Hiking Pictures

Cherish the Victories

    This one'll be a bit brief, but I would like to share a small victory with everyone. One boy at camp, who frequently struggles with anger outbursts and frustration, has recently been showing some change. He typically is the nicest kid you know. But, when pushed the wrong way, his anger hulks out and he becomes intolerable and unable to be calmed down. Well, there have been two different instances where these anger outbursts have happened recently. One time, he flipped out over a kickball game. He threw out some harsh language and ultimately found himself in the van seat on his way home. I talked with his mother, and I'm not sure what happened afterwards. However, about 4 hours later, after camp had finished, a knock on our door was heard. I answered it to find the same boy back. He said, "I need to talk to you." I stepped outside on the porch and was hopeful. He proceeded to apologize. He owned up to his error and was even willing to give me a hug. HUGE! 

    But, today he was struggling with this anger again. He was confused about the rule on foul tips in wiffle-ball. A teammate of his struck out, and he assumed that I had called her out to try and cheat for the other team. I did my best to calm him down and to explain the rules to him, but he simply was an erupting volcano. When I told him to cool off on the porch for an inning, the eruption, quite frankly, erupted. Following him inside the house, the best way to calm the hysteria was to let him cool down on his own. I gave him 10 minutes on the porch. An eternity for someone his age. Especially when he can hear everyone else having fun in the backyard. So the minutes ticked by, and when I came around to talk, his first words were, "I want to apologize." HUGE! His actions and mistakes may have repeated themselves, but so has his understanding and mindset of apologizing. The next step in training him is to learn from his mistakes and help him know that there is a way out. That there is peace rather than rage. That he can be loving amidst the other kids' sometimes abusive behavior towards him.

    Anyways, just wanted to share this victory. There are more to tell as well, but this one just stuck out at me the most. Also, if some of you are wondering, I'm no longer mentioning any of their names in order to protect their identity or in case they happen to read this blog. Any names that do appear are all pseudonyms. 

Some Pictures

Thankfulness

    This past Thursday, our kids (about 23) and 11 adults had the privilege to go to a Greenville Drive baseball game. 20 of the tickets were donated to us, and the others we bought at the gate. The kids were all picked up by volunteers and interns, taken to the ball field, and unloaded at the front gates. At no cost to the kids or to their parents, this outing was something special for them to experience. However, actions certainly speak louder than words. Additionally, actions and words speak louder than excuses. I love these kids. But, sometimes we must be careful in how we handle their behavior. We want to take them on trips and places that they will never get to go to or to experience otherwise. Also, our desire is for them to learn from all things and activities. So, when we heard kids complaining about the free food they got or how much they disliked baseball or my favorite one, "Howcome you didn't take us to a basketball game, Mr. Josh?" something had to be done.

    This complaining isn't the first time we've heard it from them, and it quite possibly won't be the last time either. And now, maybe you're beginning to wonder with me and the other volunteers as well, "Why are they so unthankful?" Good question. And I'm not so sure that I've got a good answer to go with such a great question. I mean, if I was in their situation, I would assume that a free ride to a free baseball game to get free food would be awesome. And maybe to them it was awesome in their minds. But, sadly their responses in majority were strangely ungrateful. However, we aren't there for them all to thank us, we're there to be the hands and feet of Jesus. But, if they don't learn to be thankful for these little things towards us, how are they going to learn to be thankful towards God for his love demonstrated to us in Christ Jesus?

    So, to be straightforward, this unthankfulness may be just something that has been unfortunately learned due to lack of positive influence in their life. I remember my mom and dad constantly reminding me and forcing me to write thank you notes every Christmas and birthday. I was trained to thank someone for feeding me or serving me. I was brought up with a mindset to be thankful, and even more, to express thanks to the kind person. But, when this sort of training or influence isn't present in one's life, the outcome may possibly be similar to these kids--complaint and entitlement. It's maybe a poor analogy, but have you ever fed you pet table scraps or given them a treat? Well, what happens next time you eat some food? Of course, the pet is sitting there whining and begging for more. Now, maybe if the pet were able to communicate verbally they would kindly ask for more. But, for the sake of the analogy, a lot of these kids are not too far off from the model. Once given something (free typically), it's almost like they expect more and more from you every time. Instead of thanks, there's usually a complaint as to why one kid got something different or better than the other kid. In thought, I do understand that all kids typically whine and complain, but to some degree, a properly trained person should demonstrate some sort of gratitude, or at least they should withdraw their complaints.

