Service

A lot of what I do out at Camp Eagle is cook, clean, and serve in any aspect I am asked to do… AND I LOVE IT! Some may not understand why it is something I enjoy so much… Only one day off a week (with limited access to the world even on the off day). My answer… the joy of the Lord is what keeps me going at all times. I am sure you have read or maybe you haven’t about my hard lonely times out here, but PRAISE be to the one who is always there and even in the hard times.. He is the great One!

Service is all about the attitude you have. If you have a good attitude – It is pure joy to serve people. We don’t just serve people physically face to face. My service comes in cleaning their rooms before they arrive and even cleaning their rooms after they have left camp. Service comes while serving them during their time here… whether it is refilling toilet paper or tracking down a director to answer one of their questions. Service means cooking and cleaning all the dishes after each meal…even at 6 am or 10pm! Service means working the coffee shop, the camp store, or any of the elements. My time here is spent serving and I am enjoying every minute of it!

It is a very humbling experience to be able to serve hundreds of guests each month! I know my impact may not be large, but it is minimal and that is a blessing in itself. We as a Walkabout family have a lot of service we do throughout the weeks. Some days we are serving our guests and some days we are serving one another. The main thing is we are being taught or reemphasizing the huge importance of serving!

It is biblical to not only serve one another with a servant’s heart, but also to serve alongside one another. It is a great feeling to be working hard on building trails in the heat, with sweat running down my face, and look over to see a WA sister working just as hard right beside me! A really fun place that we all serve together is in the dish room for our meal cleans. This time is often spent with music blaring and water spraying everywhere. It may be a messy job… but you make it what you want it to be!

So dear friends how are you serving today? Who are you serving at work? Who are you serving beside in your family? Consider your attitude in service… is it a good one? I love you. Thank you Lord for always giving us the strength to serve.

 

UNDER THE OVERPASS

 

What an amazing book… If you haven’t read this book, I strongly suggest it! I am not sure who the author is because I don’t have the book right beside me.. but I am sure anyone who is interested and looks it up on Google… You will find the author!

So this book is about two young Christian men who choose to live in 5 different major cities across the United States as homeless men. The story is told by one of the guys from his point of view throughout the whole journey. The purpose of their journey was to better understand the life of our brothers and sisters stuck in the homeless lifestyle. A view from the American side of homelessness... and in my eyes a wakeup call to Americans!!!

The book tells stories of churches kicking these two guys off of their property, out of their buildings, and down the street because of their unapproachable appearance, smelly clothes, and numerous other ridiculous reasons. THE CHURCH kicking those who desire to be in such a building…. What are we saying as Christians??? Isn’t this the place where we are ALL welcomed!? It should be at least. Sadly, I can say I have fallen under the group that has often overlooked the homeless people in our nation. It is easy to walk by people on the streets without noticing their state of being or asking what they need. It may just be a hug – Quit being selfish!

I am glad this book has opened my eyes to my selfishness… many homeless people do not need loads of money or you to buy them brand new items. Some just need you to get them a meal because they haven’t eaten in days or need you to give them a pair of shoes that you hate (that has sat in your closet for months) because they are without shoes and their soles of their feet are busted up. Both situations were true stories from the book… both of which many people walked by or drove by ignoring a simple situation that could be easily fixed.

The Lord definitely spoke to me during my time of reading… He showed me the love of Christ isn’t only shown through our service in places we love to be, but also places where we often do not go. Places in which we can reach out to those who just need people, a little food, or encouragement in life. Our desire to be intentional with HIS people (everyone) should be one of the most important aspects of our Christian life.

If you haven’t read my blog about San Marcos... please do. I wrote about a sweet man Cassidy that the Lord blessed me with on that trip. I was in tears as the Holy Spirit spoke to me and allowed me to take the message of this book and put it into practice with my new friend. I can definitely say I will never be the same and hope that I will never overlook my brothers and sisters who live under the overpass.

Sweet  friends. I encourage you today to find someone who needs some help. Maybe you are not financially well off (most of us are not), but praise be to the Lord who provides ALL we need. Your faith in reaching out to those in need will be multiplied and you will see the Lord work through your efforts!!! To the homeless people in your area that you help… Praise be to HIM as you reach out to their sweet souls! We are called to love and serve EVERYONE!!!

 

K-money and Finances

A look into one of the many things I am learning while out here in the wilderness is a look at finances! Through a few classes that I am enrolled in, I will be provided with a biblical way to look at finances. There is a quote that I do not want to misquote, but I will try to paraphrase… Basically we all have a good understanding of how 10% of our money should be handled (tithe), but most of us do not know how to properly manage the remaining 90% of our money.

One way that our discipleship program is teaching us about finances is by allowing us to work on our own budgeting skills. We pay FAKE bills with FAKE money (called K-money). A look at our bills includes $36 in rent per paycheck… the pay check is $50. With the remaining money we have a choice of what to do with “our” money. We are allowed to tithe, buy a movie $8, buy internet for a day $5 or go to town $15. Internet and town purchases are only available on our actual off day. Also we can be fined for not paying bills on time, not turning in our lease, stealing internet, being late to work, or anything that is not practicing responsibility.

