DANCE like no one is watching, SING like no one is listening, and LIVE like there's no tomorrow!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

PASSPORTkids! Camp Day 3

Last night we arrived safely at the church, unloaded the bus, said our goodbyes, and headed home. While we might have been physically exhausted from a fun week of camp, our hearts were filled from our renewed relationships with God and our wonderful camp memories.

The 3rd day of camp the campers learned about sharing Christ's presence. Our verse of the day was Acts 2:45, "They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met."

Enjoy the video of pictures from the 3rd day of camp!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Hee Haw Variety Show

Camp Favorite Things

NIght 2 Camp Pictures

Anna helping lead camp in worship by reading scripture.



The best water slide EVER! The girls LOVE it!



Missions Rotation learning how wells are built in Ethiopia.



More well digging...


Helen and her friend, Alexis, seeing what it's like to carry water from the well to their home.


Sydney getting excited for the Ethopian Night Market!


Caroline was trying to catch lightening bugs.

Caroline and Sydney dancing on the way to the night market.


Sydney attempting to try Ethiopian Coffee.


Learning about Ethiopian culture.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Night 2 of Camp

This afternoon campers began their rotations of missions activities, swimming, and campers choice which varied from cooking, basketball, drama, and canoeing. This week our camp offering is going to an organization called Water if Life. This organization helps drill wells in Ethiopia to bring clean water to places that don't have access to water. During missions rotations the campers are learning about what it is like without clean water and how they drill wells.

Tonight after worship we had our second night party, the Ethiopian Night Market. During the market the children went on a scavenger hunt, meeting different "natives" from Ethiopian who taught the campers about their culture. The girls had a blast as they learned about how others in the world live.

More pictures to come soon...

Day 2: Morning

Our began with morning celebration where all the campers play silly games, sing songs, and hear announcements for the day. After morning celebration the campers divided up in their Bible Study groups for recreation and Bible Study.

Today's verse of the day is John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me." Today the campers are learning about following God, and how the more we trust God the easier it is to follow.

Here are a few pictures from morning celebration, bible study, and recreation.




First Time at Camp!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Night One: Worship & Toe Jam Rec Party!

This evening the campers enjoyed worship outside in God's creation as they were challenged to give their worries over to God and trust in God, even when life gets tough. After worship I told the girls that we were going to do something that was messy, dirty, wet, and fun! One of the girls said that was the best thing I had said all day! The Toe Jam Rec party was tonight after worship. It was full of messy and wet relay games. The girls had fun as their Bible studies competed in the games and a cheer competition. Enjoy the pictures from the blast that was the the first night of camp!

Our group of fabulous girls


Worship Night One:

Toe Jam Rec Party:

As you can tell, fun is being had by all!

PASSPORTkids! Camp Day One

Early this morning 9 girls, one brave chaperone, and I packed the church bus and headed to Crossville, TN for 4 days of PASSPORTkids! Camp! After a four hour drive of singing along to Radio Disney and every Justin Bieber song on our iPods, we made it safely to camp.

Once the girls unpacked their things and got their bunk beds set up we headed to the pool for a short swim to escape the heat (and enjoy the AWESOME water slide!). The campers just got finished meeting their new Bible Study groups that they will be with each day and have a few minutes of down time before we have to get ready for our first worship session.

Today's theme is trust. In their Bible study groups they began talking about trusting each other and God and the things or worries that get in the way of letting go and fully trusting God. Our focus verse for the day is Matthew 6:34a "Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself." (CEV)

After worship tonight we will have our first night party. Tonight's party is the Toe Jam Rec Party! The kids will participate in fun, wet, and messy games. While some of the girls are worried about messing up their hair, most are excited for the fun times ahead!!

Our theme for the week is "Barefoot" based on the verse Romans 10:15b "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Before we left for came we were instructed to take a picture of our feet doing something. Below is the picture that the girls came up with.



"We use our feet to serve God by Stepping Out on Faith!"

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Songs that Warm the Heart

The children took a break from the blistering sun on Tuesday afternoon to jump around at a local inflatable place. As the children were running around and jumping, Thurston, a 5 year-old boy, saw Mrs. Michele. Mrs. Michele was Thurston's preschool choir teacher this past year on Wednesday evenings at church.

As soon as Thurston spotted Mrs. Michele, he ran as fast as he could over to her and exclaimed, "I'm so glad you are here!" Thurston excitedly told Mrs. Michele how he still remembers all the songs that they learned in choir. Thurston then began proudly singing his favorite hymn from this past year, Jesus Loves Me.

There in the middle of all the inflatables my heart smiled seeing Thurston so eager to sing about how much Jesus loves him!

Thurston singing to Mrs. Michele


The children having fun at Jumpits!