Clarkston Life Update: CAMP TOMORROW

Hi friends.

It's me, coming to you live from Ponce City Market in Atlanta. I didn't mean to end up here, but here I am enjoying my Sunday by typing away. 

I want to fill y'all in on life here in Clarkston.. I don't even know where to begin.

I've been here for almost a month now, and sometimes it feels like I've been here for years.. in other ways it feels like I arrived two hours ago. 

What have I been doing? Anything and everything. Mainly handing the paperwork, registration side of camp preparations. I've put data down for almost every single child on so many different spreadsheets. We laugh about the google drive, because I can pretty much pull up anything you wanna know about camp in four seconds flat. I've been checking and double checking the roster, printing off individual grade lists, making sure we have insurance for everyone, making list of who lives where and who needs to be picked up, and just so many other things you probably could care less about. I've also done Facebook and Instagram updating, so if you don't follow us yet.. Please do!!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sumerspectacular/?fref=nf

Instagram: @forsummercamp

It's been more than just paperwork though. Lots of random things that make camp happen needed to be done, and so the other interns and I have been on it. 

Painting the stage purple? Check.

Spray painting kidney beans for "sparkle beans"? Check. 

Making name tags for orientation week? Check.

Cleaning out industrial sized refrigerators? Check.

KILLING 14 HUGE SPIDERS THAT LIVE IN THE AREA WHERE CAMP IS? CHECK. 

Getting the Concession Stand (AKA Camp Headquarters) ready
Note: This is where the spiders were killed.

But tomorrow is it. 

Tomorrow is officially the First Day of Camp. 

The second part of my internship starts tomorrow (the fun part!) and I couldn't be more excited.

I get to be the first ones to greet the kids at camp, check them in, give them a wristband and see them on their way to new adventures (like getting breakfast wahoo!). 

Once everyone is checked in and attendance is done, I get to do what I love.. float around and take pictures! With around 115 kids registered, there is bound to be something going on at all times. I'm excited to be a part of that.

So yeah. While I know everyone's excited for camp to start, I think because I've been here for three works on the paperwork side of it, I'm excited in a different way to see it all come to fruition. It's fun for me to see how the Lord has worked to bring in so many different things to make Summer Spectacular happen. 

Painting the banner with my sweet friend Annalisa!

The team of interns and staff is awesome. It's incredibly diverse and we all have different things we're good at it.. it's cool to see the different parts of the body come together to serve the Lord. Go look them up on the Facebook page to see who I'm working with!

We had "training week" for the interns this week to get ready for camp. It was a long week.. but such a good good week. I was trying to explain it to my friends and the only thing I could think to say was that it was exhausting.. but an encouraging exhausting. Like a happy, really good, full of knowledge exhausted.

Interns and Staff Members at Orientation Week!

There was the logistic side of this is how camp runs, this person needs to be here at this time, this is what we do on monday's at etc. But there was also the spiritual side.

LET ME JUST TELL YOU THAT GOD DOES REALLY COOL THINGS.

For example, I have worked at EFM for 4 years now and have been working with people in very different life situations than my own.

And then this week we spent so much time on learning how better to walk beside people in poverty and aid them to get out of that cycle rather than causing them to be dependent on other's generosity. And while that affects me largely while I am here this summer.. it also has SUCH an impact on my life at home with EFM. 

So yes, I was trained this week. But it wasn't just training for the summer, it was like training that I can take back home and use and to me that is just really really awesome. 

What else is going on? Well, I really have been eat-sleep-breathe camp. But in the midst of that, I've been visiting houses with the other interns (mostly to get things that we need for paperwork stuff, it never ends), taking trips to get ice-cream, hanging with Taylor and Carson, and just doing mundane things like laundry which follows me whether I'm in Georgia or SC. 

My sweet friend Caroline visited me last weekend, and we adventured over to Ponce City Market and then down to Piedmont Park. We managed to catch the Atlanta Jazz Festival which was quite the experience in of itself! She's such a dear friend, and I was grateful for the fact that she was able to come down. 

I really don't have a clue why I was laughing so hard.

Just a portion of the ATL Jazz Fest we stumbled upon

I'm pretty excited to get in a regular routine with camp schedule. The hours of my days have been pretty random the last few weeks just depending on what needed to get done when. But for camp I'll be at the community center everyday, 7:15 on Mondays and 7:45 every other day. :-) 

Camp officially opens at 8, and I'll do check in. Breakfast is served until 9 or so, and then we have some announcements before academic time. That'll be a time for well.. academics! Books, worksheets, all things our wonderful academic coordinator has put together for each grade. After that is rotations, which will be led by the different counselors and volunteers. Crafts, music, games, and character ed are accomplished during that time. And then lunch and free time!

I'm just excited that I get to wander and help out wherever I'm needed, and take pictures when I'm not. 

We had dinner at a sweet Iraqi family's home, and this was me trying SO HARD not to spill my tea.. and Alicia half posing half laughing at me.

Long term, I'll only be here for 5 more weeks. And I've already begun to build relationships with some awesome people that will be very difficult to leave. So that's sad. 

But I can already see how the Lord is using this summer for growing me. I've got some ideas I want to take home to Florence.. big ideas and big plans and I'm just praying that the Lord will give me wisdom for that.

And you can pray too! Please. Your prayers are so appreciated. For me and for camp.

One big area of need right now camp wise is for food. Every year in the past there has been a Georgia program that has provided free food for camp through a provider. But our provider dropped us suddenly just a bit ago. And we have been scrambling the last three weeks.. but to no avail. There is a plan in place, and the kids will absolutely be fed. But it's an issue, and something that needs to be met. 

So if you could pray for our food situation I would be greatly appreciative. 

Also for our staff/interns. There have been some curveballs thrown at us these last few weeks, and I know that the Lord uses all for good but it has definitely been a struggle. We could all use the prayers as we begin our summer with the kids.

The stage is set, the co-director (^^Annalisa) is ready for announcements, and camp begins TOMORROW!

That's life these days. I would love to tell you more about Clarkston and what I'm doing here if you're interested. Just let me know. 

It's really encouraging to see the Lord working here y'all. And He is working for sure. 

I promise that as camp begins I will blog more! There's a lot to say.. but I just find it hard to type out. 

Life in Clarkston is different from anything else I've ever experienced, but I wouldn't change being here for anything.

I am constantly being reminded that is God's purpose, not my plans, all for His glory. 

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I've changed my header to say a "college SOPHOMORE who loves cupcakes, Jesus, and the beach." and if that's not weird to anyone else, it's weird to me.