    Beginning today, since this thought has been on the minds of the interns, the directors, and the volunteers, we've brainstormed and prayed, and we've concluded to begin teaching them about thankfulness this week. Using skit examples, Bible lessons, personal testimonies, and daily camp experiences, we're truly striving to train these adolescents to become those who have thankful hearts not just to other people, but to God. Not really sure yet the best way to do all of this. It's sort of trial and error, test and reflect. But, certainly they're learning more than they already know. 

    Ending with a personal side note, this whole teaching kids things, for me, is just a real lesson that I'm learning everyday with them. Sometimes, when these kids seemingly don't understand the Bible lessons or at least don't display a behavioral understanding of the principles taught in them, I hear God tell me, "You're just like them." And it's so true. Everyday God is there whispering his good instructions and loving truths to me. Yet, so many times I fail even to listen (just like the kids). Other times I don't obey (like the kids). Or other moments I follow God and obey Him only to appease Him in a sense, just enough for Him to think I'm doing things alright. But, in the same way God wants me and all us to be sold out for Him and to give Him all of our hearts, we're wanting these kids to obey us in truth, out of love and understanding. So, ultimately, I've kinda been learning some humility. Just when an ounce of pride arises in my mind, I'm always hit with, "Your sinfulness is just like those kids who frustrate you and disobey you all day long, and if anything, your sin exceeds theirs because you know me yet often you choose the world instead of my love." Is God being harsh? Nope. Just truthful and loving. One thing God cannot do--lie. He always tells you like it is.

    Finally, I close with some prayer requests. We have a new intern who just started today and she's doing great. Just prayers for her and all of us to be Spirit-filled leaders. For safety tomorrow on our trip to Paris Mountain State Park. For the kids--pray without ceasing. They need to know Jesus' love for them in a desperate way. Everywhere you look around their neighborhood you see extrapolations of what their lives can and might look like in 10 years or even less than that. It's not a pretty picture most of the times, but there are a few shining lights in such a worldly environment. Hoping for fruit.

Takin' It Easy

    Another few days have gone by. Monday, on one hand, was quite exhausting and full of disciplinary issues. However, today was quite the contrast. In fact, Tuesday could described, in my opinion, as an improvement from Monday. Why do I mention this? Well, after serving for 2 and a half weeks now, improvement is something that becomes difficult to see sometimes. I'm not saying that we haven't seen any improvement prior to today--we have. But, rather, I'm just affirming the obviously notable change in overall behavior between Monday and today.

    So a few things. What has been the catalyst for this difference thus far? First and foremost, it's God. I'm encouraged to know that a prayer team has been formed to specifically pray for the entire camp, the kids by name, and even us as leaders. Also, personally for me this week, I've been more disciplined in taking time to rest in His presence in order to filled and ready to serve these kids with His love. Going off of that, I felt led to do devotion a little bit differently today. Typically, we've been going through a beatitude per week. We usually combine that with biblical cross references to support the understanding of the verses that are sometimes difficult to grasp. However, it just sort of hit me yesterday--"pray for them." We'd done that last year once or twice, but I felt called to do it again. So, my devo group (the ones who are misbehaving) which usually has trouble paying attention, carried on fairly well this morning. I started with the Gospel. Then, from there, went on to explain more in detail about praying for certain things/qualities that are godly things like being meek, or humble, or peaceful. This all lead into a time where I asked for specific prayer requests from each kid (there were 4), followed by a sort of laying on of hands for each kid one at a time. It was refreshing. Taking everything and just putting it before our Father. So, that's why today's blog post is "Takin' It Easy." Not because I slacked off today, but because I rested today. I rested in Him, and then as encouraged by our full-time staff member, I moved from a place of rest to go and serve and love the kids well. Such a difference. Not full of worry or anxiety. Not overwhelmed. Not rushed. But rather--rested. Vitalized. Fueled. Filled. Ready. Relaxed. 

