Shine: 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