before i start i'll be referencing some blogs i read while on my summer adventure. to avoid any blog copyright problems i've posted the links below. please check them out. their pretty inspiring and he may or may not be my future husband. just sayin. HA!
jake dudley's blog: from my guts
jake dudley's blog: courage
"take that trip. discover your faith. meet new people and listen to their story." - jake dudley
i "tweeted" this quote back on june 17TH in the middle of my summer adventure right before my second week at camp. i felt as if this quote was the theme of my "trip" and if you read my last post about my first week of camp i hope i was able to put my heart and emotion into words that made sense. sometimes when i start to write i get wordy and start to ramble and maybe talk in circles. hopefully that was not the case with my last post. my heart was so full i could barely contain my emotion. i was on "that trip" ... discovering my "faith" ... meeting "new people" ... and listening "to their story" ... and what a trip it was.
the second week at camp was pretty much just as amazing as the first week! i had a cabin full of 8 and 9 year olds who were excited to be at camp (any camp for that matter!) for their very first time! during this week my girls chose to be called "god's girls" and came up with a pretty catchy cheer. "we are his children. we are his girls. that's why we are the god's girls!" simple i know ... but they were just too cute proclaiming whose they were! speaking of these little ones please check out just how precious they are!
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| precious. |
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| precious even though z was camera shy! |
now i know you're thinking ... little ones ... but they were the youngest ones at the camp ... therefore ... they were my little ones.
both weeks at camp were equally amazing but different! with junior high lights out literally just meant the lights were off but we can continue to talk and giggle ... who cares if it's midnight! with the little ones most girls were asleep by official lights out time ... heaven for a tired counselor. the little ones also had to be reminder of things ... remember to brush your teeth ... remember to use the restroom before worship ... remember you bible ... remember your journal ... oh your tummy hurts ... have you used the restroom today ... let's go try that!
my prayer for these sweet girls is that they experienced god's love in a mighty way from us tucking them into bed to our constant reminders. i pray that as they grow in their faith that they would continue to reflect god's love and acceptance to all they come in contact with ... whether at school or home ... where ever they may be.
"and we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18
as the girls counselor i had the privilege of being pie-ed in the face on the first night of messy games! it was part of a relay race which ended with me ... a camper ... and a pie ... in the face. we completed many team competitions throughout the week which resulted in a second place finish for the god's girls! there was one competition where we just fell apart and that was the ironman race! a 17 leg relay around the entire camp property! we finished last of all the girl's teams and even the god's girls showed some bad sportsmanship. they were hot and tired which is no excuse but to these little ones we had reached loser status. it was nothing showers ... dinner ... evening worship ... and smores couldn't fix! and like i said early we ended up in 2ND place ... only 10 points behind 1ST. i was a proud cabin mommy!
during this week i taught the art speciality class. we did some color mixing ... weaving ... stamping ... all things i learned in my elementary art class at auburn! for free time i worked the slip and slide most days with a few days of hiking. most of my cabin girls loved the slip and slide so it was more time i was able to spend with them!
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| i call this my camp counselor game face! also ... my sweet girls enjoying the slip and slide ... and sweet little g showing her god's girl pride! |
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| yes i'm sitting down on the job ... i was nice to just sit there with the hose on the slide and watch the kids fly down the tarp! jayla was like the slip and slide queen!
one thing i did not mention in my last post was the chinese lanterns. on the last night of camp the campers have the opportunity to write prayers on chinese lanterns. once students have had this chance we take all the lanterns into the field and since we're in the middle of nowhere kentucky ... it's dark ... like really DARK! we light the lanterns on fire and away they go symbolizing us giving things up to god. it's an incredible experience and something very beautiful to witness! we accidentally caught one lantern on fire ... but thanks to a camper's water bottle we were able to extinguish the flame. thank goodness god hears our prayers without us having to light lanterns!
  
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this first picture is of some sweet girls writing on their lantern ... then the lighting of the lanterns ... and lastly the beautiful scene!
my entire experience with barefoot republic camp was unforgettable and beyond amazing. i hope and pray i'm able to volunteer time there every summer. i believe i may join the "run barefoot" running club that runs to raise scholarship money for kids to attend the camp.
the whole experience was a trip i won't ever forget ... my faith grew ... i met so many new people that will forever be in my heart ... i heard their stories and i will continue to lift them up in prayer as their story continues.
once i left camp i drove down to chattanooga, tennessee where my friend taylor marie was moving into her new apartment! she and her sweet fiance treated me to a lovely dinner and we stayed up way too late catching up and assembling furniture! even though it was a quick visit i loved every minute of it! i can't wait to share in her special day in october! from chattanooga it was time to head back north toward kentucky to meet my youth group! FAMILIAR FACES! i was reunited with my two best friends in knoxville ... amber jumped in the car with me and we caught up for missed time (not lost time!)
we arrived in frakes, kentucky at henderson settlement later that day and prepared to serve the sweet family's whose house we would be insulating and siding over the next week. i think i talked non-stop for the next three days ... camp stories ... god stories ... camp cheers. by wednesday i believe amber and jenny were exhausted by just hearing me talk! i enjoyed the week with them and getting to catch up and just talk and share. we were like my junior high girls ... the lights went out and we were up for at least another house talking and laughing! despite the heat we completed our task and we're able to provide mrs. patty and her husband with insulation and new siding! it was a pleasure serving this sweet family and community!
check out facebook for pictures!
i don't want to keep you reading much longer because i know by now you just may be falling asleep at the computer. sorry! however i have some HUGE news i'd like to share ...
"do it. take the chance. play your hand. make a move. quit your job. go back to school." - jake dudley
well let's say ... i did it. i'm taking a chance. i'm playing my hand. i'm making a move. (literally!) ... deep breath ... i quit my job (yes you read that correctly.) and i'm going back to school!
so here it is again. i quit the job i LOVE ... i quit the job with co-workers i LOVE ... i quit my job at a school i LOVE ... and have decided go back to school! as crazy as this sounds and much as i hate to leave my sweet cherry street family and the students i love ... i have decided to pack up my classroom ... pack up my life in panama city ... and move to CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA! i was accepted to the teaching, learning, and advocacy program at the college of charleston! if someone were to write a master's program just for me this would be it which is why i have decided to continue my story ... my journey in charleston! it was a hard decision for sure like i said before i LOVED everything about my job ... i LOVE panama city ... but i know there's so much more out there for me to experience and now just seemed to make sense and to be the perfect time. am i sad? yes. am i nervous? yes. do i know anyone in charleston? NO! am i excited? extremely!
"do something that scares the hell out of you. have the guts to stand toe-to-toe with a terrifying opportunity and never allow fear to be an option. have the courage to get out of your comfort zone."
so that's my news! please continue to pray as i prepare for this new journey! this verse speaks my heart.
"i'm thanking you, god, from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders. i'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; i'm singing your song, high god." psalm 9:1-8
please stay tuned on this new chapter in my life! i leave for church camp monday to spend some time with my favorite youth and will head to charleston the following week to find a place to live! just FYI ... i won't be moving until the end of august!
"follow jesus with everything you have within you and always always always choose faith." - jake dudley
