Well this was our first week here in St. Petersburg and can I just say that this may possibly be the hottest place in the world? Aside from sweating off about 15 pounds the week was a complete blast and blessing. The kids got here and we were outside for my part of registration, which is when the little ones choose their track times, and Micheal, Colby, and I were sweating like nobody's business. We got the kids through registration and then got to meet them all before supper. I met some of the guys from Bethany Baptist Church and came up with a new game called Spazz. It is a combination of basketball, football, soccer, and bowling.
After playing for Spazz and getting cleaned up for supper, the opening celebration began. It was awesome. A lot of the kids already knew the motions to O Happy Day so it wasn't as awkward when Lindsey and I started jumping around like maniacs on stage. Whenever that was over I got to meet my bible study for a little bit, and that was interesting to say the least. I had about every kind of child you could have in my classroom but I was really excited about camp and so were they; it was really nice to see how we all worked together even though each of our individual personalities were completely and totally different. Not only did we do bible study but we did the party and church group time. My church group was one from North Jacksonville and I was so excited to meet people somewhat close to my home.
The week began hot and muggy, as we soon learned that every day is like that here. Bible study went great and so did recreation, but the real fun came at track time. My first track I had people that didn't really seem to care to play soccer, but when I got them playing games and having fun they seemed to end up kind of enjoying it that day. My second track was similar except that the kids already knew a lot more about the game so they became super competitive super quick. My face however did not like the sun, and neither did my shoulders... Needless to say a hat and rolled down sleeves were worn from there on out. The last day of my track time we played a real game and the kids ate it up. They were having so much fun and I loved that they wanted me to play with them. However an outdoor track can't be complete without some type of injury. Thankfully my track didn't get them but Flag Football definitely started feeling the hurt. The first day, Ben came limping over and his knee was beginning to swell and after suffering two serious knee injuries I knew that wasn't good. It turned out to be a bruised meniscus and a stretched MCL. Nothing to take lightly but at least nothing was torn. The last day I look up and Lindsey is jogging to me with a kid holding his nose. Could it be a regular bloody nose? Of course not. It had to be a twenty minute fountain of a bloody nose. And when I say fountain, I mean that the moment that I pulled the cotton ball out of his nose another whole GOB came out with it and continued to pour. The poor fellow took it like a champ though. He kept saying this was common and he would be fine. I appreciated that from a kid his age.
Thursday night worship is always an emotional one but this week it was taken to a whole new level. The kids AND adults responded in a way that only God could be in charge of. Part of my testimony is played in worship that day and after that a minister from one of the churches approached me and asked me to talk to one of his girls that lost her dad three weeks ago. I said I would do it, exited the auditorium, and then broke down. I went to meet up with that church group and I ended up giving my whole testimony including Marshall Coile's impact on my life and I could pick out just from looking at the church which girl I needed to talk to.
After I shared, the church group prayed over me and gave me the BEST group hug I've ever had in my life. I found that girl and we talked. She mostly cried but she just needed that time to cry and someone who has been there to tell her it was going to be okay. While we were talking I realized that just like Esther was prepared for a time to save her people, maybe my dad died just for that moment right there where I saw that girl begin to look for the good in her father's passing. It was just a moment that I'm never ever ever going to forget. It was literally one of my top five most special moments in my life and I know that I couldn't have gotten the opportunity to talk to her if I wasn't given the opportunity to work camp.
Please pray for next weeks cycle. We are relaxing this weekend so it won't be as hard for us to pick up our energy but any prayers for that are greatly appreciated. Also pray for the kids. They all come with problems and they always need love.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
New Week, New Kids
So the travels to St. Petersburg are over. And as much as I hate to admit it, I am sick. Allergies, congestion, nausea, if you think it I have it. But after acquiring some medicine I am getting back to full speed and raring to go!
We welcomed a whole new bunch of kids today and it was awesome! I have the church group from North Jacksonville (which makes me super happy seeing as I'm from a place close to there) and they're super sweet! . This new group of kids needs some love though. Speaking with adult leaders and other students some of them are going through a lot of things that they just need to see God working in.
