My team headed back to edmonton for this camp. The church is located on stony plain road, in a low-income kind of neighborhood. Going into the camp our team knew that this camp could be one of our tougher weeks. We would be getting kids from a different lifestyle/background and going into orientation the church only had 5 kids registered. To give you an idea of how little that is, most churches average around 30-60 campers. But yea hearing from Kaitlyn and Vince last year they didn't have that many kids either so we knew that this camp would be tough. Going into orientation we had about 7-8ish volunteers, but later on the week it would grow to be around 10. That's almost half of their congregation volunteering at the camp. Fushion fellowship may be one of the smallest churches I've ever been in, but the church has a big heart for the Lord. Their passion to go right into the community and reach into those tougher areas of our city is truly remarkable.
Day 1
We headed to field and saw that it was a mess. The grass came to my shins, the grass was still wet from the rain the night before, and of course the previous two factors are perfect conditions for mosquitoes. Hoards of them. As you may know, I attract mosquitoes where ever I go, I could spray all the mosquito repellent I want. After the first day I had around 100 mosquito bites on my legs alone, (some had been there from previous camps...but still). I just remember on day 1 I was trying to set up my warmup stations in the long grass while being swarmed by mosquitoes. Everyone of them trying to bite me. I could barely setup because I was constantly swatting mosquitoes away from my face. At that moment I just felt great anger and frustration. I felt that it was unfair and unreasonable that the conditions were like this. I couldn't understand the purpose of these mosquitoes and why they were trying to bite me. Why was the grass not cut, why was the grass so wet which made my socks wet and gross. Why am I being treated like this when all I'm trying to do is serve you God. It's been a while since that day so I can't really remember how I felt exactly. But I was just so angry and I was just questioning God angrily, what the purpose of all this was in my head. Now that I think back on it, it reminds of me Jonah and when he was sitting in the shade of the tree. God sent a worm to eat the tree which made Jonah furious. He had also questioned God why. Why did he deserve that. God said, "What's this? How is it that you can change your feelings from
pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did
nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night.
A bit of my own self reflection reminded me to be humble and to be more grateful instead. It was a blessing and a privilege to serve and not my right. It was not something God needed me for because God does not need anyone. I had to rid myself of the arrogance, the idea that God should give me what I desire simply because it's something that I feel is right. I have no idea in the way that God was going to be working in this camp so who was I to question his way of doing things.
Later on that day our team prayed for the grass to be cut the next morning and for the mosquitoes to die down. Camp started we had about 13 kids which was a lot better than 5. Instead of doing several groups of kids, we just did one giant group of kids as we lead them through skills and games. During coaches corner we did our skits, and as usual we tried to make it overly dramatic to lighten it up. Not a single laugh was given that skit. But our team was prepared for this, we knew that the crowd was going to be a bit tougher and harder to entertain. We just carried on and did our thing, even though it was difficult because you really have to live off the camper's excitement to make it through these camps. Small groups was split into 2 groups, the kids were really talkative until we talked about anything God related.
We had to try a little harder than any other camp to get the kids excited but after lunch the kids started to warm up and have fun which was good.
Day 2
I held my breath as we drove to the field. I got out of the car and ran to the field even before getting any of my stuff. The grass was cut, an amazing answer to our prayers! Coaches' corner ran a lot smoother, the kids were more comfortable around us and lightened up. It was much better than the first day.
Day 3
Don't really remember much about this day, most of the kids said they had already made the decision to follow the Lord though.
Day 4
On day 4 we ran camps with only 3 coaches. Lane headed over to be with the other team for one day. One of the coaches on the other Alberta team was leaving for school so Lane took over for one day. At our camp we could afford to lose one coach since we had 13 kids, the other camp (with about 60ish kids I believe) however, could not. Camps still ran smoothly, smaller camps are good in a few ways. It's easier to handle and run, more relaxed, and you get to know each kid better in the camp. However games are not as fun with less kids, and there's less energy to feed off from the kids.
Later on that night we went to the church for volunteer appreciation. We had a big turkey dinner which was delicious. While eating dinner Kaitlyn was pulled aside by Bev, and then when she came back Lane was pulled away. Didn't really know what was going on, but after dinner the leaders of the church wanted to pray for each AIA coach individually. They wanted to pray for Kaitlyn first because she had to leave early. No one on our team had any idea where she would be going, we were very confused. They prayed for her for about 20 minutes and after she told us that she was going to drive home. So Lane was going to be head coach the next day. She reassured our team that nothing was wrong, and that she just needed some rest to avoid burning out. After that each one of the AIA coaches were prayed for individually. They prayed for each person for about 20 minutes which was quite long. However, when I was being prayed for it didn't feel like it. I had never been prayed for like that before. There were probably around 5-6 church leaders up there, I think a few of them had the gift of Prophecy. But they just laid hands on my head, my chest, whatever and they prayed for me. It was a pretty awesome experience for me, everyone on the team enjoyed it. The girls wrote down what they had said so they could refer to it later. I thought that was a good idea so this is a good place as any to write it. One guy said he kept seeing Robin hood when he thought of me, in the sense that I give to the poor or something like that. Not necessarily stealing from the rich but giving to the poor. And not just the financially poor but the spiritually poor he said. One other guy said he saw me as a hovercraft. In the sense that I would not be settled down in one place and that I would be moving from place to place doing God's work even after this summer. It was pretty crazy and bizarre but a cool experience. It was crazy for Brittany and Lane as well as the leaders prayed for things that in both of their lives that neither of them have ever shared with anyone (events like certain loved ones passing away) and that the prayers that were prayed upon them were just so relevant.
Day 5
Ran camp without coach, but it still went well. Last day goodbyes and hugs again. I expected Fushion to be one of my tougher camps but it turned out to be one of my favorites. By the end of the week the bonds and relationships that you build with the kids is just so wonderful, its always hard to say goodbye. It always amazes me to see how God can bring people together so closely in a matter of 5 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment