believe.(he told me his juggling record is 69) He is also the grandson of Phyllis. Both of these Erik's stood out even on the first day, everything was pretty easy for them. We were aware of their skill before camp even started so we were concerned that it would be boring for them. But these kids were amazing, since they could perform all the skills so well, they spent their time teaching the younger kids and taking on a leadership role instead. Lane and I made sure to keep them challenged though during the breaks by having them do soccer tricks or do juggling tricks like milkshakes or super sevens.

In my small group I had a few church kids but most of them were not. Anders was one of the kids who was not a church go-er he is Erik's younger brother (Phyllis' grandkids). Anders and his family are not Christians, they are always told that Christianity is the faith of their grandparents, but not something their own family believes in. Going into camp I could see that Phyllis really wanted this week to have an impact on her grandchildren.

Day 2

Camp continues to go smoothly, the assistant coaches are awesome. They have so much energy and enthusiasm, they make every skit exciting for the kids which is awesome.

Day 3

Bev made an appearance today, she was going to be with our team for the last few days of camp. It was great seeing her and catching up with her. She is going in for surgery next wednesday so she has to be well rested. The doctor says she can only work 5 hours a day, and not to over exert herself. It was great to talk to her and hear how she was doing. Her presence was an encouragement to our whole team, and we were glad to have her back. Wednesday we present the good news to the children, my favorite day. Phyllis sat in my small group as I did my gospel presentation. I asked if anyone wanted to make the decision to follow Jesus, and surprisingly no one wanted to commit but that's ok.

Day 4

The day we talk about trust training and how even after you become a Christ follower, there are tough times and you need to trust in Jesus. In my small group I asked everyone who they trusted the most. Everyone said God. I was then curious to find out why even kids who didn't go to church said they trusted God the most. I assumed that most kids said "God" because someone else before them had said it, and they were just following suit. I asked Anders if he went to church or if he was a follower of Christ. He shook his head. Then I asked him why did he trust God. He said to me quietly "well..listening to the stories from the coaches, I feel like God is someone I can trust". Hearing that really brightened my day. At the end of the day during our debriefing session, I shared that with the team and that made Phyllis really happy.

Thursaday was our volunteer appreciation dinner, we headed over to the community church. It was also Howard's birthday (Phyllis' husband), and for his present Phyllis had me tell the story of Anders to Howard. It made both of them so happy to know that God was working in their grandson's heart. Howard couldn't stop thanking me, even though we both knew that none of this was my doing but what God was doing through me. They told me that Anders and his family have never had any interest in their faith, so to hear Anders say something like that was a big deal for them. The night went on and volunteers and coaches were called up on stage and given thank yous and stuff like that. A few volunteers led worship songs. Before the night ended everyone held hands and prayed for Bev and the four AIA coaches. After that each AIA coach prayed for the volunteers and the church. After that we all prayed for healing on Bev. It was just an amazing night of prayer and worship, and you could feel the presence of the holy spirit there which was amazing. The power of prayer is amazing.

Day 5

Before I ended my small group today, I asked if anyone wanted to pray. I asked each camper if they wanted to pray, most of them said no. I asked Anders if he wanted to pray. He said "I don't know what to say". I told him that he's having a conversation with God and that he could say whatever he wanted. He agreed to try and gave thanks to God for the weather and that he could have an amazing time at soccer camp. At lunch I let Phyllis know that he had prayed today, and she was thrilled. I could tell that God worked in this soccer camp in a really special and personal way for her.

After lunch we had world cup all afternoon and pretty much every parent came to watch their kid play. The community in Camrose is amazing and the atmosphere made the games that much more exciting for the kids as well.  After that it was home time, and it was kind of sad for me. This camp in particular, I built a lot of close relationships with the kids and it was sad to see them go. A lot of pictures were taken with the kids and I. Unfortunately none of those photos were taken by my camera or phone, nor would I be allowed to share them even if they were. But Camrose, definitely my favorite week so far.