Thursday, August 4, 2011
do you remember all the fun times we had?
Picking favorite moments of the summer is proving to be quite the challenge. My mind has been racing ever since I've been home as I have been reflecting on the summer, what I have learned, and the exciting, fun things that have happened. I've even been jotting down little things that I remember so I don't ever forget them again!
I'm going to divide this post into a few different lists: Camp, Weekend & Random Fun, andThings I've Learned from my Mid-Western Friends :)
Okiedokie....here it goes.
Top 10 Favorite Memories from Camp:
1. Princess Party!!! The girls got together one night every week and camped out with their little
ones in the Princess Tent (complete with pink lights, duh). The purpose was to share with them how they are Princesses, beautiful daughters of the Great High King of the universe! Princess Party comes complete with a campfire and s'mores, storytime featuringGigi: God's Little Princess (I'm planning on adding this to my library ASAP), and Veggie Tales: Snoodlerella. Check out"Pants".....we had some fun with this one :)2. Singing the little girls to bed/comforting homesick campers - one of the most challenging but rewarding things of the summer
3. Herman the Worm! [and the other camp songs] I would love to share these wonderfully NOT annoying songs with you, so feel free to ask! :)
4. Playing Gaga
5. Speaking and dancing like Star (one of the judges each week)
6. Hydrate: every Thursday night I met with two other girls, Emily and Chelsey, with our hydrate leader/super-mom Kelli to refresh, take a break from the kids, and encourage one another in the midst of a hectic and busy week :)
7. Domainia: the nightly program including singing, dancing, Mail Call, and the 3-part skit to bring home the theme of "Shine"
8. FOB (flat on bunk) aka nap time, which often times turned into hilarious bonding time for my cabin. I feel like I got to really connect with my girls during this time and just have fun, free from lots of extra people and distractions. It was so relaxing to just hang out, even if we weren't really sleeping :)
9. Meal time and all of the funny skits and dances that came along with it [Cha Cha Slide, Cotten-eyed Joe, Domainia Dues (the hilarious rules skit) and "Cheesy Eggs", just to name a few]
10. Pancakes and ICECREAM every Friday morning for breakfast!
Top 10 Favorite Memories from the Weekends/Random Fun Adventures:
1. Russian accents - the female counselors came back from Princess Party one morning and were magically able to "speak Russian"...I think some campers' minds were blown.
2. Euchre - Andrea/Jenn vs. Bryan/Kayla...Final Score? 3-6. Champs.
3. Smelly Cat: sweet Lauren Miller, in honor of her obsession with cats, was serenaded multiple times with this song, complete with 4 ladies circling, clawing, and licking her like cats. You probably just had to be there...
4. Car ride jam seshes (especially Kellie Voss and her killer dance moves)
5. Graeter's icecream. Black Raspberry Chip is my new favorite, hands down.
6. 4-hour-long Starbs (Starbucks) dates with Andrea and Jenn :)
7. Climbing/standing on/jumping off the
Power Pole
8. Hanging out with the sweet Rieske and Steele children
9. Dressing up like cows for Chick-fil-a's cow appreciation day!!
10. The "True Colors" personality test! and analyzing everyone's personality for weeks after that.
11. (I'm adding an extra item to the list...sorry they won't all be only 10 in length now.) Snuggling/hugging/sitting on laps/etc....yep. I've become a "feeler" [Powerhaus, you would be proud :)] Physical Touch may now be one of my top "love languages." Apparently King's Domain has a way of doing this to people.
12. Oh shoot, I have to add another one. Crud Wards/Slip-in-Slide counselor style! We had an epic boys vs. girls Crud Wars when there were no campers.....so fun! and I still probably have bruises form the slip-in-slide :)
Things I've Learned from my Mid-Western Friends:
1. "Pop" is the preferred term over "soda" (usually)
2. Drawn out vowels indicate being from the south (for example: Biiiible Study) and if you say "y'all" it's a dead giveaway.