    Yeah, a few things went crazy at some times. But, all went well with a mindset of rest. More than that, I was able to see more of what God was doing in each kid's life--especially the kids that I prayed over. 

    More to come!

2nd Week's Recap

    Sorry for the inconsistency this week in posts. I haven't had too much free time this week to sit down and blog, so please forgive me for not posting all this week. Before I even begin, I already know that I'm not going to be able to cover every aspect of this week. But, I still feel that at least sharing a few highlights would be necessary. So, again, please know that SO much more is actually happening at camp. And in fact, these past two weeks have almost felt like 2 months. And that is of course due to the fact that so much is accomplished in one day's time. However, when I write now, I'm leaving so much out. The only true way to experience all that is going on would be to join us downtown. But, I will again attempt to recreate the experiences of this week in your mind as best as I can. Hold on!
    For starters, it rained a lot this week. Thus, a lot of camp was held inside. Now imagine a normal size living room, with a few couches and chairs. Add to that scene 20 kids and 4 leaders. Just a little crowded you might say. But, the Lord was gracious to us this week. He gave us just the right amount of everything we needed to get through this week. For instance, Wednesday we went on a trip to the movie theatre to see Happy Feet 2. Such a great time. However, we did incur some speed bumps along the way. But, after the rocky start (walking into a movie theatre blackout 15 minutes late), all went completely well. Another huge blessing came in the form of people from last summer showing up to help out some. Also, we had 4 volunteers for Friday's trip to Happy Cow Creamery, which made for an excellent time outdoors with the kids. All in all, the week was burdensome and exhausting, yet rich and full of learning. Devotion, at least for my group, has gone moderately well. On Friday morning, I shared the Gospel with three kids and a few of them followed me in prayer to receive Christ. But, I'm hoping that their hearts truly understood and meant it. No worries, we have all summer to edify and encourage them.
    Some days were harder than others. I think on Wednesday we had to send like 4 kids home. And maybe 1 or 2  kids went home each day for misbehavior. However, I'm really hoping that this laying down of the law on them will help develop discipline and behavior modification so that we can really have a core group of kids who want to learn about Jesus this summer. Sometimes though, it's tiring disciplining them all the time. But, once again, God is just showing how much grace He abounds to us, because He loves us amidst our repetitive sinfulness. He is patient with us and continues disciplining us with love and mercy to yield righteousness. So, this might sound odd, but working with these kids is almost like taking a walk in God's shoes for a day. Day after day, I face discipline issues with them. Beckoning these kids to follow Jesus, to obey us as leaders, to follow the rules, and to respect each other is almost how God beckons all of us and has beckoned all of humanity since creation to follow Him and His ways. I'm different in that I may get frustrated or want to quit on them in some cases. But, God's love is persistent and never quits. That's what I'm learning--how to show these kids love and grace and love and grace over and over and over again without losing heart and without giving up on them. Not easy by any means. But possible with God--certainly.
    These kids need love and discipline. They need attention and care. They're desperate for truth and leadership in their lives. But the hardest part of reaching them is when they deny these needs. When you show them discipline and they refuse to obey. When you show them love but they don't love in return. When you care and attend to them, but they try to go it on their own. When you teach and lead them, yet they refuse to listen. So, my prayer request for this week is for their hearts and eyes to be opened that they may be able to see their need for Jesus and for change in their lives. That they would essentially wake up and smell the coffee. That they would see how much love is being poured into them and take hold of it and respond to it.
    Finally, a traveling Good News Club is coming all next week. Please be praying for this team of child evangelists. Also, pray for our kids to be in attendance and to be attentive and to be responsive to the word of God.
    I know I didn't share too many personal stories this week about the kids, but that's mainly due to the fact that there were definitely too many. So in this post, I went for an overall kind of feel. Hopefully, in this upcoming week, I will be able to devote more time towards really sharing/blogging about some personal stories of the kids. I truly want each reader to feel connected to this kids in the same way that I do. Please join me in praying for all of them this week.

