Hello Everyone!
I know I have not posted in a long time...but I will tell you it has been a crazy time here in Loveland. We are closing out our last week on Friday morning and the Lord has made sure this summer was not only rewarding but also challenging. I promise to send a summer long update to all those I know were praying, but for now I just wanted to post the lyrics to a song that truly moved me this evening...
Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case ...
We'll give thanks to You with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain
Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not todayMaybe
You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case ...We'll give thanks to You with gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view
If no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread
Oh, the differences that often are between
Everything we want and what we really need
So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case ...
We'll give thanks to You with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessd beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace
...But, Jesus, would You please ...
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Rewind.
I promise I tried to post a new post at the end of LAST week and it didn't go through. It's been a little crazy around here so blogging hasn't been at the top of the priority list, but there's so much to talk about :) First, let me say that "a crew who prays together...stays together" and honesty is always the best policy. Madisynne and I have both been learning so much about the challenges and joys of working exclusively with one person for week after week. We begin to learn each others habits, each others thoughts, but also how to get under each other's skin and what the problems are as well. God has been challenging us to center our partnership around Him each and every day through prayer and devotions, rather than relying on our own "people skills" to make this work!
Last night we did a devotion on value. We put value on so many things. Relationships, ourselves, money, material things, services that people do for us, etc etc. Where do we look to for the standard for value? Last night we had a great talk on how important it is to look solely to God for value. He created us and He has made us in HIS image! How valuable is that?? It's like the story "You Are Special" by Max Lucado, an amazing reminder of how God has given us a purpose for each and every day and THAT is how He realizes our value - by giving us existence!
So to rewind over the past two weeks:
PRETEEN! - Preteens are literal thinkers. We found that out the first night when we brushed our teeth "Week of Hope" style...as in Madisynne brushed mine from behind my back, and the adult leaders came to us the next morning to tell us that their kids had all run to the bathroom and tried to do it themselves. :P Whoops! But for the programs it was really neat to see how the object lessons and ways that we describe things were taken straight to heart without any presuppositions or attitudes about it. Preteens have energy, that's no secret. But they're willing to devote it to anything you ask them to. God threw such an encouraging group at us that week and it was really exciting to see the kids bonding as teh week went by.
LAST WEEK - Wow what a mix! We had 40 kids (I like small groups...i can learn 40 names :P) and about half of them were a group from Cali who had previously planned on going to Mexico but last minute had to switch and decided to come here. Then we had the matching headbands group from Colorado and a tye-dye t-shirt group from somewhere in Utah...needless to say Madisynne and I didn't forsee a great "mixing" vibe from this group, but once again God was there to prove us wrong :) From leading singing to baseball in the gym, to stacking cans and singing in the kitchen, these groups all came together seamlessly to make sure that camp was running smoothly. God brought people into my life from that week that I wasn't expecting. That I wasn't looking for. Isn't that how He works best? God doesn't want to live up to our expectations, I've found. Our expectations are wayyyy too low for Him! He takes everything that we expect, tosses most of it out the window, and then showers us with blessings that exceeded anything we could have imagined. What a wonderful lesson to be learning :) However last week also brought it's own challenges. I was having a spiritual battle with God over speaking about things that I myself was struggling with. I was leading a program on freedom from captivity and yet there were things I felt I myself was still holding on to and refusing to give to God. It took alot of prayer, some tears, and a good friend to make me see that again I needed to turn to God with those questions and doubts. I needed to turn to Him to realize that I didn't have to be perfect to be used by God and I didn't have to be struggle-less to help others realize their struggles as well.
Needless to say, it's been quite amazing to see the difference in camps from week to week. From numbers to ages to backgrounds to attitudes...God's throwing every curveball possible. Be praying for health and rest. Madisynne and I have both been less than 100% for the last few days of the last two camps because of health issues, so we really need God's hand of protection over us for the next few weeks. I put the fun stuff from the weeks on facebook like videos and such...weekend getaways, lights out activities, etc. Thanks for praying!
-KristawithHOPE!
Last night we did a devotion on value. We put value on so many things. Relationships, ourselves, money, material things, services that people do for us, etc etc. Where do we look to for the standard for value? Last night we had a great talk on how important it is to look solely to God for value. He created us and He has made us in HIS image! How valuable is that?? It's like the story "You Are Special" by Max Lucado, an amazing reminder of how God has given us a purpose for each and every day and THAT is how He realizes our value - by giving us existence!
