Finishing Up Camp

Well, we have been home from camp for a few days but this is the first chance I have had to actually sit and take the time to write about it. Things are pretty busy right now!!

I don't remember a whole lot about Thursday, so this party will be short, haha. I spent the morning working and then the afternoon on the Island. Most of my Island time was spent watching several of our girls (including Bonita and Cupcake) on the high ropes course. That thing looks hard!! They all finished it and were rewarded with a fun trip down the zip line. :)


After their free time I went back to the Inn for dinner and then all the leaders came over to the Island for the final night of devotions. We were invited to lead our teens in it, and we were excited to hear all that they were learning.

We also had a mini celebration for one of the teens, J, who turned 18 that day!!! Since we do the mission trip every year on the same week, and this year camp fell on that week, we have spent the last 3 years celebrating his birthday with him!! We thought he would really enjoy a pink cake. :)
After enjoying some cake, we all got together to share what God has been doing in us all week. That went pretty well, although many of our teens were exhausted by this point (it was about 11 p.m.), so some just sat trying to stay awake. Still, it was nice to connect with them and hear a little about their week.

Friday was our last day at camp and for the most part we definitely ended on a high note. E was able to return to the Island on Thursday night, just in time for the all you can eat Ice Cream Party. So, she had all day Friday to enjoy as well, which was really nice.

Friday morning I, of course, had to work, but I was able to get a lot accomplished. After lunch A and I decided to rent jet skis and have some fun on the lake. I really love jet skis! They are actually pretty cheap at the Inn, and I decided to splurge a little. It was really fun!!

After jet skiing we met up with D and J and got on a boat to watch them go tubing. At the Inn they have the tubes that you sit in instead of lay on...so much easier to hold on!! It was hilarious watching J and D try to not flip over. J managed to stay on his tube, D did not, haha. They finally convinced me to go as well and it was pretty fun.

During this time our teens were on the Island competing on the Dodge ball competition. They made it to the finals!!! Unfortunately, they lost to another team (one that had several counselors on it), but they still had a lot of fun. All 18 of our teens either played in the game, or cheered the team on. It was so awesome to hear all about it when we went to pick them up! They came together as ONE team...all on their own!!!

After tubing we had about an hour and a half before we needed to get on the boat to go to the island to get the teens' luggage and start the process of heading home. I went and packed and was at the boat on time. There was some sort of mis-communication and the guys weren't there. They came on the next boat, though.

It took several hours to get everything taken care of...loading and unloading luggage, getting all the teens on boats off the island, getting the luggage loaded on the buses, getting the teens and leaders loaded on the buses. I have to admit I was easily frustrated through this process (one leader, not many people listening to her), but we pulled away from the camp at 7:04 (our goal was 7). We were on our way!

Most of the teens had a hard time saying goodbye, which was actually pretty cool. Most (although not all) really had an amazing week and are really hoping we will go back next year. I had some concerns about some things, so I wasn't sure at first. However, I talked with our more mature teens to get their thoughts and they all thought it was great spiritually as well as fun. So, hopefully we will have the chance to go back next year!!

The bus ride home was pretty miserable, and I am SO proud of how our teens handled it. We were on a school bus for 6 hours and the bus driver refused to stop, at all. Finally, one of the girls begged him because she had to go to the bathroom so bad, so he let us have 5 minutes to use the restroom. We were not allowed to get anything to eat or drink, and were on the road within 5 minutes of stopping. We were cramped, hot, tired...it wasn't fun. However, none of the teens complained (at least not out loud), which was amazing.

We also had several teens on our bus that were from Philly, but not our church. They didn't have a leader with them, which I will never do again. I had to take leadership over them when they weren't doing what they were supposed to (like trying to buy food at McDonalds at our 5 minute rest stop when we very clearly stated several times that they were not allowed to buy food). In fact, the only problems we had the entire trip home came from teens that we were not really in charge of.