3. Jank (adj.): broken, "messed up," not up to par, etc... "This bus (with it's engine that won't start and door that doesn't open properly) is so jank."
4. Euchre brings people together..a little friendly competition didn't hurt anyone
5. To go along with Euchre..."in the barn": When a team is one point away from winning and flip both point cards down to show 9 points, often accompanied by using a hand gesture to milk the
cows (courtesy of the ever-reliable Wikipedia). Sounds super-weird, but it's really not, and if I could demonstrate I would, but you're just gonna have to take my word for it :)
6. Mid-Westerners are loyal to their professional sports teams (mostly football and baseball) and from my experience, the most loyal fans either cheer on Chicago or Indianapolis teams. I have recently decided/been persuaded to be a Colts fan....thoughts?
7. Speedway and it's $.89 slushies/drinks cannot be beat. Everyone has a Speedway points card which earns them rewards such as a free tank of gas when you reach a certain number of points. I have some friends who are well on their way to some big
prizes.
8. It is illegal to make U-turns in Ohio. Not very efficient if you ask me, but just one more thing that made my summer a unique experience! :)
9. Ohio State University is really THE Ohio State University....don't mess. [I really love this and kind of wish UNC was like that.....THE University of North Carolina :)]
10. Michigan State basketball plays UNC on 11.11.11.....the countdown begins.
As you can tell, I have lots of favorite memories from the time I spent at King's Domain.....I'm sure I could've made these lists much longer (but that would've been slightly obnoxious haha) so whenever you see me PLEASE ask me to share some funny stories from the summer. I would love to share them with you (and sing/dance to any camp songs if you would like to experience them for yourself)!
Love y'all tons!
- Kayla
catching up on the last 2 weeks!
7 weeks of Summer Project have already come and gone.....weird. I'm currently sitting in Port City Java (a local favorite here in Wilmington) and thinking back on the last 2 months that I spent in Oregonia, Ohio..a place that probably doesn't come to your mind when you first think "summer missions project". Well, it wasn't on my list of places to travel this summer either, but that's where I ended up and I don't regret it one bit.
I don't think I could really write about everything that happened in the last 2 weeks, so I hope a summary list suffices!
The last 2 weeks consisted of:
FUN
kids
challenges
learning & growing
hugs [lots and lots :)]
camp songs
paintball (I have 2 battle scars to prove it)
rafting
30 ft. power pole (climbed it, stood on top, jumped off...nbd)
ice cream
time with new friends & old friends
cows (hello free Chick-fil-a!)
Euchre
fun car rides
tears
dancing
goodbyes :(
I think I can officially say that this summer at King's Domain was the best I've experienced. I learned so much about myself, others, and my relationship with Christ. I got to hang out with kids at CAMP (one of my favorite things ever!). Most importantly, I made friends with some amazing people who I miss very much!
Thank you so much to everyone who made this summer possible for me...King's Domain will always have a very special place in my heart. Who knows? Maybe I'll return in the future..... :)
I love you all very much!
Kayla
coming soon: "favorite memories of the summer"
some of the girls before our banquet
2 of my campers from Week 4!
with Andrea and Jenn at Graeter's
eat more chicken!
on top of the power pole!
weeks 2 and 3!
Hello friends! I'm a bit behind on posting...We've had 2 weeks of camp at King's Domain since my last post so now is the time to catch you up on what has been happening here!
2 weeks ago was another week of camp for the urban kids and I was placed in Cabin 6. This cabin in generally known for having the oldest girls at camp, and with the older girls usually comes a lot of attitude. Needless to say, I was slightly nervous going into the week because I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the stress of girls who just didn't want to be there. My friend Erin and I ended up with only 4 girls in our cabin, all 12 years old and the week thankfully turned out a lot better than I expected.
The biggest challenge of Week 2 was not feeling like I wasn't really connecting with my girls. With only 4 of them who were all friends, they weren't that interested in letting me hang out with them. That kind of changed on Thursday when they were having some friend issues and I was able to talk with them individually, learn a bit about their lives, and then share mine with them. It's cool how God uses bad situations for the good of those involved! The girls didn't really work out their issues right then, but I'm pretty sure I got them thinking about ways that God would want them to act towards each other rather than always reacting in a negative way. And 2 of them rededicated their lives to Christ that night, so that was encouraging!