Today after opening celebration we went to my bible study room, which is literally a ten minute hike from the auditorium. We arrived to only find that the air conditioner was not working. And in St. Petersburg at seven p.m. if the air conditioner is not working, neither is your brain. We created a game of using the name tags as fans which all the kids loved. After a quick session, we made the ten minute hike back to the auditorium for the party, and oh what a joy the party was. To start off the people working backstage need to be on the constant lookout for sticking any part of yourself in the middle of the screen, and well three out of the four people working the party forgot about that part of the job. Not only did we have some unscheduled appearances for the screen but we set up the last game, Fiesta Explosion, too early. Michael and I had already rolled out the Paca Pit and then Ben comes leaping up to the stage and pushes it back whispering that we had forgotten a game. So not only did we set everything up, but we had to tear it down and then set it up again in a matter of five minutes. After the party everything pretty much followed the schedule and that was a relief in and of itself.
So, now that the mishaps of the day were said, please be praying for my bible study group, track times, and all the churches that came to camp this week. I'll try to keep a little more up to date but that's about all I have for today!
We welcomed a whole new bunch of kids today and it was awesome! I have the church group from North Jacksonville (which makes me super happy seeing as I'm from a place close to there) and they're super sweet! . This new group of kids needs some love though. Speaking with adult leaders and other students some of them are going through a lot of things that they just need to see God working in.
Today after opening celebration we went to my bible study room, which is literally a ten minute hike from the auditorium. We arrived to only find that the air conditioner was not working. And in St. Petersburg at seven p.m. if the air conditioner is not working, neither is your brain. We created a game of using the name tags as fans which all the kids loved. After a quick session, we made the ten minute hike back to the auditorium for the party, and oh what a joy the party was. To start off the people working backstage need to be on the constant lookout for sticking any part of yourself in the middle of the screen, and well three out of the four people working the party forgot about that part of the job. Not only did we have some unscheduled appearances for the screen but we set up the last game, Fiesta Explosion, too early. Michael and I had already rolled out the Paca Pit and then Ben comes leaping up to the stage and pushes it back whispering that we had forgotten a game. So not only did we set everything up, but we had to tear it down and then set it up again in a matter of five minutes. After the party everything pretty much followed the schedule and that was a relief in and of itself.
So, now that the mishaps of the day were said, please be praying for my bible study group, track times, and all the churches that came to camp this week. I'll try to keep a little more up to date but that's about all I have for today!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Week 1+ Weekend
Well, this is the end of my first week and my only weekend camp. And there are so many memories that are flooding my brain and hopefully will go into my fingers to get these stories into place. And, let me say at the beginning of the whole saga that my voice is SHOT.
Registration was actually pretty chill on the first week. We got the five churches that came in there and out like it was our job. Well, I mean it is but just go with it. After registration my teammate Linsdey and I had to dance on stage like little kids and do motions. Hard to believe I would do that right? This also brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, sweating everywhere. Plus my jeans were a bit too big and so I had to subtly keep the up while jumping up and down and doing motions. After we danced it was time to just meet my bible study kids and get to know them for a little bit. And let me tell you, they were awesome.
Recreation was a whole different animal all to itself. Seeing as my voice was already starting to fade, but now I'm screaming over music, a rec leader, 10 really hot kids, an air horn, and 10 kids getting hotter as the seconds tick on, I loved every single minute of it. The games are so much fun for me to play as well, but then again I always feel like a little kid. Plus on the first day of rec ever my Green Riptides won THE CAPTAINS OAR!! (which sounds like no big deal outside of CentriKid but it's a huge deal here!) After Rec comes lunch, hang time, supper, worship, and my favorite time of all which was church group time. Church group time is when staff gets to invest in a group of kids from one church without having distractions from other people. The kids are also a lot more comfortable and they definitely open up more in this time. My kids told stories about their lives and just opened up beyond belief. It's funny that the church group that I was put with had some youth get killed in a car wreck and I can identify with that as my brother died from a car wreck.
OMC was AWESOME!! I got a cooler dumped on my head, water balloons chunked at me, and shaving cream everywhere. My kiddies didn't win but man we gave it our best shot!!
I helped with the archery track time and man you could tell that I was rusty. I was hitting in the same spot on the target ... that spot just wasn't the yellow. I got better as the week went on but I only hit the yellow once on the last day and that is a feat all in itself. After the week was over I got to teach my soccer track time all by myself and being nervous is an understatement. After I got out there with the kids though, it started to flow and that's when I knew that God had heard my plea to give me some ideas to do with these kids. Even the devotional at the end of the track time was from God, because it definitely wasn't the one that was in the manual but the kids understood it and made the connection back to their own lives and that's what counts.
