This week at church we talked about Faithfulness. We talked about what it is for God to be faithful to the faithful and our faithfulness to God. We went over a lot of verses that really spoke to me.
Ever since school started our Acteens group has picked up in attendence. We have had 20-27 girls every week. I have been very fired up about the group of girls. They are all great girls and we are accomplishing a lot.
Each week I leave church excited and refreshed. I realize that I have grown so much this past summer. I also see that I am still growing every day. Each time I go to church I cannot leave without smiling and being excited.
This past Wednesday night I was on fire for God. We were talking about the faithfulness and God just poured his words into my heart and mind. I never answer questions or talk out loud because in a group setting I am a shy person. Wednesday night, though, I was answering everything. I even got in trouble because I was answering too much. Can you believe that? Its never happened before.
God began speaking to me about all of the verses we were reading. I was saying words that I had never thought of before. It was amazing. The spirit really filled that place. I love knowing that I am still growing daily. I want to always be growing daily.
When we become close to God, he will talk to us. I experienced this for the first time last year. Ever since that happened the first time it has continued. It amazes me to know how much God is helping me and speaking to me. I left church almost in tears in awe of what God did in that acteens room.
Is God speaking to you? Allow him to talk. Listen and act!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Worldsong (:
Worldsong. That word may not mean much to just anyone but to me it means everything. This was my home this summer. This was the place that literally changed my life forever. This was the place that I found true friends.
One January day this year, at a youth retreat, God spoke to me for the first time ever. God told me I was going to be working at a camp in the summer. At this time I was completely amazed scared and confused all at once. He didn’t tell me where just that I was going to be at a camp.
After this I began researching some for camps that I could work at. I didn’t find any in particular. I had known about Worldsong because I go to a Baptist church but had only been there for a day thing. I really didn’t want to work at Worldsong at this time because I didn’t feel like it was “going” anywhere because it was so close to home. I wanted to go off and work. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and go out on my own in a certain aspect.
Later on in January, my acteens leader received an email from Worldsong. She knew that I had been wanting to work at a camp and she really wanted that camp to be Worldsong. She forwarded me the email and I began to pray about this opportunity.
In February, I attended a women’s conference of Dr. Brenda Robinson. Mrs. Brenda plays a huge role in my life and who I am today. She is a great teacher and leader. I always listen and take to heart what she has to say. At this conference God continued talking to me about me working at a camp. At this time He told me that I was going to apply to Worldsong. I was super scared to take this step in my life. That night I was crying because of all the emotion from it and Jennifer, a family friend, took me to meet and talk to Mrs. Brenda. At this moment, Brenda was so nice and talked to me and told me that if I ever needed her I could always talk to her. It meant so much and helped a lot.
Time went on and I applied to Worldsong. Then I received a letter to go to interview weekend. I was very excited and very scared. I got to interview weekend and it was a lot of fun. I loved meeting everyone. I came back and waited for what seemed like forever. I finally got a letter in the mail that I was hired. I was so happy. I was grounded at the time so couldn’t tell many people but I remember the next Sunday at church I told everyone I saw. I was so excited. I couldn’t believe that I actually got hired. After this I still prayed a lot about it and it became much more serious. Some thoughts were as follows: I was realizing that I was giving up my entire summer to work at this camp. I was going to a place where I knew no one. I was living at this place away from my family. I was going to be away from my church. Away from my youth group and all the fun summer activities. I was going to be doing something in God’s will, Something in God’s plan. It was going to be great.
School got out and I began packing my bags for the biggest adventure in my life that has happened so far. I was going to Worldsong no matter how scared I was. I was going to have to meet lots of new people. That was probably the scariest part being the shy person I am. At this time, I had no clue how much I would learn or how much I would grow or how much I would change forever.
I arrived at this place called Worldsong for the fourth time in my life. Once as a kid, then for interview weekend, then for lifeguard training, and now for a journey. We all sat looking around, talking to people, wondering who was sitting beside you and across from you. God had brought 23 ladies together that most had never been in the same room before. We began doing little things like icebreakers and talking. Then we learned our staff song, little did we know that at this moment this song “This Little Light of Mine” by Addison Road bonded us forever. This began our 10 or so days of training. During training we learned how to live with each other. We learned to love each other. We learned that God put us all together for a reason. We knew we would be close. We learned how to deal with children and how to work camp things. We stayed fit with shaun-t. This was probably one of the hardest fitness things ever but it helped us a lot. We learned that our boss could also be one of us and our friend when it was the right time for it.