The final challenge for us came when we actually arrived at the church. A massive downpour started as soon as we pulled in and we have to unload all of our luggage in the rain. We were trying to get everyone to go in the church and form an assembly line to get the luggage inside as quickly as possible, but several people were only concerned with getting their stuff and getting home, which made the process much more complicated. The visiting teens ended up grabbing their bags and leaving before we were finished unloading and we ended up with several of our bags missing. We are hoping they took them by accident and we can get them back soon. We'll see!

Finally, around 2:30 a.m. we were all soaked from head to toe, but heading home. We had an amazing week, but were exhausted and ready to sleep in our own beds. Plus, the Cornerstone Block Party was that day, so we had to get some sleep before coming back to the church for that.

Only time will tell how lasting the impact of the camp really was. Everyone was still talking about it at church on Sunday. For some of our teens, it was life changing. It was a challenge that they struggled through, but overcame, proving to themselves that maybe they aren't as "hopeless" as they thought. For some, it was the realization that they have just been coasting along spiritually but they really want so much more. For others, it was all about the girls they could meet. And still for some, it was just too hot to really focus on anything. (And for one, the swim test will haunt them for a long time and unfortunately overshadow an otherwise good week). I guess that's about what I would expect from 18 very different people.

When we were loading up to head home I was very unsure what I thought of the whole week. Like I said, some things were amazing, and some things weren't. However, after talking with many of our teens about their experiences I definitely think this week was worth ALL the effort and I am praying that we will have the opportunity to go back. And, I am praying that we will see amazing fruit from this week in each teen's life, even the ones that only remember being hot and tired for 7 days. :)

Day 4: The Challenge!

I again don't have any pictures for you, sorry about that! I forgot to get the camera today, I'll try and remember tomorrow! Here is an overview of the day though!

I did not sleep well AT ALL last night. E snores, haha, and I don't sleep well with that. Plus for some reason it was really hot in our room, so if I wasn't awakened by the snoring, then I was awakened by the heat. I've been so tired all day!!

After breakfast I went to the front desk to see if there was another room available so that E and I wouldn't have to share one. She is still pretty sick and is actually quarantined, which means that I have to wear a mask when I'm around her. That's kind of a pain when sleeping. Thankfully, the Inn had rooms available so they allowed me to move across the hall. I can still check in on E as often as I need to, but I also have my own space to go to...and a quiet bed to sleep in!!

After getting myself settled into my new room I worked for several hours on AIM stuff. When I just couldn't take any more of the computer, I went over to the Island to hang out with the teens. Cupcake and I signed up for tubing (riding behind a boat on tubes while the driver tries to make us flip off) and we had SO MUCH FUN!! I fell off 3 times, haha, but even that part was fun. My arms were SO sore after, but it was totally worth it!

After tubing I went and watched the basketball tournament that many of our guys were participating in. I arrived just in time to see our team win their first game 17-0. Unfortunately, they lost the 2nd game and were eliminated from the tournament. They were okay with it, the team that they lost to ended up winning the entire tournament. And, they were a team of all 19 year olds that have been at the camp all summer and apparently win every week. Not really fair, but the guys handled it really well, they just enjoyed playing. 2 of our players, J and N, were invited to participate in the All-Star game tomorrow night. N hurt his ankle and can't play, but J will be playing, so we are all going to cheer him on!

Most of the teens are getting pretty worn out at this point, so a lot of them spend their free time resting. I can't blame them, they do a lot every day!! Bonita continued to try taking the swim test, and unfortunately has not passed it yet. She is so frustrated!! I am learning a lot about perseverance from her, and she doesn't even know it.

After the basketball tournament was over I took Linda back to the Inn with me. She had a placement test to take on line for her math class, and it needed to be completed today. She wasn't too happy about having to take a math test in the middle of camp, but she still did it. It took her about 2 hours to complete so then she just ate dinner with us at the Inn. That seemed to be a good reward for her willingness to take the placement test without complaining. She even got ice cream for dessert!!

