I spent my sixth summer working at Hidden Acres which was something I never thought would happen. Actually, I never thought a fifth summer would happen. Praise God for His plans not being my own always! I worked as the T3 Coordinator this summer. This is the job I had last summer, but Michael was working along with me in the same role. Doing this job without Michael (or a partner at all) was a huge challenge throughout the summer. Before I talk more about this, let me explain what exactly the T3 Coordinator does at Hidden Acres as very few people actually know what that is. The T3 Coordinator is in charge of the T3 or Timothy Team program at camp. This is a program where high school students come for two weeks and not only get to study God's word (this summer we studied Galatians) but they get the chance to practically practice loving others as Christ loved us which is in a self-sacrificing service. They serve through setting up, tearing down, and working meals, as well as cleaning the buildings on camp. As the coordinator I am in charge of creating the schedule, their cleaning teams, their meal teams and the meal schedule. I also was in charge of distributing cleaning supplies to the various closets and ordering more when necessary. I washed rags, mopheads, and towels. I led meetings with my 5 counselors. I helped at meals and with cleaning. Sometimes I was in charge of picking up and dumping the trash. If there was an issue with a camper or campers I was the one my counselors would go to. ...I think that's most of it, bahaha I can't even remember :)
Anyways, so that was my job...filled with many blessings and challenges. Let me describe a few of the challenges I faced this summer. Leading without a partner was the most difficult part of this summer. Yes, I had a team of counselors working with me (and I will talk about those beloved people later) but their job was different from mine. It was hard to be the authority figure at different times. I can be very no-nonsense when things need to be fixed or done differently, but sometimes I have a tendency to come off as too harsh. This led to a somewhat strained relationship with different staff this summer and as the weeks progressed I learned to speak with more gentleness and love when correcting others. Along the same lines it is hard for a woman to be the authority figure over young men, especially when using the Bible to correct. But God provides...more on this to come :) The second most challenging part of this job was when things would not run according to plan. There is A LOT of thinking and planning that goes into T3 and everything can "fall apart" with very little effort. A few stressful situations include: running out to toilet paper or paper towels to distribute, individuals not showing up to work meals on time, clogged toilets, rags and mopheads not getting cleaned, people getting sick, people waking up late, rain on Fridays, missing supplies from closets, etc. All of these things happened at least once this summer, many times in combinations. When things went wrong I felt like I needed to be in many places at once which was easier with a partner in leadership because we could have divided and conquered. That was not possible with one of me. Oh how often I cried out to God for help. And He answered :)
Ah Praise the Lord. Because of Him I can look back on this summer with joy and laughter and love. He filled the summer with blessing despite the many challenges. Here are a few of the blessing He gave me this summer:
My Counselors
I had five wonderful counselors to work with this summer. I didn't know any of them very well at the beginning and I laugh when I think back to our first group interaction :) God used staff training to bond us in a special way which led to a positive relationship throughout the summer. We bonded through cleaning, meals, planning, and most importantly through God's word. We studied Galatians together before the campers came and this was easily my favorite part of the summer. Here is a picture of our studying...
Friends
I was blessed this summer with wonderful friends. My original camp friends have all left (other than Carter who was also a HUGE blessing this summer), but this summer God gave me friends in Sarah, Liz, and the four girl quad leaders. I was less lonely this summer because of them. They gave me encouragement through speaking with them and simply watching them live their lives. I could say so much more, but will refrain. Seriously though, such blessings.
Campers
My goodness...I loved my T3 campers this summer. Yes, they brought different challenges, but what joy they brought as well. Each group was different but each served well. God blessed me with the ability to learn all of their names this summer which just helped me to love them more. I didn't interact with them like their counselors did, but I was sad each Friday to see them go.
Everything Else
I also had very positive relationships with many other people on staff whether that was summer or permanent staff. They always brightened my day and often a greeting or smile from them reminded me that I was not alone in this life and pursuit of glorifying God.
This summer was filled with God's word. It was filled with fellowship. It was filled with conviction. It was filled with love. I was more in awe of God's love and grace than ever before. I was also more aware of my desperate need for Him at all times.
Oh my...I have written so much and feel I still have not done the summer justice. It was good. I wouldn't change it for anything. In fact, it was such a good summer that I am so very sad to know it will (probably) be my last. Ah, to think I never thought I would come back two years ago...Praise the Lord for His plan! How I wish I could take out my heart and allow you to just read it to see how deeply blessed I have been by this summer at camp.
Thank you to those of you who prayed for me. Thank you for those of you who worked with me.
All Glory be to God!
