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Thursday, August 9, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
The Goodbye
I am extremely sad that my last week of Y.E.S is over for the
summer, but it ended on a good note. The last week of Y.E.S is the
week of Y.E.S camp! This is a sleep away camp in Joelton Tennessee
that we attend from Monday to Friday. The camp, filled with worship
and praise, creek time, crafts, ropes course, a water slide, and more,
was a blast. Some of the more memorable moments included my zip-line
experience, bed time, creek time, and worship.
summer, but it ended on a good note. The last week of Y.E.S is the
week of Y.E.S camp! This is a sleep away camp in Joelton Tennessee
that we attend from Monday to Friday. The camp, filled with worship
and praise, creek time, crafts, ropes course, a water slide, and more,
was a blast. Some of the more memorable moments included my zip-line
experience, bed time, creek time, and worship.
After walking up to the zip-line, I was told by a girl in
my cabin that she was scared and wouldn't go on it. This was after
she told me how excited she was to do the zip-line the day before.
Eventually we decided that if I did it with her she would do it. So,
I went down the zip-line before her, unfortunately managing to get a
few bruises from the landing. Needless to say she went down next.
Afterward, she went down many more times. Then I was told to go on
the giant swing. I wouldn't say I am necessarily scared of heights,
but I was scared of dropping from so high up. As they began pulling me
up, all the kids there started chanting my name and telling them to
pull me all the way up. As much as I tried to stop them, I still went
all the way up.
This wasn't the only fear that Y.E.S camp helped me conquer. While
getting ready for bed and finally calming down all the homesick kids
in cabin 9, someone spotted a spider. My first reaction was a deathly
scream and a jump back. One of the campers then asked, "Aren't you
going to help me?" As much as I wanted to say no, I knew I had to
help. I ended up throwing a shoe at the spider temporarily overcoming
one of my biggest fears.
Creek time also provided another fond memory. Although this wasn't an
experience that involved me overcoming a fear, it was a fun and sweet
moment. Many of the kids were scared of falling, as one girl had
previously fallen, breaking her hand. They were also scared of
snakes. They hung and clung to me, trusting me to guide them through
the creek. Not only did they trust me, but I even had one help me
catch a crawdad and then help me as I slipped.
Although all of this was fun, it was truly amazing to see how Y.E.S
helps these kids; 4 campers were baptized at the creek. God touched
many others at this camp, including me, as everyone's testimonials
left me in tears. Not only was I left in tears, but 3 girls that were
in my small group came up to me afterward telling stories about their
heroes and what they struggle with, trusting me to console them. I was
caught off guard by the trust they displayed in me by sharing such
personal stories that brought them to tears, for I had only been in
their lives for a part of the summer. This moment just made it that much
she told me how excited she was to do the zip-line the day before.
Eventually we decided that if I did it with her she would do it. So,
I went down the zip-line before her, unfortunately managing to get a
few bruises from the landing. Needless to say she went down next.
Afterward, she went down many more times. Then I was told to go on
the giant swing. I wouldn't say I am necessarily scared of heights,
but I was scared of dropping from so high up. As they began pulling me
up, all the kids there started chanting my name and telling them to
pull me all the way up. As much as I tried to stop them, I still went
all the way up.
This wasn't the only fear that Y.E.S camp helped me conquer. While
getting ready for bed and finally calming down all the homesick kids
in cabin 9, someone spotted a spider. My first reaction was a deathly
scream and a jump back. One of the campers then asked, "Aren't you
going to help me?" As much as I wanted to say no, I knew I had to
help. I ended up throwing a shoe at the spider temporarily overcoming
one of my biggest fears.
Creek time also provided another fond memory. Although this wasn't an
experience that involved me overcoming a fear, it was a fun and sweet
moment. Many of the kids were scared of falling, as one girl had
previously fallen, breaking her hand. They were also scared of
snakes. They hung and clung to me, trusting me to guide them through
the creek. Not only did they trust me, but I even had one help me
catch a crawdad and then help me as I slipped.
Although all of this was fun, it was truly amazing to see how Y.E.S
helps these kids; 4 campers were baptized at the creek. God touched
many others at this camp, including me, as everyone's testimonials
left me in tears. Not only was I left in tears, but 3 girls that were
in my small group came up to me afterward telling stories about their
heroes and what they struggle with, trusting me to console them. I was
caught off guard by the trust they displayed in me by sharing such
personal stories that brought them to tears, for I had only been in
their lives for a part of the summer. This moment just made it that much
harder to say goodbye.
These memories have provided me with probably the most
remarkable summer of my life so far. I learned so much from these kids
who have gone through everything and have managed to still stay
positive. Hopefully, in return, I have positively impacted their
lives. I want to thank all the St. Luke's staff following my blog for
letting me join such a great program, and the Turner Fellowship
program and all those involved for allowing me to be a Turner Fellow
and pairing me with such a remarkable organization. I can't wait to
visit all of my kids again with the after school program! Pictures
are to come, I promise! :)
These memories have provided me with probably the most
remarkable summer of my life so far. I learned so much from these kids
who have gone through everything and have managed to still stay
positive. Hopefully, in return, I have positively impacted their
lives. I want to thank all the St. Luke's staff following my blog for
letting me join such a great program, and the Turner Fellowship
program and all those involved for allowing me to be a Turner Fellow
and pairing me with such a remarkable organization. I can't wait to
visit all of my kids again with the after school program! Pictures
are to come, I promise! :)
You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.
Dale Carnegie
P.S. Sorry for the inconsistency of my blogging.
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