I learned some pretty incredible things during the camps this year. Some of the lessons are a little silly, while others were truly heart-transforming. In both instances, I will remember these lessons for years to come:
1) Flip-Flops are of utmost importance. Camp showers can get a little sketchy at times, and having a cheap pair of flip-flops can save you from stepping in slimy puddles.
2) An unexpected iced coffee from Starbucks is a great way to start your day. Some of the guys in the band went to Starbucks in the mornings and they brought me back an iced coffee a few times at camp. That little gift was such a great way to get me rolling. I am not a morning person, so a little coffee first thing is such a blessing! It is awesome to be a part of such a great team!
3) Yuck is awesome. Have you seen this stuff? Yuck is a gelatin type material, and it is looks and feels little pieces of jello. You can fill trash cans, buckets, and baby pools with the stuff, and it makes for awesome games. If you add Yuck to any game, it increases the fun factor by at least 157%. See, Woods End dudes, Grant and Nate, are loving it! (Photo credit: Elevate Youth)
4) Expect for your plans to change. I planned my messages before I arrived at camp. However, God changed my plans throughout the week. I told stories I didn't plan to share, and I ended up scratching some of my notes that I had been preparing for months. Flexibility and openness to God's movement was so important. If I would have been stuck in my ways, I would have missed what God wanted me to share.
5) God just wants us to be available. Going into camp, I had poured most of my time and energy into planning my messages. However, as I left camp, I realized most of my time and energy was poured into investing in others. Some of the most important moments of camp were not the times I was speaking up front, but they were in the conversations I had with students. As I walked to dinner one night, I had an in-depth conversation with a student who needed to know she was valuable. After chapel one night, I was able to pray with a student about issues at home, and I prayed with another about committing his future plans to God. Through these conversations, I realized that God doesn't want us to solely focus on serving Him in our preparation, but He wants us to serve Him with our availability. He wants us to be available to invest in others as we go about our days. As we make ourselves available to God, He will give us some of the most defining moments in ministry. We can't plan for those, we just have to be available.
- Carly
