Reach

Hi!
First off I want to say I miss ya’ll so much! i’ve met some pretty cool people here, but there’s not a group anything like you all. I’m involved in the local CCF (Christian Campus Fellowship) and the BSU (Baptist Student Union). There are some pretty crazy people here, but they’ve got nothing on you! They’re a Brian Regan quoting bunch, but we haven’t tried to stuff 9 people in a 7-seater van or play croquet in the dark yet. Mafia isn’t a big deal here, which is pretty sad. I definetly miss our games! When they do play it’s all Very Serious. Not nearly as much fun as our games!
I’m doing pretty good here, definitely learning a lot! I’m learning the ins and outs of how a camp runs, as well as a lot of office management type stuff. They’ve got the interns learning how to use things like Photoshop and Premier Pro Movie maker. I’ve been making a lot of phone calls too, neither of the other girls likes talking on the phone so I take care of most of that. It’s pretty much scheduling things like speaking at youth groups and setting up interviews with the campers.
Linda has decided that presenting our ministry is “my thing” so I’ve been speaking at a lot of local youth groups, and hopefully will be able to speak at a few college groups soon. I really like it, you know me, I love to talk! ;)
Linda teaches riding lessons two days a week and I usually help her. It’s pretty basic stuff, mostly. But we’ve been trying to introduce the kids to stuff like barrel-racing and pole-bending lately, that’s a lot of fun!
We’re getting ready to start a camper mentoring program soon. Basically we’ve matched staff members with campers to mentor. I’m excited about this program, I think it’s a great way to keep in contact with the kids throughout the year, as well as a way to make a more permanent impact in their lives. I’m nervous about mentoring kids, but I know it’s what God wants of me right now and I know I can do it with His help.
It’s not all about the ministry here though, a lot of the program is focused on personal growth. We have a lot of discussion groups together. We’ll discuss things like the image of God, Fire, what it means to be Radical, all kinds of different subjects. I’m also expected to read at least three Christian Growth books (Max Lacado, John Piper, Charles Spurgon type books) or biographies each month and write a paper about each.
I’m also being mentored by Linda, which is great cause I work with her everyday, spend most evenings hanging out at either the interns house or hers, and hanging out at the horse barn between lessons. I’m the only intern willing or able to do most of the “manual labor” at camp (think: moving things, mowing, taking care of the animals, cleaning out older buildings) so we end up spending a lot of time together. It’s pretty much amazing, cause she’s the “older sister” figure I’ve needed for a long time. Spending time with Linda is definitely my favorite part of being an intern!
Ya’ll know some of what my home life is like, so it probably comes as no surprise that I love being here, in a Christian community, surrounded by people that love me, or at least like me! I’m having a great time, and I’m growing in my faith. It’s not perfect here by any means, it’s really difficult sometimes. A main point of the program is to be “stretched and grown” and that’s definitely happening! It can hurt sometime, but I know it’s all for good. It’s hard to be away from you all and my family at South Side but I know this is where God wants me right now. So that’s what’s been happening in my life lately. I can’t wait to see ya’ll soon!
Rae