SO JUST A SIDE NOTE… IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHY I HAVE NOT POSTED IN A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME… IT IS BECAUSE I HAVE CHOSEN TO NOT SPEND MY MONEY ON INTERNET.

So with this lesson on finances, some of my WA family is learning quickly you will not always have money to do the things you desire to do. Sometimes you have to go without and sometimes you have to save up your money from a few paychecks to be able to do things. Another opportunity we have been given to make more FAKE money is by creating our own business (or having a second job). This business includes writing a business proposal and actually working extra to be able to make the money.

My current business includes cleaning houses for the full time staff. The other side jobs with this include laundry and organizing! If you know me… I enjoy doing these things, so it isn’t much of a job for me! I just started my business and currently have two customers and am working on convincing the third customer to let me clean their house. You may not know this, but all the full time staff members that live here and are not married are around my age and a lot of fun to be around. This is where my customers come from. One house is two of my really good guy friends (volleyball teammates, camping friends, and skydiving partner)! While my other customer is a WA brother who allows me to do his laundry for K-money!

All in all, I am enjoying the opportunity we have been given to learn about a biblical look at finances. I feel that it is super important and I am learning just how important it is truly is to be good stewards of our finances… I could go on but for everyone that is reading sake… I won’t J

Sweet friends… thank you for staying in touch with my growth and learning over the next 9 months. And another thank you to those of you who budgeted being able to financially help me to get where I am right now through my fundraiser. The Lord is good!

Friendships

New friends are super fun and a joyful addition to my life! I have made several new friends while living out here, some in my WA family and some on the full time staff. The main thing that I love about each and every one of them is the encouragement and the accountability that they provide me in all situations out here at Camp Eagle.

During our time that we are not serving – we are allowed to hang out in public settings with one another. One of my favorite places to be is in Mi Casa (which is like our dining room) with a group of friends playing board games. I have a feeling now that it is getting colder, this will happen a lot more! Before the cold fronts started coming in, we enjoyed many late nights playing volleyball out on the sand volleyball courts! If you know me well, you will know that these were some fun intense volleyball games!

My accountability partner, Leeann has become a great addition to my life in which she encourages me to just let go of things that are hurting me or keeping me from seeing the goodness of the Lord. She is young, but very wise for her age and I am so blessed that the Lord placed her as my partner while we are here. We both share a passion for soccer which is always exciting and she is a great friend to make me laugh. I am blessed dear friends by her unconditional love and acceptance of me… even when I am being stubborn!

Two of best friends here, Suzy and Sky – man are they the BEST! I can easily say for only knowing these girls for two months, this is the closest I have been with girls since I met my Japan best friend Katrina in 2009! Both of the girls are very open and honest with me and I with them. This is in every aspect of our walk with the Lord and our personal life in general. We are able to open up to one another and share our joys and our struggles. The Lord is fast to remind me of the goodness He has planned for my life through these girls. Both serving as strong women of God, holding me up in my weakest moments. Neither of the two is afraid to confront me on issues that are keeping me from the Lord and I am super thankful for their guidance in my life. The Lord is so good!!!

My closest guy friends are super fun to be around! Whether it is camping, board games, volleyball or potentially sky diving… I am always laughing when I am with any of them! A group of us (girls and guys) enjoy going out to camp in our hammocks on random nights together. We usually end up staying up late enjoying a campfire and laughing at random things. We are often able to share detailed stories about our lives with one another, further building all of our friendships. The board games and the volleyball games that I mentioned above bring out the competitive side of me! The guys are always fun to beat of course… but don’t worry I don’t always win J As for the potential skydiving trip that I went on… (it fell through because of the weather)… now that was a super fun trip with one of my guy friends! I am looking forward to the ACTUAL skydiving trip!

I am super thankful for the Lord’s provision in my life, especially the friendships He has placed in my life at this time. I ask that you will lift up my named friends in your prayers and also lift up the rest of my WA family. Unity is important and I hope to grow closer to not only my current close friends, but several more as the 9 months continue.

Thank you sweet friends!

 

 

San Marcos Trip

Our Walkabout family was able to enjoy an October getaway trip to the San Marcos Recreational Area! This has been a busy month in which we didn’t go on a long adventure trip like we will most months, but we were able to step away from camp for a day and unite together in the beautiful water!

We headed out early that day and had no idea where we were going. The only reason I knew anything beforehand was because I was one of the drivers! J  So, we all got in the two 15 passenger vans and headed out! On our drive we enjoyed breakfast on the road made by our lovely Camp Eagle staff and worked hard to help one another memorize scripture. My van had a fun time singing and talking to one another during the 2.5 hour drive. Once we got to our location, we were all super stoked to enjoy the water and have some relaxing fun together!

We got out of the vans and went to explore all that we could do in the area and quickly found things to enjoy! There were rope swings into the water, tubes to float on; water “shoots” to slide on, and other fun rocks to climb on for fun pictures! We all decided to pretty much just get changed into our swim wear and jump in! It was fun to see everyone release a sigh of relief and freedom from working so hard… and then just enjoy a day off.

