Junior Camp Fun!!!

Junior Camp was a total blast! I went this year as part of the kitchen crew. I know, you're thinking yeah, right, but we really did have a good time. I would even think it would be safe to say that I had more fun at Junior Camp than Senior Camp. We had to look for fun and make it a good time...a couple of skills that I've learned from mom, Aunt Kirsten, Sis. Young...and many others.

First things first --I have to talk about my sister Olivia. This was her first year at youth camp and she was a little nervous about the whole thing. Most of her close friends weren't going, and that is scary to a kid...I mean, who am I going to HANG OUT WITH??? It turned out great though. She had a blast and made new friends. She slept next to me which helped with the whole "being away from home" thing, and on the last night SURPRISE, SURPRISE she got camper of the week for her age group. That was pretty cool! (Not to brag, but she got camper of the day one of the days, AND the Miss Smiley award!! I'm proud of Livie! Ok...I am bragging. So shoot me! JK!)

We had a great time in the kitchen. My time was really scheduled and I was busy, but the others that worked there made it fun. Just want to say: I LOVE CHRIS HUFSTEDLER! She is the neatest, most easy-going and yet efficient person on earth! I loved working the snack bar...boy could I tell stories, but you never know who reads your blog, so....

The services were amazing. They were so kid-oriented...games, skits, songs, but at the end the holy-ghost fell and we had a MOVE OF GOD! I don't know how many kids got the holy-ghost, but 4 from our church did, and lots of them got awesome blessings. It was really neat to be a part of ministering to children in that way. I was very moved as I watched the children respond to the presence of God.

We had a massive water war on the second day. I have never been a part of a water fight that huge. It went on forever! Being part of the kitchen staff was great...we had access to AMMO!!! We used pans, bowls and pots while everyone else had balloons. Shaving cream and silly string got in the mix and everyone was a sight! It started out as the kids against the staff, but before it was over it was every man for himself! Needless to say, we all got soaked and had a lot of GOOD CLEAN FUN!

Another great thing was pranking. Now, my mom really isn't into all the pranking (TPing, forking lawns, etc.) so we haven't done a lot. Truthfully, I think it can be inconsiderate to leave a mess all over people's property too. So I haven't done a lot of that, but at camp it was another story! For the first time I was a part of all the craziness that went on after everyone else was asleep. Let's just say that Sis. Shawna and Sis. Tishawna look innocent...but I learned a lot this week! They are SO MUCH FUN!!! We used TP and saran wrap and soap and had a blast!

I really want to go back to junior camp...what a great time!

A little wet, wouldn't you say?

Here everyone thought that we were in trouble for pranking...it turned out to be a false alarm, but oh, those EXPRESSIONS!!!

Bro. Waage was our ally, but turned traitor and became our target...or were we his?

Kitchen staff...great bunch of ladies.

Having a lot of fun when we should have been sleeping...

Livie gets her trophy...what a great ending to a great week!

Cell Phone vs. Bible

Freedom week was fabulous this year. I was so blessed by the services and by the fellowship. In the past I have often gone to Freedom Week or Ladies Retreat with the mindset that I was there to get something, not there to minister. This year at Freedom Week I really felt a shift in my life in regard to this. I did recieve wonderful things from God...things I really needed, but I also felt as if I was able to reach out and be a blessing to others also. It is a good feeling to be moving into a new place in God.

Bro. Lance preached 3 awesome messages and used this illustration in one of them. It was funny because I came home and told my mom about it and THAT DAY she got this email...coincidence?

CELL PHONE vs. BIBLE

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bibles like we treat our cell phone?

• What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?


• What if we flipped through it several times a day?


• What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?


• What if we used it to receive messages from the text?


• What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?


• What if we gave it to kids as gifts?


• What if we used it when we traveled?


• What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. And no dropped calls!

Makes you stop and think 'Where are my priorities?'