Record of Ministry Activities
7/4/09 1 hour worship; 1 hour Bible Study
7/5/09 2 hour worship; 6 hours with campers
7/6/09 ½ hour Bible study; 1 hour hiking; 1 hour Bible Ex, 1 hour Cabin Time, 1 hour Dance Party, 1 hour Songfest/Message, 15 min. devotions
7/7/09 ½ hour Bible Study, 1 hour hiking, 1 hour Bible Ex, 1 hour Cabin Time, 2 hour Cookout, 1 hour activity, ½ hour devotions
7/8/09 ½ hour Bible Study, 1 hour hiking, 1 hour Bible Ex, 1 hour Cabin Time, 1 hour activity, ½ hour devotions
7/9/09 ½ hour Bible Study, 1 hour hiking, 1 hour Bible Ex, 1 hour Lunch Hike, 1 hour Cabin Time, 1 hour activity, ½ hour devotions
Personal Reflection
This week has been a blast. I have a really great group of girls who are all saved and are easy to counsel. They get along really well and put others before themselves. They respect me as their counselor too. I have not had many problems at all this week. Their names are Emmie, Lizzie, Faith, Olivia, Bethany, and Keri. We are learning about the Armor of God this week and they seem to be taking it all in. Since they are all already saved, (we ask them privately while they are doing their personal devotions and make sure they know what it means) I am focusing more on teaching them to share the gospel with others. We also have been discussing topics such as having our hearts set on God, worrying, being a light in the world, and taking what we learned from camp home with us during our devotions at night. This week, I personally have been trying to make sure I am being patient with campers. Sometimes one of them tends not to listen or becomes easily upset and is sensitive. So I have to try not to be too harsh with her, but be patient and calm with her. I was patient during our cookout with her but then one night I don’t think I was patient enough when she started crying about wearing wet flip flops back from the beach. This was because I thought that was a bit ridiculous, but I had to remember that she was probably tired. Therefore, I tried to be calmer with her later. I am truly thankful to have these girls this week. I hope that they grow closer to God because of camp.
Spiritual Reflection
This week has been going great spiritually as well. I have learned to rely on God for even the little things. I have learned to stop and pray when I need help and before I do Bible Ex or devotions. I hope that I can carry this with me throughout the rest of the summer and even after that. Also, I know that God has been speaking through me because there are times I say things I never thought of before, or I remember things I previously read or learned myself. Also, during my own devotions in the morning I take time to be silent before God and ask Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit and to strengthen me for the rest of the day. I want to make this a regular thing I do so that I can be a more effective minister to others. I know that this week has been great but I also know that there will be dry times ahead. However, I really hope I will still rely on God to get through them.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Report 2
Record of Ministry Activities
6/29/09 4 hours training; 2 hours preparing Bible Ex
6/30/09 3 hours training; 1 hours preparing Bible Ex; 1 hour Planning; 1 hour Bible Study
7/1/09 2 hours training; 3 hours Site prep; ½ hour Bible Ex; 1 hour Planning; 1 hour Bible Study
7/2/09 1 hour Bible study; 3 hours Site Prep
7/3/09 1 hour practicing and leading Worship
Personal Reflection
This week was not as busy but we still focused on a lot of training. We spent time talking about helping hurting children, expanded on bearing good fruit in our lives, trained in our activity areas, did last minute cleanup of camp, etc. It is all quite blurred together in my head but I will try to focus on what stood out to me the most. When talking about hurting children we discussed pain and how much teenagers hold it in and don’t know how to deal with it. Many turn to cutting themselves. One thing that really surprised me was how cutting can be contagious, in that when others find out someone is doing it they like to try too. We also discussed in this session that often times we won’t be able to help campers, only God can. But, we can be there to listen because that is what they need the most. However, sometimes a camper’s problem may bring up things in our past that we have not dealt with. I have found this to be true in my life because I have come across campers whose parents are divorced. They hate having to choose between parents, they hate their step-parents and they feel emotionally abandoned by their parents. I know how they feel and I become angry because I know what its like to have to pay for the consequences of someone else’s sin. Thankfully, we have a great staff at camp that is great at listening and I can talk to them about it if the issue does come back up during the summer. And of course, there’s God, the ultimate comforter. I am thankful for my trials though, because I know God has used them will continue to use them.
During activity training we discussed facilitation at the ropes course. This is making up a scenario to motivate the campers to take the challenge and then debriefing after. I think this is a great skill for anyone who works with youth. Overall, this week was filled with last minute touch ups and fine tuning for next week when the campers come.
Spiritual Reflection
This week I began to struggle focusing on God and I noticed that I complained more about things in my head. However, this morning I felt great after devotions. I think it was because I was earnestly praying and I was praying out loud. This week I am working on humbly serving others and not for recognition. There is always a small part of me that wants others to notice my good works. But I am working on doing them because Jesus died for me. I also really want to be continually praying throughout the day. I want to remember to ask God for wisdom when problems arise instead of trying to handle them on my own. I am also trusting God more this week and I hope to carry that through to next week when I have my first campers.
