Still at it

Who would have thought I'd be ending my third week in Croatia. It's normal now... But at the same time I'm still stunned everyday that God has put me here. Right here.
This week I had older campers than last time, around sophomore age mostly. These kids were so fun and so easy to relate with. The funny thing was that there were way more boys than girls, whereas last week that was switched. Tons of boys at an active camp make things very interesting. But it also helps us to see some great men of faith stretching themselves and putting themselves in leadership. It is always encouraging to see guys step up and be leaders in their faith.

THE FOOD
I may have said this once before but the food is just so wonderful. One of the funniest things is going to the little store in town where we can buy fun goodies. I never know what half the stuff is, but that's all part of the experiment I suppose! We eat a lot of thick soups and stews...lots of pork...sometimes chicken....but without a doubt we always eat bread. Buckets and buckets of bread. For breakfast there is bread (complete with turkey/pepperoni/salami/cheese to top it with). Apparently that's very Balkan.  For lunch there is bread to dip in our soups. For dinner there is bread, just because. I've probably had about a million loaves of bread since being here. Oops.
Snacks are fun too. We walk into town with the kids and get to stock up or have bijela kava at the cafe. (Kava=coffee. Bijela=....?) but just about everything I've tried has been good. And I've tried everything!

THE ACCOMODATIONS
Herein lies one of the biggest blessings. Blessings can be very very small. I thank God for the blue room where I have gotten to stay. I have had the same bed for 3 weeks now and will be going on to 4 for next camp. Normally people move back and forth and your room changes and its a continuous change. I can deal with the hustle and bustle but it is such a huge help I have my own little space. It makes me feel that there is something familiar to me amidst all the constant changing. I even have my own corner where I can live out of my suitcase in peace.  I even can put pictures and notes in the slats above my head since I am on a bottom bunk. It's not a perfect system but I am thankful for my bed every day.

THE REST TIME
Rest time comes in two forms. For starters, there is an hour of "chamber cleaning and rest time". We have to clean up our room in preparation for judging. But a clean room is not enough to win the victors chalice of candy...typically there is decoration or a skit involved. As days go on the competition gets heavier. For my first week of camp my 11/12 year olds were very involved. And there were bonus points if you could tie in the theme into the decorations/skit. We had damsels in distress be saved by the armor of God...Paul's workshop...and the girls even wrote a song about the armor of God. The second week we had a court room to recognize the belt of truth...a jousting tournament for the shield of faith...and the Fourth of July saw a Statue of Liberty suited in the full armor of God. (If only that was a reality). I had special guest roles on some of these skits. One time I was a dragon that roared behind a curtain. One time I was a bat that hung upside down from my bunk and screeched. Once I was an evil knight. And once I was asleep. Luckily my second week of 14/15 year olds were a little bit more in favor of the rest part.
Camp is an all day long thing...sometimes a break is nice. It comes in the form or an hour during the week, but after camps we have 48 hours with no campers. The first in between days were filled with napping and a personal favorite...cookie coffee time! Croatia has a very sharing type culture and when you buy a bag of cookies, you all go sit and eat the bag of cookies. With coffee of course. I have never had so much coffee in my life. I can't tell a difference in taste...I don't have a formula for my perfect cup...but it's there so I drink it. Call it mob mentality but when everyone is sitting around with a cup it just makes for happy times.

HOW CAMP WORKS
Just for an idea of scheduling. The days go by fast but so much is packed into every day it's a wonder that we make it through. Every morning we have breakfast with the whole camp after a meeting of program staff. This calls for 7am mornings everyday. (Usually earlier with the rising sun, birds and birds and birds, and the 12 yr olds that got up at 6). We have staff devotions where we can get our focus for the day and pray over camp and each other. The small group devotion time I mentioned in my last blog happens in the morning and it is really cool to work with the girls and get them to seriously think about what they are reading. This past week I had a co-counselor which added a new aspect, but it was great to have her input. We immediately go to our various activities and the
campers switch each day where they go. The rotation includes archery, volleyball, hiking, rock climbing, and canoeing!!!! I was official canoe leader which means I get to carry the watergun. It's a
lot of work to do it everyday with the set up and tear down, but if I had to choose again I'd stick
with my river. We always come straight back and have to go to lunch, normally still wet. That is not my favorite... Our clean up/ rest time comes after lunch and then there is free time! The DPB house has a very relational model. We have so much free time and few people so we can build relationships with each other rather than always having an activity. It definitely has given us great time for conversations and walks and various things. There is always a ping-pong or volleyball game going on and you will always find kids on the swings. (Because those are kind of the only options). Snack time is one of the best times in the whole day and the entire staff will agree. We love snack. And I love big games! They are fun to lead and sometimes it's fun to be on the sidelines. I am in a constant state of playing so I suppose I don't miss out too much :) we complete the day with dinner and our group meeting and that's a full day! I don't know if anyone would want that much detail but there it is!
It is a total blessing becuase there are two camps basically running simultaneously. One is the regular camp and the other is the CREW. (Not to be confused with CRU which I often have trouble with). They are high schoolers that have been specifically chosen to begin leadership training and be stretched. They stay for 2 weeks and serve. It really is service too. They clean the grounds and the common areas and bathrooms. They are the gophers that run around and retrieve everything. They serve in so many ways and have their own devotional times as well. It is an awesome program and I have seen so much growth just in those kids. It is a mix of nationalities and they have many activities that promotes unity and leadership and it may be a simultaneous camp, but we are on the same team.