After the Week 1 kids left almost immediately the weekend kids began to pour in and that was a elephant sized feat all by itself. My team persevered, however and continued to be amazing and finish up what needed to be done when it needed to be done.
That night I got my first opportunity to lead a little girl to Salvation and it was the best thing in my life. She understood that she needed God and that her relationship with God had to grow and decided to pray the prayer in a dorm room right there that night. It was amazing, and something I will definitely never forget.
Please pray for my team as the Week 2 kids come. We're almost doubling in size from the weekend which means we're quadrupling in kids from Week 1. Just pray for strength, energy, and that our hearts will be prepared to minster and serve these kids no matter what is going on at home or around us. Pray that the kids are open to the Gospel and that their hearts will want to know more about God and more about how he saves us!
Peace, Love, and CK
Taylor
Registration was actually pretty chill on the first week. We got the five churches that came in there and out like it was our job. Well, I mean it is but just go with it. After registration my teammate Linsdey and I had to dance on stage like little kids and do motions. Hard to believe I would do that right? This also brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, sweating everywhere. Plus my jeans were a bit too big and so I had to subtly keep the up while jumping up and down and doing motions. After we danced it was time to just meet my bible study kids and get to know them for a little bit. And let me tell you, they were awesome.
Recreation was a whole different animal all to itself. Seeing as my voice was already starting to fade, but now I'm screaming over music, a rec leader, 10 really hot kids, an air horn, and 10 kids getting hotter as the seconds tick on, I loved every single minute of it. The games are so much fun for me to play as well, but then again I always feel like a little kid. Plus on the first day of rec ever my Green Riptides won THE CAPTAINS OAR!! (which sounds like no big deal outside of CentriKid but it's a huge deal here!) After Rec comes lunch, hang time, supper, worship, and my favorite time of all which was church group time. Church group time is when staff gets to invest in a group of kids from one church without having distractions from other people. The kids are also a lot more comfortable and they definitely open up more in this time. My kids told stories about their lives and just opened up beyond belief. It's funny that the church group that I was put with had some youth get killed in a car wreck and I can identify with that as my brother died from a car wreck.
OMC was AWESOME!! I got a cooler dumped on my head, water balloons chunked at me, and shaving cream everywhere. My kiddies didn't win but man we gave it our best shot!!
I helped with the archery track time and man you could tell that I was rusty. I was hitting in the same spot on the target ... that spot just wasn't the yellow. I got better as the week went on but I only hit the yellow once on the last day and that is a feat all in itself. After the week was over I got to teach my soccer track time all by myself and being nervous is an understatement. After I got out there with the kids though, it started to flow and that's when I knew that God had heard my plea to give me some ideas to do with these kids. Even the devotional at the end of the track time was from God, because it definitely wasn't the one that was in the manual but the kids understood it and made the connection back to their own lives and that's what counts.
After the Week 1 kids left almost immediately the weekend kids began to pour in and that was a elephant sized feat all by itself. My team persevered, however and continued to be amazing and finish up what needed to be done when it needed to be done.
That night I got my first opportunity to lead a little girl to Salvation and it was the best thing in my life. She understood that she needed God and that her relationship with God had to grow and decided to pray the prayer in a dorm room right there that night. It was amazing, and something I will definitely never forget.
Please pray for my team as the Week 2 kids come. We're almost doubling in size from the weekend which means we're quadrupling in kids from Week 1. Just pray for strength, energy, and that our hearts will be prepared to minster and serve these kids no matter what is going on at home or around us. Pray that the kids are open to the Gospel and that their hearts will want to know more about God and more about how he saves us!
Peace, Love, and CK
Taylor
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Let It Begin
Well, training week is almost over. Literally. In about 2 hours and10 minutes it'll be Monday and we will be receiving little kiddies like there's nothing else. All we've done lately is prepare. I've decorated a bible study room, played all the rec games, practiced giving instructions, and just a general stuff that has to be done before you can begin camp. You know how that is. Please be praying for the little kiddos that are going to be coming tomorrow. There are only about 100 adult plus kids, but after that we have a weekend camp of 400, and then a camp week of about 450. So 950 kids in two weeks? No big deal. On that note be praying for the team, we are going to be super exhausted and then after the week of 450 we have to pack up and drive 16 hours in order to get to our next site. So worn out won't even begin to cover it.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
But Really
Today was just a culmination of everything almost perfect in the CentiKid world. To start off, I got to make bandanna jewelry (which I think solidifies my being a counselor) AND today was when OMC happened!!!!!!!! (Just in case you can't tell, it's kind of a big deal.) But, before that, we did some team time about studying the bible and I just found out some stuff that you would think that a staffer would already know. It's not like studying the Bible is a foreign concept to me, but let's just say I'm not the most proficient person when it comes to breaking down scripture and looking at it bit by bit and interpreting it. I found out just how important journaling is and how it can be used to write in so much more than your daily excursions. For those of you curious out there (which I know there are so so many)
Things that can be written in a journal
After team time was another learning session and then ...wait for it.......... OMC!!!!!! (crowd goes wild here!)