6/29/09 4 hours training; 2 hours preparing Bible Ex
6/30/09 3 hours training; 1 hours preparing Bible Ex; 1 hour Planning; 1 hour Bible Study
7/1/09 2 hours training; 3 hours Site prep; ½ hour Bible Ex; 1 hour Planning; 1 hour Bible Study
7/2/09 1 hour Bible study; 3 hours Site Prep
7/3/09 1 hour practicing and leading Worship
Personal Reflection
This week was not as busy but we still focused on a lot of training. We spent time talking about helping hurting children, expanded on bearing good fruit in our lives, trained in our activity areas, did last minute cleanup of camp, etc. It is all quite blurred together in my head but I will try to focus on what stood out to me the most. When talking about hurting children we discussed pain and how much teenagers hold it in and don’t know how to deal with it. Many turn to cutting themselves. One thing that really surprised me was how cutting can be contagious, in that when others find out someone is doing it they like to try too. We also discussed in this session that often times we won’t be able to help campers, only God can. But, we can be there to listen because that is what they need the most. However, sometimes a camper’s problem may bring up things in our past that we have not dealt with. I have found this to be true in my life because I have come across campers whose parents are divorced. They hate having to choose between parents, they hate their step-parents and they feel emotionally abandoned by their parents. I know how they feel and I become angry because I know what its like to have to pay for the consequences of someone else’s sin. Thankfully, we have a great staff at camp that is great at listening and I can talk to them about it if the issue does come back up during the summer. And of course, there’s God, the ultimate comforter. I am thankful for my trials though, because I know God has used them will continue to use them.
During activity training we discussed facilitation at the ropes course. This is making up a scenario to motivate the campers to take the challenge and then debriefing after. I think this is a great skill for anyone who works with youth. Overall, this week was filled with last minute touch ups and fine tuning for next week when the campers come.
Spiritual Reflection
This week I began to struggle focusing on God and I noticed that I complained more about things in my head. However, this morning I felt great after devotions. I think it was because I was earnestly praying and I was praying out loud. This week I am working on humbly serving others and not for recognition. There is always a small part of me that wants others to notice my good works. But I am working on doing them because Jesus died for me. I also really want to be continually praying throughout the day. I want to remember to ask God for wisdom when problems arise instead of trying to handle them on my own. I am also trusting God more this week and I hope to carry that through to next week when I have my first campers.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Report 1
Record of Ministry Activities
6/22/09 6 hours training; 4 hours site preparation; 2 hours bible study
6/23/09 4.5 hours training; 2 hours site prep; 1hour bible study
6/24/09 3 hours training; 3 hours site prep; 1.5 hours bible study
6/25/09 4 hours training; 4 hours site prep; 1 hour bible study; 2 hours preparing bible exploration
6/26/09 1 hour training; 1.5 hours preparing bible ex; 1.5 hours site prep; 2 hours welcoming mothers and daughters
6/27/09 1 hour practicing then leading worship; 1 hour leading outdoor cookery; 2 hours games with campers
Personal Reflection
This week mostly consisted of getting prepared for the rest of the summer at camp. We have spent much of our time learning how to deal with different issues that may come up while working with campers. These are areas such as bullying, recognizing child abuse, conflict resolution, etc. Dealing with bullying was helpful to me because last summer I had campers who were always picking on one girl because she was not your typical kind of girl. However, we learned that in most cases a child is both a victim and a bully due to retaliation. Looking back to last summer I remember the victim in my group often provoking the rest of the group.
For conflict resolution we were given some steps to help us solve problems between people in a group. The first step is not to single out any one person but talk to the group as a whole. I think this is very important because it prevents embarrassment of the child causing the problem and prevents bullying from the rest of the group to that child. The next step is to have the group come up with ideas for a solution instead of just giving them one. This empowers them to deal with their own conflicts in the future. Parents today tend to do everything for their children, but here at camp we want to help by giving them the chance to solve problems only with our guidance. One aspect of this step that was new to me was to write all their ideas down no matter how silly they may be. If you tell them they are silly it will stifle their creativity in solving the problem. We always have a chance to evaluate the ideas in the next step anyway. The group chooses the best solution by looking at the pros and cons of each idea. Once the group comes to an agreement it is now easier to keep the solution in play because they chose it and not me.
Finally, one of the most interesting topics of our training was learning about the seven cries of today’s teens. These can be found in the book Soul Searching by Christian Smith. They include trust, to be loved, security, purpose, to be heard, to be valued, and purpose and support. When we discussed these issues I looked back on my own adolescence and remembered how I wanted these same things. Each time I remember, the passion to help teens becomes more evident in my heart. I really want to try and meet these needs this summer by being a role model, showing that I love them unconditionally, listening to each of them intently, helping them find their purpose in life and being interested in them as people. There is so much more that I learned this week. I have found all of it very helpful for my ministry this summer and for the rest of my life. I am so thankful to have the opportunity this summer to practice these skills.