After training my parents made me go on a family vacation with them. While I was gone I realized just how much I was going to love this place. I missed it the few days I was gone. When I came back all of the girls were running to hug me. This was probably one of the most loved felt times I have experienced in my life. I knew at this point that my fellow staff members were amazing.
When camp first started, I was homesick. I wasn’t sure why I did this anymore or if I could handle it. I ended up talking to miss Cynthia and she assured me that it would be okay. Also at the beginning and throughout camp I experienced doubts of my salvation but I was thankful to have people that I could talk to and they would help me.
Week by week
Every week started a new camp. Every week came with many new faces and personalities. Every week came with a new nurse to meet. Every week came new sets of missionaries from all around the world.
Every week started a new camp. Every week came with many new faces and personalities. Every week came with a new nurse to meet. Every week came new sets of missionaries from all around the world.
The week would begin and you would start studying your children’s information. You would learn what kind of kid you would have and would try to begin learning some names that you would need to put with faces. You welcomed the kids car by car and bus by bus into their home for the week. They were all smiles coming in.
The Camp:
Every day you woke up had quiet time then breakfast. This year we had theme days. Monday was normal because that was when the kids arrived. Tuesday was backwards day- dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner and everything reversed. Wednesday was water day, kids wore their bathing suits for water games and counselors had water gun wars. Thursday was tacky day. Friday was normal but we had Olympics which was a lot of fun.
Our theme bible study was on Joshua 1:9. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The theme word was Amats. This is Hebrew for courage. The children learned what it meant to have courage. They learned from Rahab what it is like to sacrifice for God. This lesson also taught me to have courage. The world of the kids:
The kids at Worldsong were amazing. Yes you always have those kids that are annoying. You always have the kids that are homesick and cry all the time. You always have the ones that want to cling to you. You have the kids that will open up to you and the ones that will not tell you anything. Every kid you come in contact with is different but they all share one common thing, they want to be loved.
Children bring out the best and the worst in you. Children love to cling to you for attention and love. Children love to tell you stories. The children will make your day. You can learn so much from the children that come to camp. They are so eager to learn about God and hear the bible stories. They are so excited to read their bible; they beg to read it even after we have to turn the lights off. Why can’t we get so excited about God?
The kids show you what true love and friendship means. These kids know how to love each other and care for each other. This summer we saw kids share clothes on banquet night for everyone to look nice. We saw children share their money for those who had nothing. We saw kids that cared more about others than they did themselves.
The commitments:
God really moved in the hearts and minds of many young individuals this year. We had this thing called encounter the night before they went home every week. It was where you went to each camper individually and talked to them about anything and everything and made sure that they could ask any questions or make any commitments.
Encounter was great for the campers. Many decided to give their life to Christ, two of which I got to help with. Many campers surrendered their lives to missions. Many got their questions answered. Girls learned who God really was and how much he truly loved them. Many rededicated their lives.
The staff
Wow. That’s what I have to say about The 2011 Worldsong Summer Staff and Admin Staff J (inside joke). This year was Worldsong’s twentieth year. They have a summer staff every year and every year they all learn to be friends and work with each other. God always places the right staff at Worldsong for the right summer. I have never been a summer camper at Worldsong nor have I ever worked there before this summer; so, other than stories that have been told to me, I can’t say what it has been like in the past I can just speak from this year. Although, if it was up to me I would always say that this year’s staff was the best in this lifetime.
When we all arrived the first day, not many people knew each other and even the ones that did know some, they didn’t know all. Just imagine walking into a big room with 23 girls all unique in their own way. First of all, I hate when people stare at me and when you walk into a room with people, that’s what everyone naturally does. I was terrified. Little did we know that this staff would become the best friends, sisters, and family you could have ever dreamed of.
The staff literally became family. We all got along with one another. We all loved each other. We could all have fun with no drama. The staff held each other up. When someone was upset or when someone had a problem going on there was always staff members that they could talk to about it. We really preferred calling ourselves the Worldsong family. It was amazing how close everyone became. You could tell it was true love and friendship and not just something that you had to do because you worked with each other.