So to rewind over the past two weeks:
PRETEEN! - Preteens are literal thinkers. We found that out the first night when we brushed our teeth "Week of Hope" style...as in Madisynne brushed mine from behind my back, and the adult leaders came to us the next morning to tell us that their kids had all run to the bathroom and tried to do it themselves. :P Whoops! But for the programs it was really neat to see how the object lessons and ways that we describe things were taken straight to heart without any presuppositions or attitudes about it. Preteens have energy, that's no secret. But they're willing to devote it to anything you ask them to. God threw such an encouraging group at us that week and it was really exciting to see the kids bonding as teh week went by.
LAST WEEK - Wow what a mix! We had 40 kids (I like small groups...i can learn 40 names :P) and about half of them were a group from Cali who had previously planned on going to Mexico but last minute had to switch and decided to come here. Then we had the matching headbands group from Colorado and a tye-dye t-shirt group from somewhere in Utah...needless to say Madisynne and I didn't forsee a great "mixing" vibe from this group, but once again God was there to prove us wrong :) From leading singing to baseball in the gym, to stacking cans and singing in the kitchen, these groups all came together seamlessly to make sure that camp was running smoothly. God brought people into my life from that week that I wasn't expecting. That I wasn't looking for. Isn't that how He works best? God doesn't want to live up to our expectations, I've found. Our expectations are wayyyy too low for Him! He takes everything that we expect, tosses most of it out the window, and then showers us with blessings that exceeded anything we could have imagined. What a wonderful lesson to be learning :) However last week also brought it's own challenges. I was having a spiritual battle with God over speaking about things that I myself was struggling with. I was leading a program on freedom from captivity and yet there were things I felt I myself was still holding on to and refusing to give to God. It took alot of prayer, some tears, and a good friend to make me see that again I needed to turn to God with those questions and doubts. I needed to turn to Him to realize that I didn't have to be perfect to be used by God and I didn't have to be struggle-less to help others realize their struggles as well.
Needless to say, it's been quite amazing to see the difference in camps from week to week. From numbers to ages to backgrounds to attitudes...God's throwing every curveball possible. Be praying for health and rest. Madisynne and I have both been less than 100% for the last few days of the last two camps because of health issues, so we really need God's hand of protection over us for the next few weeks. I put the fun stuff from the weeks on facebook like videos and such...weekend getaways, lights out activities, etc. Thanks for praying!
-KristawithHOPE!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Get Excited!!
So we finished our first week of camp on Friday at about 8:30! The last van rolled away and Madisynne and I headed back in for a 4 hour nap, which was well deserved and WONDERFUL! We were so blessed by having some amazing youth leaders who we will miss so so much, and by the end of the week we both felt that we had truly been called to this work with each other this summer. Yes, there were tear fests and midnight walmart runs and times where we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, but in the end, we know that God's work was done, and that is our ultimate goal.
One amazing story that I witnessed was of one boy who had led worship for alot of the nights, but I found he had trouble taking the spiritual side of things seriously. Many times the worship felt more like a performance and we had trouble with some issues throughout the week. However, when I asked him to pray after the last time that he led worship, he bowed his head and prayed that God would allow them to take all that they had learned this week and apply it to their lives back at home. To not leave the unity and servanthood here, but to take it back with them. That is EXACTLY what that evening program was about and I hadn't gotten into the message of the night yet, but he basically took the words out of my mouth. It was amazing to see God truly work through anyone, even when sometimes we're not sure He's going to :)
So today we started our PreTeen week, thus the title - "Get Excited!!" Preteens are a blessing to work with. They require more energy and more excitement, but they're more than willing to give it back THREEfold! The singing and videos and games went so well tonight because all the kids want to do whatever it is we have planned, with very little complaint. We had a great start with lots of cheers and prayers, and we are looking forward to quite the week. We have 73 total this week so be praying that we DO have energy and patience with things that will go wrong, and that God will continue to show Himself to us through these kids and through the adult leaders as well. He is always faithful, that's one lesson I'll have down by the end of this summer! :)
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and GLORIFY your FATHER in heaven. :)
-Kristaw/Hope
One amazing story that I witnessed was of one boy who had led worship for alot of the nights, but I found he had trouble taking the spiritual side of things seriously. Many times the worship felt more like a performance and we had trouble with some issues throughout the week. However, when I asked him to pray after the last time that he led worship, he bowed his head and prayed that God would allow them to take all that they had learned this week and apply it to their lives back at home. To not leave the unity and servanthood here, but to take it back with them. That is EXACTLY what that evening program was about and I hadn't gotten into the message of the night yet, but he basically took the words out of my mouth. It was amazing to see God truly work through anyone, even when sometimes we're not sure He's going to :)
So today we started our PreTeen week, thus the title - "Get Excited!!" Preteens are a blessing to work with. They require more energy and more excitement, but they're more than willing to give it back THREEfold! The singing and videos and games went so well tonight because all the kids want to do whatever it is we have planned, with very little complaint. We had a great start with lots of cheers and prayers, and we are looking forward to quite the week. We have 73 total this week so be praying that we DO have energy and patience with things that will go wrong, and that God will continue to show Himself to us through these kids and through the adult leaders as well. He is always faithful, that's one lesson I'll have down by the end of this summer! :)
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and GLORIFY your FATHER in heaven. :)
-Kristaw/Hope
Monday, June 15, 2009
God is good, all the time. :)
As I sit to write this I am taking my first personal break besides sleep in about 50 hours :) This job is no joke, we serve from 6am to...whenever we're done, every day. Haha, I know it has only technically been a day and a half of my first camp, but it feels like I should have just finished Wednesday, not Monday.