Reminiscing...

    Usually, a time of reflection is done while looking back over a long period of time. But in my case, a week's span is a long period of time. Like I've said before, I could tell you so much more than what is actually written in these posts. Every time I post, as many as 10 stories or events are left out. However, I do my best to hit the highlights enough to accurately portray what is going on in my life, as well as in the lives of the kids, this summer.

    So, this week. Words to describe it: tough, challenging, relieving, full of grace, requiring endurance, learning, hopeful, miraculous, fruitful, exciting, funny, and much, much more. 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday, adds up to 35 hours. That's 35 hours to pour into these kids. 35 hours to teach them about Jesus, about life, and about learning. 35 hours to discipline them, to love them, and to guide them. 35 hours to have fun, play games, crack jokes, and develop friendships. I would certainly call my job difficult. But, I would also call my job the best thing in the world. I, for sure, feel blessed and lucky to have this position. Because, as much as the kids drive me up the wall sometimes, they're the reason I'm here: to dispense His love to the world, to the least of these, to the broken and the rejected.

    So, here's one story that I will share from the week that I found most challenging and frustrating, but in the end, fruitful, rewarding, and hopeful. Get in the mind of Tuesday: high moment of encouragement and group morale, followed by complete and utter chaos. The very next day, Wednesday. In light of the prior day's events, the interns all decided that we needed to begin to really lay down the law. At first, we all find it hard to send the kids home when they misbehave, not wanting to make them upset, or for us to feel mean. But, now, after gaining knowledge on Tuesday, we understood the importance of discipline and that it is worth the slight moment of discomfort. With that being said, Wednesday was a predetermined day of behavior correction. Otherwise, we, as leaders, wouldn't be respected the rest of summer. Got this idea in your mind? This thought of loving the kids enough to discipline them, despite the possibility of them disliking us momentarily, in order to yield a harvest of good behavior. Okay, well, Wednesday commences.

    All's going well. Devotion, journaling (awesome), outdoor game, then…some problems arose. A  boy named Andrew, began giving one of the interns some trouble. He was not cooperating with their instructions to give them the basketball. Essentially, he was completely ignoring them and disrespecting them. Hence, a warning. Not but a few minutes later, his attitude erupted a little again inside. The reminder of his warning was given once. Then, after his final lapse of misconduct, the punishment was set--going home. However, at the declaration of his sentence, his temper raged. Storming out of the house, into the street, and down the block, Andrew paid no attention to my calls for his return. You see, we're responsible for his safe return home. In the morning, most all of the kids are picked up in our van. So, with that, we must take them home (kinda like the public busses for school). However, Andrew wouldn't cooperate. He would stop once in a while, turn around, and begin to argue. Then, he would proceed up the street. I waited patiently at the end of our property line, continuing to call out for his return. I would say, "You can still come back, Andrew, and I'll take you home. I'll wait right here. I want you to be at camp." Finally, he reached the end of the street, turned around, and slowly returned to the yard. By this point, there was a noticeable sniffle in the sound of his voice. But, he persisted in arguing his case. Note, almost all of the kids struggle with taking ownership of their bad decisions. They think, and say, and believe, that nothing is ever their fault. Even if they hit someone in the face, for instance, they still will plead innocent on account of, "He started it!" So, at this point, now standing before me, Andrew began to plead his case of innocence. His rationalization was, "You always single me out. What about those other kids, huh? You never tell any of them they're going home!" This continued for about 3-5 minutes. I listened. I let him plead his case and get all of it off of his chest. Then, responding gently, "Andrew, you have to take responsibility for your actions. When you choose to disrespect the counselors (one of our posted camp rules), multiple times in a row, there are consequences. You cannot stand here and tell me that you didn't disrespect the counselors. You are going home. There are 2 options: A, you get in the van and go home and you can come back tomorrow, or B, you don't get in the van and you cannot come back tomorrow. Your choice." However, thinking I'd ended the ongoing argument, Andrew responded with more arguments and claims of unfairness. I wasn't going to stand out there all day and argue, there's 20 other kids inside waiting for camp to resume. So, I began the countdown…"3….2….1…" At 1, there was still no movement to get into the van. With that, I closed the van door, and said, "See you on Friday." Then, he tried to plead his case again, but I proceeded to walk inside and lock the door.