Spiritual Reflection
We have also spent time in Bible studies in order to prepare us spiritually for camp. We are focusing on having our hearts set on God this summer (Psalm 108:1). I am really thankful for this because it is so easy to become wrapped up in the things of this world. Before I came to camp I was focused too much on making money at my job so I could have enough to last the year while I am at school. I noticed how my attitude changed because I became disappointed in the idea that life after college is nothing but working and paying your bills. But then I remembered that I chose to be in the ministry so that I would not be focused on making money but on meeting the needs of teens for the glory of God. It is not about the money in this career. If it were, I would have chosen a job that paid more. But anyway, back to setting our hearts on God; I am much more focused on Him throughout the day now. I rely on Him in situations such as trying to start a fire yesterday during an activity when it had just rained. God answers even our smallest prayers of asking for fire so that we could eat. During one of our sessions we were asked to make a goal for the summer. My goal is to trust God more. So far this week I was given trials to help me. I also want to work on having a servant’s heart not because it is expected of me, but because Jesus died for me. I am currently trying to memorize Psalm 103 to help me remember all that God is and has done for us. Last but not least, we studied scripture on the righteous person and what that looks like, and on the characteristics of God that we want to teach the campers through our actions and words.
6/22/09 6 hours training; 4 hours site preparation; 2 hours bible study
6/23/09 4.5 hours training; 2 hours site prep; 1hour bible study
6/24/09 3 hours training; 3 hours site prep; 1.5 hours bible study
6/25/09 4 hours training; 4 hours site prep; 1 hour bible study; 2 hours preparing bible exploration
6/26/09 1 hour training; 1.5 hours preparing bible ex; 1.5 hours site prep; 2 hours welcoming mothers and daughters
6/27/09 1 hour practicing then leading worship; 1 hour leading outdoor cookery; 2 hours games with campers
Personal Reflection
This week mostly consisted of getting prepared for the rest of the summer at camp. We have spent much of our time learning how to deal with different issues that may come up while working with campers. These are areas such as bullying, recognizing child abuse, conflict resolution, etc. Dealing with bullying was helpful to me because last summer I had campers who were always picking on one girl because she was not your typical kind of girl. However, we learned that in most cases a child is both a victim and a bully due to retaliation. Looking back to last summer I remember the victim in my group often provoking the rest of the group.
For conflict resolution we were given some steps to help us solve problems between people in a group. The first step is not to single out any one person but talk to the group as a whole. I think this is very important because it prevents embarrassment of the child causing the problem and prevents bullying from the rest of the group to that child. The next step is to have the group come up with ideas for a solution instead of just giving them one. This empowers them to deal with their own conflicts in the future. Parents today tend to do everything for their children, but here at camp we want to help by giving them the chance to solve problems only with our guidance. One aspect of this step that was new to me was to write all their ideas down no matter how silly they may be. If you tell them they are silly it will stifle their creativity in solving the problem. We always have a chance to evaluate the ideas in the next step anyway. The group chooses the best solution by looking at the pros and cons of each idea. Once the group comes to an agreement it is now easier to keep the solution in play because they chose it and not me.
Finally, one of the most interesting topics of our training was learning about the seven cries of today’s teens. These can be found in the book Soul Searching by Christian Smith. They include trust, to be loved, security, purpose, to be heard, to be valued, and purpose and support. When we discussed these issues I looked back on my own adolescence and remembered how I wanted these same things. Each time I remember, the passion to help teens becomes more evident in my heart. I really want to try and meet these needs this summer by being a role model, showing that I love them unconditionally, listening to each of them intently, helping them find their purpose in life and being interested in them as people. There is so much more that I learned this week. I have found all of it very helpful for my ministry this summer and for the rest of my life. I am so thankful to have the opportunity this summer to practice these skills.
Spiritual Reflection
We have also spent time in Bible studies in order to prepare us spiritually for camp. We are focusing on having our hearts set on God this summer (Psalm 108:1). I am really thankful for this because it is so easy to become wrapped up in the things of this world. Before I came to camp I was focused too much on making money at my job so I could have enough to last the year while I am at school. I noticed how my attitude changed because I became disappointed in the idea that life after college is nothing but working and paying your bills. But then I remembered that I chose to be in the ministry so that I would not be focused on making money but on meeting the needs of teens for the glory of God. It is not about the money in this career. If it were, I would have chosen a job that paid more. But anyway, back to setting our hearts on God; I am much more focused on Him throughout the day now. I rely on Him in situations such as trying to start a fire yesterday during an activity when it had just rained. God answers even our smallest prayers of asking for fire so that we could eat. During one of our sessions we were asked to make a goal for the summer. My goal is to trust God more. So far this week I was given trials to help me. I also want to work on having a servant’s heart not because it is expected of me, but because Jesus died for me. I am currently trying to memorize Psalm 103 to help me remember all that God is and has done for us. Last but not least, we studied scripture on the righteous person and what that looks like, and on the characteristics of God that we want to teach the campers through our actions and words.
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