God has been revealing to my partner and I both that He is going to challenge us enough so that we know we can not do it alone, and yet He will give us enough help so that we are never doubting that He is there. We walked into this camp with confidence and energy, and we have both been pushed to our limits time and time again, and the summer has only just begun :)
We were both feeling extremely discouraged around 2 in the afternoon, when we heard that Loveland, CO had a Tornado Watch. After the adrenaline boost that gave us, we quickly organized a team of staff to make sure all crews headed back to our facility and were in a safe place. At about 3pm it was escalated to a Tornado Warning and we had to relocate to the church basement, where we worked on keeping people calm and again contacting crews that were still on the road. Once that ended, and the adrenaline wore off, we were again feeling slightly frantic and defeated. However, God was there once again to show us His power. The evening program went smoothly, but in my opinion did not seem to have much of a spiritual impact. I was frustrated with my "performance" and felt as if I had failed to get across what needed to get across this evening. Well, I learned that I am NOT performing or orchestrating the spiritual impact of these programs. I am simply the instrument. A willing instrument in the hands of a skilled master will always succeed. Tonight, I have become a willing instrument. I have THE skilled master, and He continues to bless me with encouragement from stories of campers responding to the words which God has provided for me and encouraging words from adult leaders as well...
My partner and I need prayer for TIME. The past two nights we have gotten 3 hours of sleep and during the day while hoping for naps, it just has not been a possibility. Tonight we are heading to sleep as soon as we finish updates, so we'll get about 5 hours which is a great blessing. However, there is no way to run camps like this on that much sleep, so we need prayer for efficiency, assistance, and quick problem solving so we can head to bed earlier :)
We also need prayer for FOCUS. There are about 20 things to to at the same time, all the time, so sometimes it gets a little jumbled and we forget to prioritize and straighten things out and just try to take everything head on. Just pray that we will stick to our checklists, pray alot, and rely on God alone. :)
God has been revealing to my partner and I both that He is going to challenge us enough so that we know we can not do it alone, and yet He will give us enough help so that we are never doubting that He is there. We walked into this camp with confidence and energy, and we have both been pushed to our limits time and time again, and the summer has only just begun :)
We were both feeling extremely discouraged around 2 in the afternoon, when we heard that Loveland, CO had a Tornado Watch. After the adrenaline boost that gave us, we quickly organized a team of staff to make sure all crews headed back to our facility and were in a safe place. At about 3pm it was escalated to a Tornado Warning and we had to relocate to the church basement, where we worked on keeping people calm and again contacting crews that were still on the road. Once that ended, and the adrenaline wore off, we were again feeling slightly frantic and defeated. However, God was there once again to show us His power. The evening program went smoothly, but in my opinion did not seem to have much of a spiritual impact. I was frustrated with my "performance" and felt as if I had failed to get across what needed to get across this evening. Well, I learned that I am NOT performing or orchestrating the spiritual impact of these programs. I am simply the instrument. A willing instrument in the hands of a skilled master will always succeed. Tonight, I have become a willing instrument. I have THE skilled master, and He continues to bless me with encouragement from stories of campers responding to the words which God has provided for me and encouraging words from adult leaders as well...
My partner and I need prayer for TIME. The past two nights we have gotten 3 hours of sleep and during the day while hoping for naps, it just has not been a possibility. Tonight we are heading to sleep as soon as we finish updates, so we'll get about 5 hours which is a great blessing. However, there is no way to run camps like this on that much sleep, so we need prayer for efficiency, assistance, and quick problem solving so we can head to bed earlier :)
We also need prayer for FOCUS. There are about 20 things to to at the same time, all the time, so sometimes it gets a little jumbled and we forget to prioritize and straighten things out and just try to take everything head on. Just pray that we will stick to our checklists, pray alot, and rely on God alone. :)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sometimes Life's So Bittersweet
Well today was the day that we officially headed off to our various sites to begin setting up and preparing for camps. This week is called "travel week" and most of the crews get to their locations about Wednesday and begin setting up in order to be fully prepared for starting the first camp on Sunday afternoon. However, since my location is 40 minutes from the training site, my partner and I get to hang at a friend's house with one other crew for the week - how fun!