This past week was "suburban week" and kids came from area churches with their friends for an extended week at camp (Sunday-Friday evening rather than Tuesday-Friday morning). I was in Cabin 1 (the little girls!) with my friend Jenn. We had 10 campers and they were all super cute and a lot of fun! But, this week was definitely the most challenging for me. Almost everything that we prepared for during training weeks happened during Week 3: one of the younger girls was very homesick (but still had lots of fun!) so I was up late most nights comforting her, and a few other things also happened. The week was also longer than the other ones, so I think tiredness played a huge role in challenging me. I didn't think the stress was really affecting me, but when you pray for patience God will definitely give you opportunities to demonstrate patience haha! Loving on these girls and being patient with them paid off though, and 2 of my girls accepted Christ! I got to see them ring the dinner bell so that we could rejoice with them and with all of the angels in Heaven :)
I have many funny and encouraging stories from Week 3 that I would LOVE to share with you, so definitely ask me about them sometime :) Despite it being a little more difficult, it may have been my favorite so far...it's hard to decide haha.
I want to hear about all of your summers, so keep in touch! I love you all!
- Kayla
bringing Carolina to camp!
my cabin week 2
Crud Wars!
Cabin 6
Cabin 1, Week 3, ready for the Royal Fesitval
with my Cabin 1 ladies
lovely Eden and Lydia!
celebrating the Fourth with some sweet friends :)
(the SP girls)
Andrea, me, Anna
Week One of camp!
Week 3 of Summer Project is coming to a close, which means I have just completed Week 1 of being a camp counselor at King's Domain! I was a counselor in Cabin 2 with my wonderful friend Chelsey and we had a blast. There were 7 girls in our cabin all around the ages of 8 and 9 and they were some of the sweetest girls I could have asked for. The campers this week were part of Whiz Kids, an inner-city tutoring program, and a lot of them came from poverty backgrounds and broken homes. This was a very humbling experience for sure.
This is a kind of long post because I want you all to know what goes on during a week at camp! The other ones won't be so long :)
Before I start talking about camp, let me share a hilarious and super fun experience from Monday. Our group volunteered at an Anthony Munoz Foundation celebrity golf outing event. We worked as forecaddies, which meant we were divided among the 18 holes of a golf course, and when the celebs hit their tee shots, we collected all of the balls and placed them next to the best shot out of the group. Most of the celebs who played were pro football players/coaches (I'll post all of the names later). Nick Lachey was also there...I spent probably about 15-20 minutes of my day with him. No big deal :)
The kids arrived Tuesday morning on buses and were greeted with cheers and a tunnel to run through. Just seeing their little arms waving and their excitement as they shouted out of the windows as they pulled up made my heart jump. Coming to camp will probably be the highlight of their summer as they are able to get away from home and just be loved on constantly. Once the campers were all settled into their cabins and we had lunch, my cabin went rafting on the Little Miami River! The girls loved it and I had a lot of fun getting to know my campers a little better. One of my girls cried quite a bit on the river, but inside she really did have fun haha. That night after FOB (Flat on Bunk, aka nap time!) we had our evening program called Domainia. At Domainia we learned songs and dances, played games, had mail call (any counselor who received mail had to go on stage and sing a song or interpretive dance...I've had to do that probably 3 times now which is fun because the kids love seeing their counselors act silly), introduced the 3 judges for the week, and watched a skit. Because our theme for the summer is "shine", the judges were a Star, a Rockstar, and an astronomer named Ms. Dipper. They were judging the kids all week and gave out awards based on service, cleanliness, and spirit. The skit was performed in 3 parts, one each day, and after each part we divided into our cabin small groups and talked about what we learned and how it applies to shining for Jesus in our own lives.