Linda and I went back over to the Island after dinner and met up with the rest of the camp at the campfire. The campfire was AMAZING! Several counselors shared their testimonies and we had some good worship underneath a sky full of stars. Then the speaker got up and really challenged us all to count the cost of following Christ. He encouraged us to follow God with our whole hearts and not be divided or seeking our own ways. It really spoke to a lot of us. At the end of his talk they gave us all the opportunity to come to the fire with a stick. The stick represented our own lives and desires and we were to throw it into the fire to symbolize giving all of ourselves to Christ, counting the cost and choosing Him. Many of our teens threw sticks in the fire and I am praying that it was sincere and just a first step toward incredible godliness!!

After the campfire I got on the boat and came back to the Inn. E's fever finally broke today, yay! So, I made sure she had everything she needs, gave her medicine and then went to my room. And now I am so tired!

J, D and A are spending a lot of time at the Inn and participating in the activities here, and seem to be having a really great time. I am really enjoying seeing how God is taking care of each of us in such awesome ways. I am thoroughly enjoying my time with the teens and the guys are enjoying some R and R as well as great times with the teens. This has just been a good week for all of us.

Sorry this is another short update. It seems that the days are getting longer and my sleep times are getting shorter! So, I am off to bed for now!

**Oh, one more thing! Tonight my friend E asked me to be in her wedding!!!! I'm SO SO excited!! She is marrying J and I am so excited for both of them. I have known J longer, but I feel like God has brought be an amazing friend in E. I am so honored that they want me as a part of their wedding!! They are both awesome individuals and an amazing couple, I can't wait to see what God has in store for their marriage!!!!

Day 3: Illness

I don't have any pictures from today because I was all over the place and left the camera with one of the teens and I haven't gotten it back yet. Today was crazy!

I started the morning like usual, getting some AIM work finished so I could go over to the Island in the afternoon. Then, around 10 a.m. I got a phone call from the infirmary on the Island; another one of our teens was sick. Actually, it wasn't a teen that we brought, she came with another church. However, that church didn't have a leader around so thankfully they were able to call me. If they couldn't call me, her mom would have had to drive 7 hours to come pick her up!!

We are pretty sure this girl, E, has the flu. She was running a fever of 102 last night, and it was up to 103 today. The rule at the camp is that she has to go 24 hours without a fever (and without medicine to reduce the fever) before she can return. In fact, she has to wear a mask so she won't get anyone else sick!

It was kind of crazy when I first got the call. We had to wait for E's mom to call and give permission for me to take her out of the camp. Then, the infirmary called in a prescription for Tamiflu that I had to go pick up. However, it wasn't ready when I got there (thankfully its within walking distance!), so I left there to get on the boat to go pick E up from the Island. It was almost 1 by the time we got back and I got her settled into my room. I then went back to the pharmacy, picked up her prescription, got some food for her and then went back to the Inn. Thankfully, she didn't have a fever at this point and was feeling pretty good.

After giving her the medicine, I left to go back to the Island to hang out while she got some rest. PLEASE pray for her mom!!!! E's sister is Cupcake, who was sick when we first got here. I also found out that their mom spent all last night in the emergency room with her other daughter who has appendicitis. Needless to say, their mom is a bit overwhelmed!!

I spent most of the afternoon on the Island hanging out with Cupcake, Linda and Bonita. Poor Bonita STILL hasn't passed the swim test, although she has tried at least 15 times. She is SO discouraged, but keeps trying. I am SO SO proud of her perseverance, but that won't get her on the blob. I'm praying that she will pass it soon!!

I came back to the Inn around 4 to check on E and she still seemed to be feeling alright. I didn't want to give her Tylenol unless she actually had a fever so we could start counting the 24 hours as soon as possible. (Since she is contagious she isn't even allowed out of the room! And, there are no TVs in the room, so she is getting BORED!). I went to dinner and then was able to bring her a plate as well. She's at least eating better on this side of the lake! :)

Unfortunately, after dinner her fever came back and I had to give her some Tylenol. That means that she will be with me all day tomorrow and at least through tomorrow night. Hopefully this will pass soon!!

