Why Not Now?: First day of Camp!

Monday, July 25, 2011

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

Today was the first day of camp here; I was helping with the younger group. In crafts they made little aprons, because the theme of the camp is “Shake it Up Café.” The Bible lessons use a lot of food analogies and during discovery time the kids are able to make food. We sang a few songs with the kids; they were able to learn “Father I Adore You” in English and tried singing it in rounds. We broke them up into three groups of 20-25 and went through the rotations with them; it was a little difficult getting the younger kids to stay in line and somewhat quiet towards the end of the day! During discovery time, the kids were able to make a cucumber dip to eat with pita triangles. The pita bread symbolized the unleavened bread the Israelites ate; our theme was “Be ready for God” and if they had to wait for yeast to rise, they wouldn’t “Be ready for God.” During games, the kids did relays with kitchen utensils—hearing Calvin try to explain how to use a turkey baster was quite amusing! It was raining in the morning, so some Ukrainian helpers started to construct—something…we weren’t quite sure what it was at first but then we realized they were extended the shelter for the kids to play under and stay dry! This was all finished in a matter of hours. Now we have a shelter in case of rain tomorrow and even if it’s bright and sunny, it will provide shade! The kids had bananas, juice, and wafers for snack—all I can say is how much I will miss the juice when I leave. I am like a child, I love juice so much—and you can’t imagine how much better it is here than home! Like real, thick, pulpy fruit juice---yum! And all flavors! If only I could bring some home with me…altogether it has been a good day—busy, but good.