That night, cabins 1, 2 and 3 had a princess party! My favorite moment of the week: the girls piled onto the bus with their blankets and pillows, David Crowder Band was blaring in the speakers, and the girls were all smiles as we arrived at the camp site where a huge white tent was set up with Christmas lights surrounding the inside. Their eyes lit up when they saw it and little did they know that they were here to learn about how much God loves them and that they are His little princess. We made s'mores around a camp fire, watched Snoodlerella (yay Veggie Tales!), read a bedtime princess story about a girl named Gigi who learned she was God's princess, and then snuggled up in our sleeping bags after about 4 bathroom trips (the norm with little girls here at camp haha). We awoke to the smell of pancakes cooking over the fire, finished up our princess book, and then did a craft where they each wrote down talents and traits about themselves that God gave them.
Wednesday was just a normal day at camp. The kids had workshops and they could choose which one they attended. I helped lead the Journalism one and it was so cute reading what the kids wrote about camp. Here's the newspaper from Week One! It rained that day so we had a lot of fun hanging out in the Dining Hall playing games and having a dance party. That night we had dinner, Domainia, and then watched Kung Fu Panda which was so good!
Thursday we had breakfast, storying (each cabin performed a skit about the things they had learned), workshops, lunch, testimony time, and then water games! During testimony time, myself and the other counselors shared our testimonies with our cabin and then were able to talk to each of them and ask about their story/family/school, etc. It was crazy the kinds of questions they asked us. A few of them had really thought a lot about Jesus and the stories they had learned from the Bible and I could see that God was really working hard in their lives. The girls had Crud Wars that afternoon: counselors vs. campers, water balloons, flour, shaving cream, and oatmeal. Funny story....there was a camper here named Kayla, and because we were name twins, she told the person videotaping that she was coming straight for me, which she did. I may have lost that round of Crud Wars. Getting oatmeal out of hair is super fun! :) At Domainia that night, the third part of the skit was performed and then Leeann (Ms. Dipper) shared the gospel with the kids. After small groups, anyone who accepted Christ or re-dedicated their life was able to ring the bell that we used all week to signal meal times. We heard lots of bell-ringing that night which was so awesome!
Friday was a sad day. I had to say goodbye to a lot of sweet children who didn't want to go home. They loved camp so much, and the worse part was that I didn't really know a lot about the homes they were going back to. A lot of tears were shed and I hugged probably 30 kids that day, but that just proved how much the lives of those kids were impacted and that God was doing amazing work in their lives.
I've been challenged a lot this week with realizing that God has a special plan for these kids and I can't change the kind of home they are in or the life that they are living. It breaks my heart to hear some of the stories the kids are telling or even just how much they have been exposed to at such a young age, but God has control and all I can do is show them His love.
Thanks so much for reading! I know this was a long one...I cannot wait to see all of you and tell you about Camp in person :) Enjoy the pictures below!
Love, Kayla
pre-campers!
Having some fun in Cabin 2
my friend Kayla and I after Crud Wars
Last day with my girls
my new friend Destiny :)
after a week of camp
summer is off to such a wonderful start!
I have been at King's Domain now for approximately 12 days and 2 hours. I've been having so much fun these last two weeks getting to know my Summer Project family and preparing for the madness that arrives on Sunday called campers. The Momentum campers (high school age) come on Sunday and then Whiz Kids (kids from an urban ministry) come on Tuesday. I'm especially excited for Tuesday because those are the kids who I'll be spending my week and most of my summer with. I'll be a counselor for a group of girls most likely between the ages of 7 and 12 with another Summer Project-er which means I'll be hanging out with them, eating with them, taking them to various activities, and sharing our theme of "Shine" with them throughout the week. They'll also be attending "Workshops" and I'll be leading the Journalism one (we'll be making a camp newsletter woootwooot!).