    For those who might be thinking this event is crazy, it's not. This kind of thing happens occasionally, maybe once a week or every other week. But, the next thing that happened, is crazy. Why? Because it rarely happens, maybe once a month, or once a summer, or never!

    Wednesday, overall, was extremely peaceful. By the end of the day, 4 kids (including Steven) had been sent home. So, with a core group of obedient kids, things went a little smoother. Thursday. Andrew, is still not allowed at camp. However, when we pull up to his stop (also the stop of other kids) he walks outside. All the other kids get in, but as he walks towards the bus, I pull off to avoid confrontation. I was afraid of him beginning an argument while next to the van, never good. So, I proceeded in picking up the rest of the kids (took about 10 minutes maybe). But! When we arrived back to the house, guess who was in the front yard? None other than Andrew. At first, I was confused. Did he think he could argue his way into coming to camp today? But, his words would show something much different than my assumption. He proceeded towards me and the other interns and said…an apology. Scarce. A rare thing. I was caught off guard. He came back, out of his way, to apologize to all of us and tell us how much he loves camp. He owned up to his behavior. He said he knew what he did was wrong. He apologized. No one told him to do it (to my knowledge). All on his own. Amazing. We encouraged him and thanked him, but we didn't let him back to camp. He learned. He knew that he had disrespected us, and he wanted to make amends. Awesome! This was one of those apologies that you're quite ecstatic to accept.

    So, with that all being said, the first week of camp was full of amazing things. I have only time to tell you the highlights, but I feel that this story could be the epitome of the week. Rough at first, but quite encouraging towards the end. God has provided so much. He is working in each of the kids' hearts, as well as mine and the other interns. 

    Please pray for this upcoming week. It's 4 interns and 23 kids. Specifically, ask God to bless us with His love and kindness as we begin to focus more on encouraging good behavior than having to harp on and discipline the bad behavior. Also, that we don't become overwhelmed with frustration, but that we find peace in His love for us, in order to love the kids well. Finally, a praise. Freedom Within Walls (non-profit) is providing Breakfast and Lunch to all of our kids for the rest of the summer starting this week! This is phenomenal. 

    Adios!