During this time, all of our guy teens along with D and A played paintball, and the report I got was that it was amazing! They were all able to be on the same team and apparently dominated everyone else. They really came together and could NOT stop talking about how much fun it was. I am SO excited that they worked together so well and had so much fun!!

After dinner and medicine, I left again to go back to the Island while E slept. Tonight was really great on the Island!! The speaker was actually really good and the drama was amazing too. Tonight the talk was on purity and they did a good job of really relating it to the teens...at least for the most part. I really don't know what the teens thought, I have been feeling so much lately that everything I say just goes in one ear and out the other. I am just praying and trusting that God's word is falling on good soil!

During the talk, Cupcake started feeling sick again and she went to the infirmary and they discovered that she too had a fever. They really think hers was from the sun, though, so they let her stay on the Island as long as she drinks a lot of fluids. She has to go back first thing in the morning to get her temperature taken again. If she still has a fever, I guess she will be joining me and E. I hope that doesn't happen!!

After the worship/talk time the camp had a beach party that seemed pretty fun. I didn't stay long, but it looked like everyone was having fun. I said goodnight to everyone and then went back to the Inn to check on E. Thankfully, her fever is gone and hasn't returned. I gave her some more Tylenol just in case and she is now sleeping soundly (and loudly, haha).

I know plenty of pictures were taken today, so I will try and post them tomorrow.

Oh, and someone came by to see my house today! Ashley got to talk with her for a little while and it turns out she is a Christian! I have no idea what she thought of the house, but I would love to have a believer living there, so I'm praying that she really wants it!!! I'll keep you updated.

For now, I must sleep. I am really praying that NO ONE will get sick tomorrow!!

(Please pray that I don't get sick! E is supposedly very contagious and I have been around her A LOT. She has been wearing a mask most of the time, but I don't have the heart to make her wear it while she sleeps. I'm going to wear one tonight, but its still no guarantee (especially since the germs will just be hanging out in our room). I would really rather NOT get sick!)

God's Girls Final Update

I know its a bit late, but I wanted to give you a final update about God's Girls! Honestly, most of this is just copied from Carisa's blog, she has all the pictures. :) Anyway, I will give some of my thoughts as well, especially since this was a very different year for me.

Day 2 was a huge success. We began by listening to 4 of the songs from our cd. As we listen we encourage the girls to highlight parts that stand out to them. They each have a songs book containing all of the words to every song on their cd.
The first part of Day 2 is all about the Changing Body of a young lady. We begin by taking a survey (using the privacy box)...We then dive right into a detailed discussion of PERIODS! We use The Body Book: It's A God Thing! as our guide, which all girls also get to keep! The book is full of great Godly info about the changes their bodies are going through.

We then let the girls go "shopping" to select new hygiene products to keep, as a way of encouraging them to take good care of themselves...


After discussing all things body-related we took a break and then dove right into a serious discussion about choices. We had the girls fill out this survey...
And also this, listing their top 3 favorites in each category...
Then we gave them this and challenged them about their choices...
Finally we gave them this, highlighting what the Bible has to say about things we learned today!!

Overall day 2 was pretty simple. Its always pretty challenging for me as we look at the choices we make. I still struggle with making the right choices!



The Sleepover...
It was a long and wonderful night! We started with portraits, which you can see at the end of this post! We then had snacks and a FUN fashion show put on by 2 former God's Girls (Linda and Bonita!!). The girls modeled modest and immodest outfits as we all giggled and gave our thoughts about each.

We then got right into our VERY detailed discussion about sex, right after the girls filled out this survey (privately)...
After glancing quickly at them, we learned that 6 out of the 12 girls would be hearing all about sex for the first time from us! I won't write about it, but we tell them everything, from the physical details to what God's word says. We then lead them in a discussion of the limits they need to decide on BEFORE they are in a relationship with a boy. We used this sheet to guide them this year...
I really enjoyed talking through this sheet with the girls as I still have to pay attention to my own limits. It was a great time of me being able to be honest with them about what God has called us to, but the fact that it is not easy and at 29 I still have to work hard to keep within my limits. They really seemed to be listening, which was encouraging!!