Throughout this past week in our Bible studies we've been studying Matthew 18 and what it means to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus addresses his disciples in this passage with the answer that people who are humble with childlike faith, those who chase after lost believers who have strayed, and those who forgive and show mercy are the greatest in the Kingdom. Going off of that, we've also been learning about what it means to be the Kingdom, the Temple, and the Nation as a body of believers here on SP together this summer. Things like loving one another, being a light to each other by pursuing Christ as our first love, showing humility, forgiving one another, and using our time, talents, and treasures to further His kingdom have been the topics of our discussions and I am learning tons about this every day. Being here 24/7 with 30ish people around me makes it easy to put this into practice :)
and now list mode begins...
my top 10 favorite things from this past week:
1. climbing the Power Pole (a 30 ft. telephone pole; I was in a harness and then got to jump off and fly down!)
2. playing Euchre with Andrea, Jenn, and Bryan. So far we're tied 2-2 and the competition is
going to continue throughout the summer.
3. the Amazing Race team building competition. We did some crazy awesome activities in small
groups including climbing a small mountain while holding onto a rope.
4. our Walmart trip today when we got free ice cream!
5. car rides (aka jam sesh) with my SP family
6. our reoccurring dance parties
7. girl talk at night while avoiding the plethora of spiders that have set up their homes in our cabin.
8. playing with all of the little kiddos who are here for the summer with their parents :)
9. hearing testimonies during meals
10. spending time with my Project "family" at night
Thanks for reading everyone! I've loved all of the letters and encouragement that have been sent my way. I have had to dance in front of everyone to get each letter, but it's always worth it :) Please keep me up to date on what's happening in all of your lives! Y'all are awesome!
Love you lots, Kayla
Here are a few pictures of camp courtesy of my friend Andrea!
[welcome to King's Domain!]
[the Selah rock at the entrance of camp]
[power pole]
[obstacle course]
More pictures to come very soon!
dance parties, bananagrams, camp songs, and Jesus!
Week one of Summer Project at King's Domain is coming to a close. I'm currently sitting in the DH (Dining Hall) surrounded by a ton of my new friends/family for the summer and loving every single minute of it. Can't believe it's only been 6 days...I feel like I've known these people forever! Apparently it's obvious that I'm from the south...saying "y'all" probably gives it away when I'm only around people from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, etc.
When I arrived at camp on Monday I was immediately greeted by my Project family and the leadership staff...I had to stand on a pink fuzzy rug and let them all "welcome" me by singing - a little overwhelming, but I quickly adjusted, seeing as stuff like that is going to happen almost everyday here :) I've already had to interpretive dance to be able to have a letter that a friend sent me...yep, that's normal here. That night, the leadership team danced into the DH to"Forever" and we were all officially "married" into the KD fam. Since then, it has all just been tons of fun and a lot of learning.
My week has been full of touring the camp, clearing the trails, testing out the obstacle course (not one of my finest moments here haha), campfires, camp songs, a crazy wonderful bonding time turned into a dance party, climbing up and down hills, "testing" games (think water, flour, and oatmeal all at one time), teaching the mid-westerners how to shag dance, Bible study, cleaning, Nerts, Bananagrams, Carpet Ball, training before the campers arrive, visiting the University of Cincinnati's Cru meeting, early morning basketball, a personality test, and lots of spiritual learning/training. (According to the personality test, I'm a "gold" and therefore love lists, so I hope you just enjoyed that long one).
[the team after Crud Wars]
This summer, the campers and SP people will be focusing on the Kingdom, Temple, and Nation and shining for Jesus! Our Bible studies so far have all taken place in Matthew 6 and we've discussed being free from the "law", living by the Spirit, prayer, and worry. Friday night, our discussion focussed on our identity in Christ and how we are just visitors on this earth, awaiting and living for our Heavenly dwelling place. That's pretty much our challenge for this summer, so I'll probably be spending a lot of time learning about this :)
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me and made it possible for me to be at King's Domain this summer! I am anxiously awaiting the campers who will be arriving soon and am loving my time here and getting to know my Project family.
Thanks for reading! I have enjoyed the letters I've received and hearing about everyone else's summer! Love y'all tons, Kayla
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)