Some of the going-on's from the rest of training:
1. We learned some AMAZING things about the theme for Workcamps this year: Reveal. Each day there is a daily theme and the 4 themes they've chosen to focus on are Release for the Captives, Sight for the Blind, Freedom from Oppression, and Revealing the Lord's Favor. We have one night where we have the kids ziptie their wrists together and go look at different prayer stations (Money, Technology, Relationships, Self-Image, Sports, Food) and reflect on what of those things might be holding them captive and then they come to a cross on stage to pray and have their ziptie cut, an amazing and tangible picture of how Christ sets us free!
2. I have made some wonderful friendships here (including my partner Madisynne on the L) and it's hard to want to set out on my own when I've built up such a great support group here :) This week the program coordinators had a lot of position specific training and during one day of training we found these 3 boxes o
f suction blow dart guns...well we couldn't let those go to waste could we? So we launched an attack on other groups working on training and had quite the focus during the times we weren't playing around!
f suction blow dart guns...well we couldn't let those go to waste could we? So we launched an attack on other groups working on training and had quite the focus during the times we weren't playing around!3. I got our crew minivan which is beautiful and has been named "The Tub." It's practically brand new and boy have I learned how to pack one of those things up like a jig saw puzzle.
God has definitely set me up for a challenge this summer. Between being with one person all summer, dealing with little sleep and crazy days, and finding a balance of it all, the end of training has left me with a mixture of readiness and yet hesitance, but I know that this is where He wants me and I'm excited to start writing about experiences at camps - keep reading :) I'll try to update as regularly as possible - prayers are appreciated!
-kristawithHOPE
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Mountains Declare Your Majesty...
Wow, what an amazing start God has had for this trip :) I was supposed to fly out Saturday morning but after boarding the plane, the airline asked for 6 volunteers to switch their flight to the next morning because of overbooking. They had gotten 4 volunteers, but they offered a $600 flight voucher, a free hotel room for the night, a flight out the next morning, and food for the time we spent in Philly! A free flight for spring break? Who would turn that down? So I told them I would change my plans, but I was admittedly a little nervous about spending a night in philly and navigating the airport and all. However, God brought a wonderful couple into the same situation I had been in and we actually spent the day in Philly with one other man and had dinner at the hotel, exchanged contact information, and had a flight together the next morning :) What a blessing!
Danette picked me up Sunday morning at around 11 Colorado time and we spent the day at her AMAZING house nestled in a beautiful valley :) We sat on her porch and enjoyed the birds as we watched her horses run around in the fields there. It was such a wonderful and relaxing day :) The next day we did some riding, a little bit of hiking, but again just had a great day of chilling together and having a great time! She then drove me up to the training location at the YMCA of the Rockies. Oh my word. I can't even describe the beauty found here! I can try by posting a picture though...the picture above is from the site for the training location. I haven't had a chance to upload any pictures yet, but fellow staffers have found pictures almost identical to this one :) You walk out of our lodge and the mountains are 360 around you!!!
So far training has been great, I met my Crew Partner who is a wonderful girl and we found out we're spending the whole summer in LOVELAND!! Haha, how great is that? We have Fridays from noon to Sunday around lunch off so we plan on some tubing, drive in movies, lots of hiking, and just enjoying the beauty of God's creation around us. Tomorrow starts the true specific role training, so I'll share more about that and the theme for this year as the days go on...:) Thanks for reading! Be praying that I get to sleep early enough and that everyone continues to get along and keep meeting new people!
-KristawHOPE
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Weeks of Hope - Summer with Group!
Hey Everyone!
So I have had some people request that I keep in touch over the summer and keep everyone updated on what's going on. Instead of promising emails and letters (because I'm not very good at keeping up with all of those kinds of things...) I decided to start a blog for the next 2ish months just to keep you all up-to-date on how everything is going with camps and such. For those of you who don't know and are saying, "well, what is so exciting about YOUR summer?" here is a link with the basic outline of what I'll be doing...
Youth Mission Trips: WEEKS OF HOPE
I will be training for 2 weeks in Loveland, Colorado beginning Monday (the 25th) and from there I will be placed in an unknown location for the remainder of the summer to serve as Program Coordinator:
- Coordinates group gatherings and programs
- Facilitates all morning and evening programs
- Oversees mission trip functions and volunteers
I know that it is going to be a challenging summer and I would appreciate any prayer support and anyone who reads this because I know it's going to be exciting to share all that the Lord is doing this summer through me and the staff I will be working with. So that's the intro...
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