The Highs and the Lows

    If you asked me, "How did today go?" my response would be with another question: "At which point in the day are you referring to?" You see, there isn't always a full good day, then a full bad day. Or even a bad week and then a good week. More interestingly, there's good moments and bad moments. So, if I told you, "Today went great!" that wouldn't necessarily be correct. However, if I told you, "Today was awful!" that expression wouldn't quite be an accurate description either. In other words, today truly did have its highs and its lows.
    I'll begin with the highs (because they came first chronologically). Rock climbing. Quite possibly the coolest thing ever. Pre-trip the kids were so anxious to go rock climbing that it was almost hard to manage them. However, when the GOAT van pulled up to the house, honking the horn, and greeting us all with excitement and smiles, this impatience was suddenly quenched with the water of adventure. Upon arrival, we entered the climbing gym (followed by a brief moment of running around) and then began our instructions. The kids were broken up into groups, each with a passionate and energetic leader who began instructing them and motivating each one of them to climb. It was quite phenomenal. Seeing all of the kids having a chance to strive for the top of a physical wall, and making it, was almost a metaphorical victory of each one of them knowing that they can defeat any wall that they may face in their lives. They were trying their best. Struggling. Then succeeding. Then gaining confidence. For those who struggled the most, they learned the most. And for those who were in the process of struggling, there was a buddy or a group of kids cheering them on and shouting for them to try harder and to keep going. This part of the trip (about an hour and a half) was truly a blessing and a great moment in the summer. At one point, afraid of jumping down from the platform, literally the whole gym of 30 people were cheering on Matthew for him to make the plunge into the bed of foam. And what's cooler than that: Steven was the one who started the cheer. Pause. Take all of this in. Take in all of the lessons learned and the positive behavior. Absorb the teamwork and the camaraderie. Got it? Okay, good.
    Now on to the lows. I truly don't even want to mention the lows, mainly because I don't want to harp on them. However, seeing this and analyzing it, will give us a benchmark as to where we've come from once we look back on the whole summer come August 10th. So, I proceed. Note, I'll tell this story in realtime, as if you were watching a movie. However, do realize that all of the details were not known or figured out by myself in the order that I'm going to describe these events. In other words, this all happened so fast and haphazardly that I didn't get the whole story of everything until the interns talked about it at the end of the day. You'll see.
    Well, of course with my back turned, Steven, sitting atop the climbing dome thing (see the pictures), despite his positive behavior the past hour and a half, decided that it would be funny or something to push Jessica off of the dome. You see, they climb the dome, sit on top of it, then take turns jumping into the foam. Great fun, when everyone is playing nice. However, Jessica (the girl who had a run-in with Steven yesterday), was not prepared for this nudge. And, she fell in such a posture where her leg scraped the side of the dome (on one of the climbing grips perhaps) and got a nasty gash in her shin. I turn around to the sight of a crying girl on the ground. My mind: "Oh, crap, what just happened?"A few GOAT instructors lovingly rush to the scene, unveiling a nasty cut that was unfortunately bleeding moderately. I run in to assist in the care. The 3 of us, with the girl, head to lobby and console and support her while the hero of a man Timothy performs the best first-aid treatment I've ever seen.
    Ok. Pause. That's all happening, right? The whole surgery scene is taking place in the lobby. Now picture the gym. This next part is coinciding with the 15 minutes of "surgery." About 20 kids are now upset, rambunctious, and accusatory towards Steven. He begins fostering stories about how it was accidental. This further upsets the group. His older sister begins yelling at him as well as the other interns for misbehavior and for not punishing him yesterday to prevent this. A fight breaks out. Plenty of disrespect and cussing takes place. Then, as I hear all of this screaming taking place from the lobby, I leave the girl for a moment, walking into the gym to find a very unruly scene. Other interns help Jessica, while I help to separate the fight. Then I have a cool down moment outside with the fighting kid. Upon re-entry, I find everyone sitting down in silence, almost awkwardly. To this moment, I'm not sure how that happened (as I was outside), but I'll simply call it an utter act of God for now.
    Shell-shocked, the interns, myself, and the GOATs all look around at each other as to what our next move might be. SIMON SAYS! Oh, what a joy. The best cure for chaos is a game. As the hours wind down, we devise a seating arrangement plan of sorts to keep fights from breaking out on the bus. Upon carrying that out, we again encountered some issues. For one, another kid (who had been looking bad all day) runs to the bathroom and begins throwing up. Pause. My mind: "Seriously?" My reaction: A small, flabbergasted giggle just laughing at the overwhelming situation. However, still positive. Someone's gotta be. We load the vans, equipped with a throw up bucket, and head home. Not a real biggie, but somehow someone had a can of root beer…and it spilled in the van. Small apples compared to everything else.
    We trekked home and dropped them all off. Last stop--Steven. Unfortunately, but necessarily, we had to inform him that he can't come to camp the rest of the week. To me, that's the hardest part. Seeing a kid who needs love and care and attention SO badly, but, due to disciplinary reasons, he's simply got to go home.
    Well, you still hanging in there? Oh, by the way, this is day 2. But it's only getting better. As the summer goes on, there will be growth. And even if today might have really felt like a day in the trenches, we can still hold onto the highs. For one, the highs were awesome. Some of the best stuff ever. The lows might have been pretty ridiculous--but that's how we learn. Think of it this way: a before and after picture. If the before picture is fine, what makes the after picture so special? It's only when we have a rough before picture that we can truly appreciate that pristine, beautiful after picture.
    I know that I'm going on forever (and I could go longer). But, I want to stop and give a huge shout out to GOAT and the rest of the interns and volunteers. Everyone worked so amazingly together in each situation, highs and lows. Seriously, GOAT is the bomb.com. I sent a thank you e-mail to them already, but I'd much rather send an e-hug because they deserve it.
    Anyways, check out the pictures and take care.

Rock Climbing Pictures