Two sessions in...

I am finally back in North Carolina, and to a place that I have consistent internet access! I apologize for the delay between blogs but have no fear, I should have internet for the rest of the summer. I am already two sessions into summer camp! I can't believe it. What a great two weeks with kids I have had.

Our first camp session was in Lynchburg, VA at a camp and conference center. It was a beautiful place, but it was perched right on the side of a mountain. Now you may be thinking "That doesn't sound bad at all," but when you think that everywhere on the campus that we went, we were either climbing a steep hill, or walking down the steep hill. This became problematic when we as a staff were extremely sleep deprived and could barely function. When the first group of kids showed up at camp, it was the most exciting and exhilarating moment that I think I've ever experienced. I've learned that when kids are around, it makes every situation that you think is terrible, great! The first week did not come without it's challenges though. I did not expect that managing 3rd and 4th graders would be such a hard task. I knew it would be hard, but I had no idea. I have had my Bible study material for several months now and I thought that I had every thing mapped out before I got to camp and had everything figured out but was I extremely wrong. Everything that I thought would be easy for the campers to understand, they completely did not get, and everything that I thought they would have a hard time understanding, they got the very first time that I explained it. It's amazing how that works. It was also very hard to keep their attention for the hour that I have them in Bible study. I hate to compare children to dogs, but they kind of reminded of the dog in the movie "Up," with its short attention span. Through all of the challenging moments, I saw God's hand working in the children's lives. On my team, we have begun to call them "Jesus chills," and thats when something so spiritual happens that we get chill bumps. God has shown up at PassportKids! in a very powerful way! But hey, I didn't expect any different.

The second session of camp was much easier than the first week. This session was located in Heartfield, VA at an RA's camp. The camp was situated right on a river that was a part of the Chesapeake Bay. It's amazing to me that two groups of children that are the exact same age could be so different. I am not going to lie, my first group was pretty wild and crazy, but my second group, where they had their moments, was pretty calm cool and collected. On the third night of worship, our camp pastor gave a challenge to the children that if they had made a decision during the week, whether it was to become a Christian or anything that God had laid on their hearts, that we as their Bible study leaders would be in the back of the worship center to pray with them and talk to them. You remember when I was talking about Jesus chills earlier? Well I got a major case that night. Just some of the things that 8 and 9 year olds were coming up to me and saying just completely overwhelmed me and it was obvious that the Spirit was present in that place.

Like I said, I am back in North Carolina and have a couple days off ahead of me. My parents are coming for a visit tomorrow and I am extremely excited about seeing them and spending some time with them. It's also nice to be back where there are other Passport teams. My team and I went to the Passport Youth teams opening celebration tonight and it was awesome! I look forward to hanging out with them throughout the next couple of weeks. The third session of camp begins on Wednesday and hopefully by then I will have caught up on my sleep and will be able to function. Continue to pray that our ministry be strong. Also pray that our team continues to bond and that we become closer so that the support that we receive from each other be strong and genuine. I have been blessed with a great team and I am thankful for them and the friendships that we have formed.

Until the nets are full,
Zeke

Fast and Furious!

What a crazy week this training week has been! I can't believe that I have already been gone for a week now. It seems like just yesterday. I feel like I've known my team for years. They all have become my best friends. I like to refer to my team as "The Dream Team!"

We are now in Lynchburg, VA and the weather is great here! I don't know how it is at home but it is perfect here. The camp that we are at is perched up on top of a mountain and from where we are staying, we can look off the mountain and see the town of Lynchburg. It is really cool at night because we can see all of the lights. It looks like lightning bugs flying around in the valley. The camp is really spread out and since we are on top of a mountain, everything is at the bottom of the hill, or at the top of the hill. What I am trying to say is, my legs are going to be very strong when I leave this place!

Campers come to the first session of camp on Thursday. I am very excited to get camp started but it is also very scary! During these past few days of training, I have realized that I still have a lot to do before the campers get here. That is why I have neglected my blogging. I am the main character in the opening skits and its not really that I have a lot of lines to memorize, but it is four different days of lines and I keep getting them mixed up and different things like that. Also, we do a Chinese night market where our campers get a glimpse of Chinese culture. I am a street sweeper and when campers come to me, I have to give this long speech about what I do. I am also having a hard time memorizing that. Oh yeah! How could I forget Bible studies. While memorizing all my other things that I am responsible for, I also am working on my Bible studies. I'm pretty sure that I am ready for them its just continuing to read over them that is going to make the difference. One of my goals is to completely rely on my memory for my Bible studies by the second session. Its great to see everything come together though. Although I am a little stressed out, I am really excited for campers to get here and get the sessions started.

After today, there is only one day left of training and then we have our day off before the first day of camp. There is a lot to accomplish in that time so I would appreciate prayer that everything gets done and that time is used wisely and that all kinks get worked out before Thursday. I miss all of you, and hope that you are doing well! Welp, its time to get back to work!

Until the nets are full,
Zeke

Resting

Goodness! Am I tired! If you saw my facebook status this morning, it referenced me being tired. Now that may not seem like a big deal to anyone, but as my day went on and the more tired a got, I quickly realized that my focus was drifting away from where it was supposed to be. Believe it or not, the devotion that was taught by my assistant director tonight was on rest, and the fact that it is okay to rest. She referenced the book of Genesis to a story that is very common in the Christian faith; the Creation story. If you re-read that story, God rested on that seventh day after He created the Universe. He blessed it and designated it as the day of rest. In the busyness of camp, I have quickly learned that it is a necessity to rest. When I say rest, I don't mean taking a nap, which I hope to do on my first day off. What I mean is for me, resting could mean just slowing down, and taking a deep breath to remembering who is really in control.

Well you now know how tired I am, but let me tell you about my experiences thus far. I love Passport, I love camp, I love my team, I love everything about this place. I have met a lot of people, and made many new friends. I have learned a lot in the three days that I have been here. My brain is on system overload. I am doing things this summer that I would never in a million years thought that I would ever do. I am going to be one of the main characters in the skits that take place every morning during our "morning celebrations." I'm pretty outgoing, and don't mind being in front of a lot of people, but when it comes to memorizing lines...it could get a little sketchy! I'm not really nervous about it at all. In fact, I am really excited about it. I could go on and on about all of the end and outs of camp, but I don't want to bore you.

Tomorrow we (my team, and myself) leave Wingate and all of the rest of the different teams and we will head to Lynchburg, VA to finish up training and start our first camp session! I am so stinking excited for the first group of kids to get to camp. We have been praying and preparing for months and it is finally time! All of this time that we have spent this week, learning everything about camp and working out all of the kinks will finally pay off in just a few days. I am so excited to see everything come together.

Well, it is time for me to rest. Tomorrow is going to be an early morning. There is tons more that I wish that I could have written but that will have to wait for another day. I hope this gives you all a little glimpse into my life at camp. I miss all of you back at home and hope that you are doing well.

Until the nets are full,
Zeke