A Sweet Escape

Everyday during the summer my job is to make kids happy. That's it. Yes I might work 17-20 hour days, which leaves me not a whole lot of time to sleep, talk on the phone, or socialize with anyone outside of the camp world. BUT, on the other hand, I get to run around all day long with kids laughing with them, loving on them, learning from them.... just to name a few things I've gotten to do this summer already... campfires (I am an expert s'more maker), roll around with kids in a pool of chocolate pudding; teach 7-8 year old girls a choeographed dance to Natasha Beddingfield's "Unwritten"; intentionally litter by throwing out empty blue bell ice cream containers all across camp, and smearing rotten bananas on trees, just so some REALLY excited kids could enjoy their Wookie Hunt a litte more. Just the other day I got to enjoy facials and hand massages with some really cool little girls. THAT is my job. Seriously.

I am so blessed.

As I said earlier, because I stay so busy, I don't have much time to keep in touch with the outside world. With reality. I once thought that if something so tragic as 9/11 ever happened again, how long would it take those of us at camp to find out? Very wierd being so out of the loop sometimes. So.... Camp, in a very real way, is an escape. An escape from worries, problems, distractions, stress. The fact that I got a really expensive speeding ticket and have to go to court next week is not what I think about when I'm out there. Those kids give you a new perspective on life. On love. On everything.... Because my life out there is an escape, I've been able to place alot of things in the back of my mind lately. My speeding ticket. Grad school. Friends in Tuscaloosa/Mobile whom I miss SO much. And even family.... which brings me to my next point. My grandmother (a.k.a. MawMaw) was diagnosed with lung cancer in April. Because it was so advanced, she opted not to undergo any chemo or radiation. After a rough battle, MawMaw went to see our sweet Jesus on Monday night. As hard as it has been and is for us to cope with this loss, she didn't lose a thing. She gained a beautiful eternity with Christ. As we're sobbing, she's probably dancin' and eating a whole lot of good food she could never have down here. As Beth Moore writes, "God always heals physical illness. Sometimes He chooses not to bring healing here on earth, but uses that illness for a greater glory." I've learned a lot from these last few months of her life. Praise the LORD, for He is good!

Please continue to pray for my grandfather and the rest of the family. Much love and thanks.

"But those who HOPE in the LORD will renew their STRENGTH. They will mount up on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Here's to another fabulous week at Camp For All!

GET EXCITED!

Cloud 9...

It is time for campers to leave on sunday morning and a piece of my heart is going with them....

Our first camp of the summer arrived last thursday. Camp Janus. A camp for children and teens who are survived burn victims. Campers enter the gates of camp paranoid that we may not see them as who they are on the inside but be distracted by what they appear to be on the outside. In the span of 3 short days, I laughed, cried, and learned more about being thankful than I have in a long time. Many of the children from this camp came from Mexico/South America, creating a language barrier between us. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that although my spanish may be very limiting, (and as corny as it may seem) a smile, a hug, and some laughter is universal. So with that in mind all weekend, I received endless kisses from 5 year old boys and dances with 8 year olds from Bolivia.

And then came Saturday night. At campfire. I got to experience something indescribable. A 16 year old spanish boy who, because of the effects of his burn, is left with no left arm and only a nub for a right. He quietly approached me wanting me to roast a mallow for him. The mallow was roasted and we put together an amazing s'more. In this moment, I was shown courage. That no matter what your body may able you to do or not to do, there is a way. And then for the next few minutes, I proceeded to feed this s'more to Carlos. No shame in his game. From the outside looking in, this was an incredible moment. So with tears in my eyes, I wave goodbye to these amazing kids. Back to their lives in another culture, a country, or the hospital they were just released from. Back to the real world.

...And that is why I work at Camp For All. I believe that God has blessed me with the heart of a servant. And my prayer is that as I serve, some how in some way they may see Jesus in me. If I can get just one child to smile, I have done my job. If I can make just one child leave with just a little more courage, I have succeeded. As one famous author once wrote (whom I can't recall his name)... "You cannot wash the feet of a filthy world if you're too afraid to touch them." Jesus, may I be your hands and feet. Send me.

"...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7