Yesterday morning, almost every girl at camp woke up early for one of my favorite activities at camp. We joined in fellowship of our Savior and our hair. As the sun peaked over the trees the girls gathered on blankets and leaned eagerly over their Bibles while the staff did their hair.
The purpose was three-fold. First, the girls get to casually hang out with each other. Second, it gives each a girl to spend personal time with a female staff member who is braiding her hair. Lastly, and most importantly, it allows the girls to become closer to God by reading and meditating on his Word. It was a precious moment as I twisted hair into braids, spending quality time getting to know those sweet young Christian ladies. Hearing their small voices talk about the big life-changing gospel message. This is truly what camp is all about: sharing the love of Christ with young people. It warmed my heart to see the little faces nose deep in the words of our Savior. I pray that the quality time that I spent with those young ladies impacts them in more ways than just getting their hair done, but also in their relationship with Christ.
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Not only is this week GAP camp, but it is also the first full week of camp! So far, this week has gone very smoothly. Our staff was beyond prepared and the campers were beyond excited. These 4th through 6th graders are so full of life that we couldn't wish for a better group.
In the past few days, I have been talking with the campers just getting to know them a little, and one conversation has really impacted me. It was Monday night and I sat down next to a girl sitting in the dinning hall. Naturally, I proceeded to ask her the "classic counselor questions". It lead to me asking how her day was going. She told me that she had played a new game with her friend at the waterfront. I responded with, "Oh did you come with your friend?" Bashfully, she shook her head and barely louder than a whisper said, "No, I made friend." Doesn't that just make your heart melt and your eyes tear up? It sure did for me as we sat there in the dinning hall. Don't worry, I did play it cool in the moment, but on the inside I was dying from how precious children are sometimes. Not only did that statement make my soul happy, it also made me think. Some of my best friends are from camp. Our friendships have lasted through being campers, junior staff, and now SALT staff. Confidently, I can say that I am not the only one who has made forever friends her at camp. Relationships are definitely one of the largest blessings that God has given people at camp. Whether it is three campers that form a peach at the waterfront, peewee parents bonding over being free from the children for a few hours, or SALT staff member praying with their prayer partners, Camp Phillip has become a haven for building positive Christ-like relationships. My prayer this week is that all those relationships that God built in this place are sustained and maintained throughout the years. Chosen and Redeemed, Sammie Siev
My largest challenge of today was picking a picture to represent the excitement our staff felt to actually welcome the first set of campers of 2018. After weeks of training, we were all bursting with excitement to welcome the first set of Peewees and Fledglings into our care. I picked this picture of Grace Bain and Sarah Brooks, because their smiles tell it all: Let the little children come, we're ready.
Someone once told me that humans laugh because their body can't contain their joy any longer, so it spills out in the form of chuckles, giggles, and even deep in the belly laughter. That was what I thought of when I saw the counselors interacting with their cabin full of kids. As they all sat down for dinner in the dinning hall, I stood there watching the smiles and laughter spread from counselor to camper to another camper and so on. Jokes and stories were passed around the table as they enjoyed their hamburgers and fries. I couldn't hold in my joy. All I could do was laugh, not because it was funny, but because my heart could't contain any more joy. In that moment, I felt so strongly content. God has so richly blessed us with a ripe ministry field. He set us out to be role models, leaders, and sharers of good news. When I stood there to see the entire staff fulfilling their ministry with their campers. Full of Christ's love and enthusiasm, we finally feel like the summer has begun. Starting today, we fully and entirely give ourselves to our campers for the rest of the summer. Starting today, our ministry officially begins. Chosen and Redeemed, Sammie Siev
Arrgh Me Mateys! Are you ready to swab the starboard and walk the plank? This summer the theme is all about pirates. That's right folks, its time to dust off your peg legs and eye patches and quickly run to the pet store to pick up a pet parrot to sit on your shoulder. Our staff is loving the pirate theme. Last night, we were all sent on a treasure hunt. It was almost like we were real pirates reading maps, finding clues, and laughing like sea-loving sailors. Being a pirate was hard, we had to not only solve and find clues, but also we had to read maps and work together as pirate crews always do. We all enjoyed the break from the learning secessions we had been in this past week for training, and it helped up prepare for the summer. As the groups tries to solve what seemed like impossible riddles, the eye was always on the prize, the treasure. Some groups had some "creative methods" like taping the maps to the upright table and connecting the clues with string. (It looked more like a missing person map on CSI than a pirate treasure hunt.) Yet, other groups had more serious and focused thought patterns. In the end, we all found the treasure of delicious snacks which was almost as good as gold coins. All of the wanna-be pirates had a blast for the night. I can tell we are all looking forward to spending the rest of our summer earning our "sea-legs". Not only does our summer have an overarching theme, but along with it comes our theme Bible verse. This year the verse is Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, your heart will also be." It is a beautiful reminder of what it really means to be a sea- loving, treasure hunting, plank walking pirate. The comfort in this verse is that Jesus is reminding us to keep him as our priceless treasure. We don't need anything else in life except him and his love. It really is the best treasure we could ever have. As the honorary pirates this summer, our staff can't wait to share the treasure of God's love this summer. Land lovers, we would love for you to join our crew this summer. Stay up to date on our blog and if you find ourself in our neck of the woods, come and visit, you may even find some treasure! In the mean time, we will be busy raising the sail and talking like pirates. Chosen and Redeemed, Sammie Siev ,Do you know what a child looks like on Christmas morning? Now picture that except a group of college kids in the dining hall at Camp Phillip. It's the smiles longer than the Great Wall of China, the bright starry eyes, and the laughter that fills the room, and all I can think about is how we all look like a bunch of giddy kids waiting to open presents on Christmas morning.
The Summer Adult Leadership Team, or SALT for short, has arrived and boy are we all excited! Starting on Sunday we began our training as counselors, kitchen staff, day camp staff, and other various positions, but in the end we are all here for the same reason: to spend our entire summer showing others the love of Jesus. What a blessing! Here's a little about us. There 35 of us and we range in age from 18-22. Some of us are from Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota and even South Carolina! Together we will be serving all summer here at camp, and I don't know how we could be more blessed. We may all have different jobs, but one thing is for sure, we love camp, kids, and Christ! If you would have been standing in the dining hall last night to see the smiles and willing hearts, you would get to see one of the many reasons Camp Phillip is special. The SALT staff loves to be here, but it isn't the geographical place that is so wonderful, it's the message that they get to share everyday. That gospel message gets our heart pumping so much, it overflows into our lives as love for our campers. Yeah, we're pretty goofy and silly sometimes, but all 35 of us can't hold in the excitement to share the message of Jesus with each and every camper who enters through our gate. Here there are, the wonderful SALT staff of 2018. They have officially finished their training and are ready to go for the rest of the summer. Can't you tell that these friendly faces are ready for campers and junior staff, We may be a group of goofy people, but know that we can't wait to spend our entire summer serving people and sharing the love of Christ. Join me in congratulating and praying for them as they begin their journey over them summer.
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