I started out on the rope swings with a few of my close girl friends. Swinging out and being dropped into the water was much easier than walking into the chilly water myself! I swung in and plunged for the clear blue water and instantly started having loads of fun! I ended up making my way down to the “shoots” which were manmade cut outs in the rush of the river that would shoot us down either solo or on a tube! These were a lot of fun and everyone in my WA family ended up spending most of their time out in this area of the water throughout the remainder of the day!

While we were away from camp, we were also able to use some alone time to read the Word and focus on some time spent with the Lord. I was super excited to spend this time alone from everyone out on the water. It was the first time I was actually able to use my waterproof bible for purposeful reasons… in the water. Usually, I am just thankful to have it in the rain, but not this time. I chose to stay in the water, going down the shoots and floating the river while reading some chapters in the Bible. What a beautiful sight it was for me to experience. Growing closer to the Lord while also enjoying His creation!

After our sack lunches (again made by our lovely Camp Eagle staff), we enjoyed many more hours of recreational fun and laughter. The unity among the group is always very encouraging when we are out on our trips. When we are home, there are many days that most of us do not see each other at all. So time spent together in San Marcos was a lot of fun and good for our group! A few hours after our lunch and before we would be leaving for our dinner and escape back to camp, we were flooded with rain! It was pouring like crazy and just so much fun to be out there in the water or on the land in our swimsuits dancing in the rain!

In all the confusion of the rain, most of us ended up under a large pavilion area waiting for everyone else to join us for our WA brother’s story (testimony). It is here when the Lord definitely showed us he had a much different plan for the next hour. We were joined by some sweet men, who lived as hippies out of their car, working to make money by building palm tree branch flowers and playing the guitar. Cassidy was the guitarist’s name and Eleanor is his best friend (guitar). It is in this setting that Cassidy shared his heart and his music with my WA family.

I will tell you in another blog about a book I was reading at this time, but for your understanding I will just explain that it was about homelessness in America. Anyways, it was during this sweet hour with Cassidy that I was saddened and in tears, but also filled with joy as he was able to share his passion of music and dreams for his future. I encourage each of you dear friends to maybe find him on Facebook if you can… Cassidy and Eleanor is his page name and it may be without caps or spaces and maybe the & sign instead of the word… but I am sure you will find it with just that information.

This trip warmed my heart and encouraged me in any ways. Not only was I able to grow closer to my WA family and enjoy time away from hard work filled days, but I was also able to open my eyes and heart to the ways the Lord had already been speaking to me through my book I was reading. I don’t know where Cassidy is today, probably still in the San Marcos area, but I pray that we as Americans and most of us as Christians can show him the love he deserves and encourage him in every way he may need.

We ended our fun filled day with a trip to Cici’s together and a 2.5 hour trip back to Camp Eagle. We were all glad to return and get some rest before the next day arrived!

Youth group growth and curriculum

I am so excited to be able to share with you the growth within the youth group that I am helping at! We have been working hard to reach out to the Rocksprings community and have been very blessed and thankful for the turnout with the youth group!

From the first meeting, we had a great turnout of I think it was 12 or 13 kids… most of these kids ended up being under the age for “youth” group, so our group became smaller upon our second visit the next Sunday! The Lord is good though and He is able to work through all things. With some curriculum planning, meal preps, lots of prayer, and some intentional conversations… The youth group is thriving and we are not averaging over 15 students each week. Our leadership is very excited about this growth, not because of the numbers, but because of the impact we are able to have on each of these youth’s lives!

Most of our kids are now regulars and are also working hard to invite and bring their friends. If you read my post about the block party we held for the Rocksprings community you may remember me mentioning a mini football game that we held that night. Some of the guys that we invested in that night have turned into our regular youth group guys! We are all very excited to pour knowledge into the students, especially those who already play a huge role in their school. These guys bring a lot of laughter to the group as well as some competition during our schedule games each week!

We started a curriculum by LifeWay on our third meeting time and this has been going great! We started at the beginning of the Bible and are working our way (by video, paperwork, and discussion) through the stories of the bible! This past Sunday we covered Noah and the flood! Needless to say, I am super excited about the stories these guys are learning and their excitement to learn more each week! We now have students telling us they can’t wait to see us next Sunday… very humbling for each of us. The Lord is so good!

Our worship each week has been great. We have several full time staff from Camp Eagle who have worked with the youth group in the past years.  They drive out with us and help invest in the kids. One of these full time staffers serves as our worship leader and does a great job leading through songs. Throughout the next couple of weeks, we hope to also get the youth group involved in singing praises to our Father... They are still a little shy J

Another bonus to our youth group time is our meals that are provided by a lovely older couple from the church. Each week she prepares meals for the students and the leadership to enjoy before starting games, worship, video and small groups! Her husband is helpful through serving everyone and the setting up /taking down of all the chairs and tables. Such a sweet servant couple that I truly enjoy seeing every week!

With much excitement I ask that as you stay involved in my blogging, you will also participate in praying for this youth group! Whether the group grows larger or stays where we currently have it, we solely desire to help these students learn more about the Lord! Blessings to you sweet friend and thank you for your prayers for our youth group!