0 Comments
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.
What do you get when you tell a bunch of camp staff to climb a twenty foot wall? No this is not the start of a terrible joke. "The Wall", as we affectionally call it, was the challenge of the week for our Ropes Staff Training. Don't be fooled, this was not easy.
Our dedicated Ropes Staff who are up at camp for a week of training had to scale the wall using only each other. Although they had harnesses and ropes for safety, the equipment was not what got them up the wall. I watched in wonder as they lifted, pushed, and pulled each other up physically with their bodies and emotionally with their encouragement. I watched from the ground as one by one the staff members hoisted each other into the air as high as they could, before the people atop the wall would pull them safety to the other side of the wall. Then they would do the process over with the next climber. It took strength, problem solving, communication, and lots of encouragement. It would be a lie to say that it was easy or that the team didn't experience disappointments or set-backs in their experience, but they met the challenge with loads of optimism and encouragement. Then it hit me like a 1000 pound weight. Buried in the challenge was a lesson for our camp ministry. It would have been impossible for any single staff member to scale the wall themselves. It is just physically impossible. Sometimes I imagine our ministry here at camp like the wall. No single person could ever tackle the ministry that takes here alone. It takes a group effort from our year round staff, SALT staff, Junior staff, prayer warriors and those families who keep coming back year after year. Together we make this beautiful family that God created to carry out ministry. The Christian community that camp provides is largely one of the biggest blessings and I pray that God continues to add more to our number. My friends, my teammates, and my brothers and sisters in the faith, know that I am so blessed to have you all in my life whether directly or indirectly. Thank you for joining our camp family so that together we can "climb the wall" to carry out our mission of "Relaxation in Creation and Renewal in Christ". I promise that they did finish the wall. It certainly took some fancy climbing and trust in each other, but they finished. The last person to climb was Jess Friebe who literally had to scale Elisha Doerr who hung off the edge of the wall. Kyle Wilson held on tight to Elisha who clung to the wall so earnestly in order to help Jess up the wall. The rest of the staff encouraged from the ground and beyond all odds, Jess, and everyone else, made it up the wall. This moment was definitely one of the most exciting points of Ropes Course Training. Even now as the memory is fresh in my mind, I am sure that the both the moment and lesson won't easily fade from my mind. As we wrap up this training, everyone here eagerly looks forward to the whole staff arriving on Sunday for another week of training. I promise we are getting excited for summer camp to start, are you? Post you excited face in the comments. Chosen and Redeemed, Sammie Siev Toothbrush, tennis shoes, water bottle, pillow, Bible, sandals, sweatshirts, a sleeping bag, letter writing supplies, sunscreen, towel, t-shirts in every color, and soap. Yet somehow, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm forgetting something.
I go through the same thing every year: pack up my dorm room, bring my stuff home, pack it all back into plastic crates, move it all up to camp. (All that moving makes me wish I didn't have so much stuff.) But here I was, knee deep in t-shirts with the pre-camp jitters. The anticipation of spending my entire summer serving children in God's creation makes me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I had spent most of my year reminding myself, "Summer is coming!" Now summer is on my doorstep and I feel like a kid in a candy store. The truth is that not much has changed since I was a camper. When I think back to the days of shoving clothes into my duffle bag until it barely closed, I remember telling my mom, "I know I need all these shirts because what if I am on the cold team or the hot team, maybe my whole cabin will want to wear yellow to breakfast one day. So I definitely need all of these shirts." She shook her head at me just like I am currently shaking my head at myself as I think, "Do I really need three Camp Phillip Kazoos?" (The answer is yes. In case you were wondering.) Surrounded by clothes that probably won't all fit in my bags, I had a thought. It isn't what I bring to camp that is important. It's what I leave with from camp that is important. At the end of the summer, it won't matter if I had enough socks or aloe when I get sunburnt. Instead, at the end of summer I will have the after glow of days in the sun, lessons learned, memories of days well-spent, and deep connections with campers, staff members, and most of all my Savior. So I may be packing now, but I know that God is packing my summer suitcase with so many experiences that I can't help but smile. By the end of the summer, not only will my bags be full, but my heart will be also. That thought is enough to know that all this packing is well worth it. As much as I would love to dream about my summer all day, I have some packing to finish up. My friends, I hope you pack your bag as well and follow us through the summer. I promise that it will be fun. Let me know how packing for camp goes for you and your family or what you remember when you were a camper. I'd love to hear from some fellow "campies". Chosen and Redeemed, Sammie Siev |