My team had a really good cheer and we had so much fun performing it and just acting a little wild and crazy. One group remixed Pretty Boy Swag and let's just say I went nuts, seeing as I love that song. BUT, after all the cheers OMC commenced and it was a combination of messy, crazy, smelly, nasty, hilarious, silly, and insane tasks. For example, take someone's shoe and use is as a phone, or ask an adult leader (a.k.a. Your director) to give you a wet willy, play leap frog with ten other friends. The other crazy part is that you can't say no to anyone who asks you for help, no matter what you are doing. So that definitely made things super interesting.
The yellow team got third in points, but the best was only yet to come! I went back to rinse off a combination of water, shaving cream, and sweat and called my mom for a little bit of an awkward conversation that quickly cleared up and corrected. After that, getting ready for worship turned into turbo mode. Make up, hair, and outfit all ready in twenty minutes... be proud. After singing some songs, JE (an in charge man) shared his story and made me tear up when he began talking about his baby girl and made me proud to have a man like that leading the way for CK. After JE shared his story we were told to write down ours and share it with our family group. It was awesome to hear about the experiences of some of the girls in my group.
The variety show came after the family group time and I must say, CK7 was blessed with some great and fun leaders! Cheernastics, Foot Praise, Sign Language, and Worship Band were amazing tonight in their performances! After all the performance tracks went, we found out who got the Captain's Oar for their group winning. And you guessed it, the YELLOW group won!! It was awesome to win that and just celebrate some fun and hard work with my team! The variety show was followed by breaking down the auditorium (which went rather quickly) and team time. I'm so so so excited to be serving with these people this year and can't wait for the little kiddos to arrive. But until then... This is Taylor, signing off!
Things that can be written in a journal
- prayers
- praises
- prayer requests
- answered prayers
- scriptures studied and broken down
- personal struggles and thoughts
- daily excursions
After team time was another learning session and then ...wait for it.......... OMC!!!!!! (crowd goes wild here!)
My team had a really good cheer and we had so much fun performing it and just acting a little wild and crazy. One group remixed Pretty Boy Swag and let's just say I went nuts, seeing as I love that song. BUT, after all the cheers OMC commenced and it was a combination of messy, crazy, smelly, nasty, hilarious, silly, and insane tasks. For example, take someone's shoe and use is as a phone, or ask an adult leader (a.k.a. Your director) to give you a wet willy, play leap frog with ten other friends. The other crazy part is that you can't say no to anyone who asks you for help, no matter what you are doing. So that definitely made things super interesting.
The yellow team got third in points, but the best was only yet to come! I went back to rinse off a combination of water, shaving cream, and sweat and called my mom for a little bit of an awkward conversation that quickly cleared up and corrected. After that, getting ready for worship turned into turbo mode. Make up, hair, and outfit all ready in twenty minutes... be proud. After singing some songs, JE (an in charge man) shared his story and made me tear up when he began talking about his baby girl and made me proud to have a man like that leading the way for CK. After JE shared his story we were told to write down ours and share it with our family group. It was awesome to hear about the experiences of some of the girls in my group.
The variety show came after the family group time and I must say, CK7 was blessed with some great and fun leaders! Cheernastics, Foot Praise, Sign Language, and Worship Band were amazing tonight in their performances! After all the performance tracks went, we found out who got the Captain's Oar for their group winning. And you guessed it, the YELLOW group won!! It was awesome to win that and just celebrate some fun and hard work with my team! The variety show was followed by breaking down the auditorium (which went rather quickly) and team time. I'm so so so excited to be serving with these people this year and can't wait for the little kiddos to arrive. But until then... This is Taylor, signing off!
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