Then we took a break, got jammies on and went downstairs for more fun. I led the girls in filling out this shopping list for their dream man, it was SO much fun to see what they wrote!!! (And yes, I fill one of these out every year!)

After that it was time for the letters to their future husbands, which are always wonderful too. (Yup, I do this one too. So far, my future husband has 4 God's Girls letters waiting for him. I have to admit that this year I started my letter with: "I hope I don't have too many more of these to write"). :)

Finally, here's the verses we used for this evening...
We stopped teaching around 12:30am and let the girls hang out for about an hour. We then showed the movie Fireproof and every girl stayed up till the end, a first! The movie ended at 3am...the whispering ended much later. I finally fell asleep, and didn't really wake up much. I was sleeping right by the fan, so a lot of noise was drowned out for me. It was a long night, but a very fun and purposeful one. Praise God for allowing us to teach these girls !!!

The girls left around 10:30am, with their enormous bag full of stuff (their new Bible, cd, hygiene products, folder stock full of all their papers, etc.). Carisa and I were glad to get home to rest up a bit!

So, that was God's Girls 2009! Overall, it was amazing and I am so thankful that we do this program! This year was very challenging for me, however, and in different ways than it has been in the past. I'm still not sure what to really make of it...

In the past the biggest struggle for me has been the talk of our future husbands, or the talk on beauty. The enemy bombards me with lies that I'm not good enough and will never find a man. While those are challenging to push through, I am actually teaching the girls the exact opposite of those lies, so that is very helpful. This year, my struggle was very different.

Carisa does "the" talk every year. I have never had sex so I don't have a lot to teach the girls about that, other than what I learned in health class. This year, she was much more descriptive than usual and I struggled big time to control my thoughts. My mind was constantly wandering to places it shouldn't and I literally couldn't pay attention to 80% of the talk because I was working to hard to take my thoughts captive. In fact, at one point I was about to leave the room (not sure how I was going to explain it to the girls). At that exact moment, one of our girls got sick and THANKFULLY distracted me. I know it sounds kinda weird to think that God caused her to throw up in order to help me, but I think He might have. I was really struggling!!

There is a big part of me that feels like a failure for even struggling with those thoughts, but I know that's not true. I fought hard to take the thoughts captive and the enemy did not win that battle. I wonder if God was opening my eyes to one of the things we don't usually talk about with the girls; our struggle with lust. I tried really hard throughout God's Girls to emphasize that some day all this stuff won't seem gross to them. At some point, it won't just be pressure from boys and friends, but your own heart and mind will be struggling. I want them to be prepared because it is a serious battle! I'm not saying that we should necessarily specifically about lust, but it at least reminded me that I need to pray for these girls minds as well as their bodies.

The other struggle was me and Carisa being distracted by things outside of God's Girls. Carisa especially was pretty overwhelmed with being a mom of 3, a wife of a man constantly in demand and trying to be fully engaged in the ministry. I still don't know how she did all of it. Her being so distracted made it hard for me to really be fully engaged, so I often felt just kind of out of it. It didn't help that I was also trying to make sure everything was taken care of for Bonita and Linda. I know God did amazing things, but in some ways I feel like I was more just there than actually pouring into the girls like I have in the past.

So, it was an interesting year, but still a good one. I have no idea what is in store for next year, but I'm okay with waiting to find out. In the meantime, these faces just make me smile. :)

Day 3: Still having fun!

Its another late night, after another great day! I will share the highlights with you.

The leaders and I stayed on our side of the lake all morning. The teens have quiet times, devotions and then bible lessons in the morning, so there isn't much opportunity to hang out with them. So, I stayed back and got some work done and the guys played tennis and hung out. We all met up for lunch only to discover that we have to pay for lunch. We managed to afford it today, but we decided that we are just going to skip lunch each day and load up on breakfast and dinner for the rest of the week since those are free.

