Daring to be Different

My camp (West Wilkes Middle School) was blessed with the opportunity to have 86 campers and work for about 53 families in one week!! This also meant A LOT of preparation and not a lot of time to do it, so on Monday, the day after staff training ended I went up to the school to organize our tool shed for the summer. Our tool shed is a tractor trailer, and it took a lot of work getting started.

During our pre-camp, where we get everything ready for the camp, we had a lot of stressful times, but we began bonding as a staff and by the grace of God we completed all of our tasks at hand and were wide-eyed and ready for our campers on Sunday.

The week went very smoothly and was filled with God in every twist and turn. The theme of the week was how we all were at camp this week for a reason, that God had placed us all hear this week for a specific reason, different for everyone.

For me the theme seemed to be all week about how we are called to be different. Through the campers, passages of scripture I read, and the people we worked for it was a theme that resonated in my mind and in my daily encounters. Mr. Wilcox, a man who lives in Todd, NC and who we painted and did yardwork for told me that he enjoyed the group and said that there was something different about them. Mr. Jim, a man from Fleetwood, NC who we built a wheelchair ramp for told me that him and his wife Joy really enjoyed meeting youth who were different. Rev. Mathis, from N. Wilkesboro who we built a porch and ramp for told me that these kids were special and that they had done a good job (which from him means more than you can imagine). Rev. Mathis also gave me $80 for the ramp and told me that he wanted to give so much more, but he just didn’t have the money. I smiled and told him that he didn’t have to give a thing, that we were blessed with the opportunity to work for him and that we didn’t expect a thing in return. To express that was difficult to me, but it really made me think about how we are to serve and give, expecting nothing in return.

You see God calls us to be different, and Carolina Cross Connection gives us an opportunity to do that. For the week these campers were the hands and feet of Jesus, and people noticed that they were different. These people loved seeing youth being different!

God loves seeing us be different. The question I had for my campers was how can you take this week and be different everyday of your life? And I don’t know the answer to this question but they had a few. One was helping someone just like they did at camp, or something smaller like helping a lady with groceries. And that is a start. But as I told them, anyone can do that, how do we show the love of Christ in our actions?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. Everyday I struggle knowing how to live for God and how to be different. But my challenge to myself and to you this summer is find ways to be different, and let those differences in your life be noticed by others, because they will notice, and when they do, tell them all about it.

Please feel free to leave comments or to ask me questions about anything I have said. I look forward to hearing from you all and I will keep you updated after next camp week. Please continue to pray for all of the campers who will be coming to camp, all of the families we will be working for, my staff, and Carolina Cross Connection in its entirety as a mission organization.

Staff Training

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I have not been home for more than 24 hours since staff training started June 2, so this was the first time I could update everyone.

Staff training was a blast. 3-4 long sessions a day learning every nook and cranny of the job may not sound exciting, but it is the people there that make it what it is. This summer there are so amazing people that God has placed on Carolina Cross Connection staff. This year staff training was a bit different for me being a returning staff member, and many newer staff members looked to me for answers and guidance in what it means to be a field coordinator. Staff training was pretty exhausting, and all of the work heading into Camp Week 1 seemed very daunting and overwhelming. Staff selection was very exciting once again this summer, and I was blessed with 7 staff members along with me,  that God placed together to form the West Wilkes CCC summer staff. God truly had his hand in placing this staff together, and it has been evident to mean since the moment it happened. Each member brings there own special strengths to our staff and makes it strong.

The Act of Service

Tonight was the last night at home before I head for staff training. We were given a book to read before staff training, entitled "How to Inherit the Earth" by Scott Bessenecker. At first this book was difficult to read, and somewhat confusing. The past few days have been busy, trying to cram everything in at the last minute, but in the time of business I found this book to be a breath of fresh air, and at its conclusion an important blueprint for my summer.

The entirety of the book focused on being meek, citing Matthew 5:5 which says, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." What does it truly mean to be meek? Being meek requires an entirely different set of values and an entirely different lifestyle than the world around us portrays. Being meek requires us to be in constant service to others, a lifestyle carried out by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Being meek requires a life free of comparisons to others, and in complete dedication and service to God and to others. We are to answer God with an unconditional "yes" and to live in submission to his authority and to our fellow leaders in Christ. 

As I start this summer, this book was a great reminder for me to cast myself aside and to be completely submissive to God and his authority. A call to be meek and to be in servanthood for him. To abandon any feelings of independence and rely entirely on him. To rid feelings of entitlement and anything that resembles a prideful nature.

As Christians we are called to life a life in service to others. That is different for every person, but together we are the body of Christ. There is no doubt in my mind that God is going to use this Summer to do great things, and I thank you once again for choosing to be a part of my journey.