Where to start...
Another week just flew by.
We got together at Sunday afternoon at Karla's house. Karla was probably one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. She wanted to know so much about us. Darren calls her his mom.
Monday morning we piled up our gear, and headed out again to some very dry soccer fields. At Coaches Corner on Monday (the time when we all gather around and learn and talk about God), I realized that my small group for the week was going to be a great experience of answering many questions, as I had a very talkative bunch. I told all the kids in the small group that if they ever had any questions, they could ask me, and I'd be more than willing to answer them. The small group continued through lunch for anyone who wanted to continue to ask questions. Eventually it became more of a circle of girls that wanted to talk about the mean girls in their class. I kinda closed it after that.
10 minutes later though, one of the girls in my small group, Emma, asked me if she could ask me some things. I said of course, and she started crying right away. She asked so many questions about death, as her grandma and aunt had recently died, and someone had committed suicide very close to her house just a little while ago. I tried to answer her questions the best that I could, although I found it very hard to feel that there are good answers to suicide....
The theme of death was very real throughout the week, as kids had loads of questions about it. Most wanted to know, when they would die, and where they will go after they die. This was actually really cool because it shows that kids are really thinking about it.
There were other questions near the end of the week such as: When was God born? Did God create the devil? How can God know eveythings that's going to happen in the future? What are the end times going to be like?
It was also a refresher for myself because explaining certain things really makes you re-evaluate your own beliefs, and I realized some questions are really impossible to fully answer.
I also realized that sometimes we don't know about the seeds that we have planted in people's lives. We don't always see the results. Karla told us that she has so many parents that talk about how much their kids love these camps. At the end of the week, we almost didn't have enough Bibles for the kids who had never opened a Bible before. When I handed out the last Bibles for kids to share, siblings would have to share. One brother would say to the other brother- I get to carry it to the car. Then the other would say I get to read it when we get into the car, and all night tonight. These kids were fighting over Bible reading time. If only more of us were like that....
It was another great experience. The rest of the summer is going to just fly by.
We're heading up to Owen Sound in about an hour. If you're reading, the team and I would like to ask for your continued prayers for us. Prayer is so huge in this ministry, and we would really appreciate it if you kept us in your prayers.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
What a rush...
Sunday-Friday...
Leaving in tears....
Swarmed by kids.......
Feeling God's love and presence all around us....
It's hard to describe the feeling that all of us coaches are feeling right now.
Sunday night we left to meet up with the Bolton Alliance Church. We were greeted with open arms by around 20 people that we had never met before. Liz and I met our host family that night, a young family with 3 little girls, Jaqueline(11), Lexi(9), and Tasha(6). What a blessing they were to us. Over the week, Liz and I developed amazing friendships with this couple, Bob and Odette, and they really made us feel and understand the community of Christ.
Early Monday morning, after feeding the ponies at Bob and Odette's beautiful home out in the country, we set off for AIA Bolton Alliance Church Soccer Camp. I was a little nervous, not knowing exactly what to expect. But the day went very smoothly and we soon began to fall in love with the volunteers from the church, and the 60 kids who were entrusted to us every day this week.
Tuesday was the day I had to do my testimony. This was a great experience. On Monday night, for some reason I was very calm. I finished it at around 11:30 at night, and said it out loud to Liz. Tuesday morning came, and still, not much nerves like I usually have. I ended up being more excited to share a part of God's work in my life than scared of going up in front of 70 people, and I feel honoured that I can share it again in the weeks to come.
Wednesday to Friday passed so quickly. From getting into a huge whipped cream war (check out the facebook pictures if you want), to ice cream every day:), to lots of questions about God from several young children, to experiencing God's true community, and feeling so loved by people we've known for less than a week.
I feel like I'm on fire right now, and it won't leave for a while. I pray that it won't leave, as many rushes tend to do. I feel so privileged to have this opportunity to serve God in this way. There are so many funny stories about kids, and so many empowering stories of God's working in this camp. I never heard one bad things said about this camp all summer.
On Friday, I had the privilege of talking to all the kids in the camp who were still unsure about their faith, and who still had questions. I had questions ranging from- did Mother Nature or did God create the earth? Is hell a place where you get tortured and burn? Then there were insightful questions like- How do you know if you're going to heaven or not? and Why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people? Thank-you God for these questions.
It's crazy how the church thinks that us coaches have a great deal to do with how the camps worked out, and it's crazy to think that they appreciate us. They don't know, and the campers do not know how they have touched our lives in so many ways this week. But ultimately, all the praise and glory goes to our God, the giver of everything. God, without you, nothing can live and breathe. How awesome you are, and we pray that the seed that were planted this week will continue to grow.
Bolton Alliance Church family, Thank-you for all your efforts, prayers and continuous kind thoughts and words. We'll never forget you, and hopefully we'll see you next year.
Leaving in tears....
Swarmed by kids.......
Feeling God's love and presence all around us....
It's hard to describe the feeling that all of us coaches are feeling right now.
Sunday night we left to meet up with the Bolton Alliance Church. We were greeted with open arms by around 20 people that we had never met before. Liz and I met our host family that night, a young family with 3 little girls, Jaqueline(11), Lexi(9), and Tasha(6). What a blessing they were to us. Over the week, Liz and I developed amazing friendships with this couple, Bob and Odette, and they really made us feel and understand the community of Christ.
Early Monday morning, after feeding the ponies at Bob and Odette's beautiful home out in the country, we set off for AIA Bolton Alliance Church Soccer Camp. I was a little nervous, not knowing exactly what to expect. But the day went very smoothly and we soon began to fall in love with the volunteers from the church, and the 60 kids who were entrusted to us every day this week.
Tuesday was the day I had to do my testimony. This was a great experience. On Monday night, for some reason I was very calm. I finished it at around 11:30 at night, and said it out loud to Liz. Tuesday morning came, and still, not much nerves like I usually have. I ended up being more excited to share a part of God's work in my life than scared of going up in front of 70 people, and I feel honoured that I can share it again in the weeks to come.
Wednesday to Friday passed so quickly. From getting into a huge whipped cream war (check out the facebook pictures if you want), to ice cream every day:), to lots of questions about God from several young children, to experiencing God's true community, and feeling so loved by people we've known for less than a week.
I feel like I'm on fire right now, and it won't leave for a while. I pray that it won't leave, as many rushes tend to do. I feel so privileged to have this opportunity to serve God in this way. There are so many funny stories about kids, and so many empowering stories of God's working in this camp. I never heard one bad things said about this camp all summer.
On Friday, I had the privilege of talking to all the kids in the camp who were still unsure about their faith, and who still had questions. I had questions ranging from- did Mother Nature or did God create the earth? Is hell a place where you get tortured and burn? Then there were insightful questions like- How do you know if you're going to heaven or not? and Why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people? Thank-you God for these questions.
It's crazy how the church thinks that us coaches have a great deal to do with how the camps worked out, and it's crazy to think that they appreciate us. They don't know, and the campers do not know how they have touched our lives in so many ways this week. But ultimately, all the praise and glory goes to our God, the giver of everything. God, without you, nothing can live and breathe. How awesome you are, and we pray that the seed that were planted this week will continue to grow.
Bolton Alliance Church family, Thank-you for all your efforts, prayers and continuous kind thoughts and words. We'll never forget you, and hopefully we'll see you next year.
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