After lunch, the guys decided to stay and play softball with the people at the Inn while I decided to head over to the Island and see how the teens were doing. 1:30-5:30 every day is their free time. They can pretty much do whatever they want, as long as their counselors know where they are. This is also the time that they participate in the special activities that they signed up for. A few of the teens did the high ropes course today, but most were just hanging out. Here are some pictures I snapped:







After the free time I went back to the Inn to meet up with the guys for dinner (it was free!). After dinner, J and I went back to the Island to join the teens for "Improv night". We didn't really know what that was, but it turned out to be hilarious!!! The Word of Life staff basically performed skits that they made up on the fly, and we all laughed so hard!!

My favorite was a group of guys who called themselves "Men in white tees" that performed funny skits that really had us rolling. It was a really great time.

After the Improv night several of our teens headed out onto the "Party Barge". The barge took them all over the lake while they ate endless amounts of ice cream. I wasn't there, so I don't have any pictures, but it sounds like they had fun!! About half the group went tonight and the other half will go tomorrow night.

After the party barge arrived we all gathered together again for some worship and then a drama. The worship was great and and the drama was extremely well done (it was the story of the prodigal son, modernized). The camp director shared his testimony and it was really good and something a lot of the teens could relate to.

J and I had to leave before the drama was over (the last boat leaves at 11, so we can't miss it!), but we enjoyed what we saw. I'm excited to hear what the teens have to say tomorrow!

So, that was today. Sorry this update is a little short, I wasn't around for a lot of stuff today. Plus, most of the guys spent all afternoon playing football, so there weren't many exciting pictures to take. We'll see what happens tomorrow!! OH! And Linda and Cupcake passed the swim test today!! I'm SO proud of them! Bonita isn't too happy about it, haha, but she'll be okay. Anyway, goodnight everyone!

Day 2: Is it really only Sunday??

Well, obviously I am up much later today than I was yesterday, so this may be a shorter post. I am tired, and we still have 5 days left! Its been another really great day though!

Cupcake was feeling much better today, so after breakfast I took her back over to the Island so she could rejoin her cabin. We got there just as the morning bible session began, so I stayed for that before heading back over to the Inn to meet the guys for lunch. D convinced the people at the Inn to let us eat there even though we don't have the proper dress attire. Thank goodness, because it turns out we have to pay $5 for every meal we want to eat on the Island!

The bible session this morning was really good. They have a really great worship team and I enjoyed worshipping with them. After worship, they performed a VERY powerful drama that really spoke to a lot of the teens. In fact, they have all been talking to me about it all day. I was definitely impacted as I watched it, so I was excited to hear that the teens were as well. The drama depicted a girl hanging out with God but then being led astray by a lot of bad choices and temptations (money, sex, alcohol, cutting, etc). Then, as she realizes that she wants to go back with God, those choices keep pushing her back and away from Him. (The drama team did a really good job with this not holding back at all. Those bad choices were seriously pushing her away!). Then Jesus comes through and pushes the choices off of her so she can get on her knees to pray, and the bad choices seem to overwhelm Jesus. Finally, Jesus pushes back on all the choices and they fall to the ground and she walks off with Jesus. It was really amazing.

While I was at the service on the Island, the other leaders went to the church service at the Inn. They apparently weren't dressed up enough for the service, but they let them in anyway. The guys said the service was okay, but a lot of things here are clearly geared toward an older generation. :)

After the services were over we all met up for lunch. After lunch all the leaders took a quick (free) boat tour of he lake that took us all around the Island. It wasn't overly exciting, but it was free, so it was worth it. :)

After the boat ride we all went back to the Island to hang out with the teens during their free time. When we got there we discovered that everyone has to pass a pretty intense swim test in order to do the blob and the other lake activities. You have to swim 2 laps about the distance of a swimming pool (back and forth for each lap...and it is way harder than a swimming pool since you have all the waves to deal with). Your first lap (over and back) MUST be swam freestyle with your arms coming clearly out of the water with each stroke. The second lap can be swam any way you want, except doggy style. After completing that part of the test you then have to tread water for 5 minutes. It was a challenge!!