MY WORDS
So I may not be fluent in Croatian yet, but I'm picking up a couple of things! I love to find random words to learn. I have very few, but at least I always know when someone is talking about ice cream. That's important! I have even learned some great phrases. "Free ice cream, just for me"..."how much is the sour cabbage?"..."my kangaroo is yellow."  Real conversation starters right there. I attempt whatever I can with my Croatian friends but its a little daunting. I can order coffee! I can say dog, cat,  mouse, and bat with confidence. This even earned me the nickname of miš. I love to practice and the Croatians like to laugh at me, so I guess it's a win win!

ADVENTURES
We found one of the most amazing caves ever! I have never been spelunking before and represented as the only girl on our expedition. We had to crawl through mud and in some tight spaces, but it was massive massive cave. There was still so much that we were unable to explore. We met a river, cave shrimp, and mineral deposits. I have never seen anything like it and it just goes to show another amazing part of God's creation.
We were also able to take a break and head down to the Croatian coast for the day on Saturday. We went to Crikvenica (pronounced tsrik-ven-eat-sa). I have never been to a beach that was all rocks that had trees growing right on the shore! It was so funny to hang out on rocks all day when I am used to sand. I must say that the trees were nice shade though. The day started out cloudy but definitely warmed up. And we swam in the salty salty Adriatic Sea! It wasn't even too cold. We even played settlers of catan on the beach. (I won as well :) ). The coast was pretty touristy but still so cool and beautiful. We basically drove down a mountain to get to it so there were some amazing views.  We went to a cafe where I had a "ledona kava" which should mean "super awesomeness". I'm pretty sure it doesn't though. It was just ice cream and coffee and the best whipped cream ever. I was a big fan. I got to walk up and down and look in all the shops and it was just a cool area. Food wise was wonderful bread from a bakery and a slavonian pizza. Apparently it had egg on it. But whatever it was, it was so so good. Yay for good food.

PRAISES AND PRAYERS
-we want to continue to thank God everyday that this camp is open. It is only because He wants us here. I do not have all the details, but I know that this camp should have closed its doors at the end of 2012 but everything has been remedied and we are up to code and this is a total blessings from God. His work is being done in this place.
-God is doing great things in some of these kids' lives. Our first week we saw the utter transformation of one girl which was a result of accepting Christ! Seeing her the first 4 days and the change afterwards was night and day. It was incredie because it wasn't even a staff member that spoke with her, but another camper that recognized the need and ministered to her through the week. That was
amazing to watch and such a blessing.
-these past two weeks have been so successful and some of the easiest camps. I am blown away at the way God had met so many of the kids at this place. I have had the opportunity to pray with some of
them and for them and have made some very cool connections that only come through the Gospel.
-----prayers-----
- even in the 2/3 days it has taken me to write this post things have changed. The blue room that I loved so dearly (and my wonderful bed) is no more. So now I guess I have to herr on the green room. God likes to do that I guess. As soon as we cling to something too tightly it is taken away. Now for this camp I may be in the same general place, but it is still technically unfamiliar territory. But I get the chance to experience God with kids in a "new" place! With a green floor!
-another huge change that happened only yesterday was a sort of promotion. I have been named head girls trainer for this camp. I knew god wanted me to take this position as soon as I heard it because God wants to stretch me. Being a counselor came very easily to me and I was content to let someone else hold the greater responsibility. However, I do need to stretch myself and grow as a leader. I need pray in this because I still do not know all the duties that this position holds. I basically take care of our girl counselors and check up on them and pray with them. I am the eyes and ears for our program director with everything that goes on with the girls, both campers and staff. I will be the next step on the ladder of authority and therefore may have to be the final say in conflict or address it when it is too severe for counselors. I ALSO will be mentoring our girls counselor helper which is exciting but strange since I've only been a counselor myself for 2 weeks. Finally, and one of the hardest things to grasp, is that I will be on charge of counselors who are all older than me.  There is a 24 yr old and a 33 yr old and I am "the boss". All this being said, it is a much greater responsibility and I pray for peace and for wisdom to do this job well. It is a great honor to have been invited to this position because it means that my director has seen good things in me. This is so encouraging, yet still daunting.
- please pray for my health. The first week I had am awful cold...this past week I lost my voice. My health is an way target for spiritual warfare because of how it wipes me out, but I have learned evening this trip that it is something that I need to be in prayer for and SHOULD be on prayer for because  God is the healer.