When we applied for camp they told us that we could go home on most weekends when we wanted to. At that time, I thought I would be going home every weekend to see my family and my church family. I was wrong. Yes, I went home a few times but most of the time no one wanted to go home. We didn’t want to leave each other. One of my favorite weekends was when a lot of us went to other staffers homes in auburn and Montgomery and still met up to see each other. We couldn’t get enough of each other, for real. If we ever did go home, we counted the hours to go back to see everyone. It was an incredible, indescribable bond that only God could make happen.
My growth:
I feel like I grew so much in so many ways this summer. In a way I matured a lot. I learned to live without my parents for a little while, which will help me prepare for college. I had older friends in my life that helped me to grow up and mature some.
I also grew spiritually in so many different ways. I learned how to have a deeper personal relationship with God. I learned that I can really trust and rely on God. I also learned that it’s normal to have certain things come up, that God is revealing them to you for a reason. I learned that if you are in the word and willing that God will reveal things to you from years ago for you to work on and ask for forgiveness.
In closing:
Worldsong changed my life forever. I do not know at this time if I will be able to work there again. It is all in God’s plan. If I do work there again, it will be great. If I don’t get to work there again, I’ve decided it will still be okay because God will have me doing something bigger and better. I learned to have a positive outlook on life and make the most of every opportunity. Worldsong will always have a special place in my heart. The people that worked with me will also. Still to this day after months of it being over I hear certain songs or pass cook springs road and have to hold back the tears. Getting to Worldsong and leaving Worldsong was one of the most emotional things I have ever done. If it was up to me I would live at Worldsong College my whole lifetime!
I want to say thanks to everyone that helped me throughout my summer on being able to get there and to believe in me. Thanks for helping me to have the courage to step out and make a difference. I couldn’t have done it without each one of you.
· Thanks to Mr. Calvin, Mrs. Cross, Susie, Jennifer, and Karen for agreeing to be my prayer partners and pray for me
· Thanks to Miss Cynthia for everything. She has helped me grow so much and was always there for any of us. She still helps me even after camp is over.
· Thanks to all the people that sent me encouraging letters in the mail. It really brightened my day.
· Thanks to my family for allowing me to go away this summer and further God’s Kingdom. Thanks to my family for taking time out of their busy schedules and meeting me on my off time to see me and eat lunch with me.
· Thanks to My church family. I couldn’t have done it without their love and prayers they showed to me. Thanks to them for treating my staff well and feeding us a good lunch (:
· Thanks to all of the churches that sent us things and prepared dinners for us.
· Thanks to Jennifer for everything. She helped me knowing that I would be okay to go to Worldsong. She was always the person I could call and tell about camp and the exciting things. She was there for me and still is to talk about anything especially spiritual stuff.
· Thanks to all my Worldsong family. Thanks to Captain Awesome (morgan) for being a great unit leader and being there for me to talk to. Thanks to my big sister (Amanda w.) for always being someone I could talk to about anything. Thanks for listening to me even at midnight in the field by the pool (: Thanks to mandy (Amanda F) for always being someone I could talk to in my unit. And she is still always there for me now. Thanks to twin for having someone my age that could still relate to having to go back to high school . Thanks to Suzie for being an amazing co and always making me laugh. Thanks to kb, destiny, and Katie for being great unit friends and all the fun times. Thanks to chacos and Hannah. Yall were my first friends from lifeguard and yall are awesome. I had so much fun that weekend yall took me with you on our mini roadtrip. Thanks to lacey and Jessica for all the fun times and hilarious moments. Yall were always there for me. Hahah and “the people are coming”. Thanks to mert for pep talking me into my time as a cabin leader. I loved our late night talk before I left. Thanks to rivers for being a great friend even if it was only a week that we got close while we were there. Thanks to Kimberly, shayb, and Rachel. Yall are such nice girls and always making me laugh J. Thanks to Erica and Allison for letting me come in yalls room and get to know yall when I stayed in unit 2. Thanks to sarah for walking in with me on interview weekend day and us being friends from then on. Thanks to alane for always not singing and making me laugh. Thanks to Katie Baily and Morgan for coming to help us out at camp.
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