Unfortunately, only 3 of our teens passed. And in fact, only 2 of our leaders passed (I was one of them! Woohoo!!!). Linda made it through the swimming part and only had 30 seconds left in the treading water part, but had to quit. I think she is going to try again tomorrow. Bonita only lasted about a lap and a half before needing to quit. I guess I should look into swimming lessons...

After being in the lake for a while, though, I became pretty thankful for the swim test. You have to swim out to the blob, which is about the same distance as the test, so if the teens couldn't pass the test, they would likely get stuck in the water on their way to the blob. I'm not sure why they don't just use life jackets, but oh well. There are still shallow places for the teens to swim and TONS of other activities for them to choose from.

I was pretty tired after passing the swim test so I decided to walk around and find some of our teens instead of wasting more energy on the blob. I might save that for tomorrow. I found a lot of our teens just hanging out and walking, so I got to talk to them some. Then, as I was walking back toward the cabins, I heard my name being yelled. I looked over and saw this:


That is Bonita on the climbing wall. Look how high up she is!!!

Linda did it too, although she was a little more scared than Bonita. She finished it though! And, she was pretty tired when she got off the wall. :)

Rocky was there climbing too, and he was definitely the quickest up the wall.

After watching my girls on the rock wall I went to find everyone else, and ran into this:

There was a big rally tonight beginning the competition between the blue team and the red team, so the girls were getting ready. They all looked awesome!!

After hanging out with the teens for a little while, the guys and I went back over to the Inn to chill a bit before dinner. We wanted to be back on the Island by 7:30 for their evening worship time. Unfortunately, dinner was at 7 for us, which meant that we would miss the 7 o'clock boat to the Island. There was another boat at 7:30, so we all ate VERY quickly and then ran to the dock to catch the 7:30 boat. We made it and only missed a few things at the rally.

The rally was crazy! All of the teens were yelling and cheering and having so much fun...and they were all COVERED in red and blue! Our teens certainly didn't hold back!

The rally time wasn't just all about fun and craziness though. They also had a great time of worship and then a speaker talked to them about salvation. At the end of the speaker's talk he invited any teens that wanted to speak one on one with a counselor to come up to the stage. More than half of our teens went!!

The leaders and I stuck around so we could talk to the teens after and it was really great. These teens are definitely having a lot of fun, but they are also really seeking to grow. We are REALLY praying that this isn't just an experience for them, but an actual life changing time.

After the rally was over, we all went to the dome for a night of red vs. blue competitions. They competed in SO many events, it was insane! EVERYONE was cheering and excited the whole time! It was like being at a final four game or something! They had tug of war, balloon popping, crazy relay races, and other stuff that I didn't even get to see. Everyone was having so much fun!

The final event of the evening was to announce the overall winner of the evening's competitions. Each competition is worth points, and each team is trying to accumulate as many points as possible. Points are earned throughout the week and at the end of the week one of the teams will be the overall winner. Also, throughout the week there will be daily winners as well.

Thankfully, tonight the blue team won! Everyone was pumped!

After the events were finished all the teens went back to their cabins to get ready for bed and the guys and I went back to the Inn to get some sleep!

So far this camp has been incredible! The counselors are great and very well trained. The events are awesome, the camp looks amazing and all of the teens are having so much fun! So far the only thing I am not really enjoying are the speakers. They haven't been very clear or easy to understand and they don't seem to really understand how to speak to this age group. Both of the speakers that I have seen have been over 70 years old and while they are absolutely speaking truth, they were both very hard to follow. The guy this morning used the story of Tamar being raped to talk to the teens about choosing the right friends (I still don't really understand it), and J and I both had a hard time following the guy tonight, so I can't imagine what the teens were thinking. I am hoping there will be better speakers as the week goes on, but it doesn't really seem to be affecting the teens much. The Holy Spirit is clearly moving, and the teens are definitely being impacted. Its GREAT!! Let's see what tomorrow has in store!