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We were sitting in the office a few weeks ago eating lunch and talking about camp stories. Most of our office staff have worked at a sites once upon a time and love sharing kid stories.
As we went around the room somehow it came up that I often mend my kids' clothes when they come into camp all torn up from playing. Mike, our administrator looked at me and said "Thats a GREAT kid story, you should write about it!" So taking his advice here I am, writting about it.
The first time I was asked to fix something it was a sweater. Joshua came up to me in the middle of his football game with the other kids and showed me his sleeve. It had seperated at the wrist and was now torn all the way to his elbow. (<-- These are NOT my kids... its a google image!)
"Can you fix this for me Bella?" (I love it that kids think I can fix anything! ha ha) So he gave me the sweater and put on his jacket so he could keep playing and I went to my desk and got my sewing kit (which I had never used at camp before and don't actually know where it came from). So there I was, sitting on a concrete parking curb, stitching a sweater and watching my boys play ball.... awwww.
About a week later, my youngest boy at camp came to me looking very distressed. "Bella my pants is wripped!" His pants were far too long for his short little legs and they had torn from being walked on all day. "Lets go get the sewing kit," I said. Luckily my mother taught me how to hem pants! So Omi got up on a chair in the kitchen and I hemmed his pants while we cooked dinner. It was very hard to get him to stay up on the chair though, because all of my kids LOVE to cook and he really really wanted to help! We got one pant leg hemmed that day, I duct taped the other one! ;)
So there you go.... sometimes I sew my kids clothes! Its because I'm awesome!
BElla
We took the kids to the Santa Clause parade yesterday. They were so cute, all bundled up in layers of sweaters and coats and scarves. It was a fun day. We packed up some blankets and hot chocolate and walked from my apartment to the parade route. Next year I’ll know to go way earlier as it was packed with people and you couldn’t move. We put the small girls on our shoulders so that they could see and the big girls just had to try to look between people’s shoulders like we did. I think it was more fun being outside with all the people than watching the parade anyway. Suddenly, about half way through, it started to snow. Beautiful big flakes fell over the floats and the crowds and floated through the air. It was such perfect snow that the big girls were convinced it was fake. I told them Santa must have brought it with them but they couldn’t be swayed, “ No Bella! It’s fake!” I later found out that this was just one more first time experience I was able to give my kids. The older girls (who are 11 and 13) had never been to a Santa Clause parade before! Can you believe it? I didn’t intend for it to be that special… but sometimes it just works out that way.
I love figuring out how to communicate homework to a kid! Today Ben, and Jason, and Joshua all had the same math homework. They were working on rounding numbers and each of them learned differently. My favourite was Ben. For Ben we decided that the numbers should be people. So we drew the number on the chalkboard (yes I love feeling like a teacher!). Then I said to him "Ok Ben I want you to round this number to the nearest hundred, so when Mr. Hundred wants to change he has to ask his neighbor's permission. This is his neigbor Mr. Ten. If Mr. Ten is 5 or more he says "yes you can change" and if Mr. Ten is 4 or less he says "no you cannot change"." Hurray for number people!
Not only was homework awesome today but the other great thing about the first day is that our numbers are still low. This may not seem great but when the kids get 1 on 1 attention all day long its GREAT! And my leaders were amazing today... right in there with the kids the whole time!
Also... The anniversary banquet was amazing!! (wow nothing but good news today!) There were about 350 people there in this beautiful banquet hall, all to celebrate UrbanPromise! Everyone dressed up :) it was so much fun! My mom and my friends mom came all the way from Goderich! Tony Campolo spoke about losing the goal to be happy and instead hoping to be GOOD. It reminded me of when I was an intern and Colin shared a similar message with us. Being happy really isnt all that great if you're not good anyway. And God doesn't promise us happiness on earth... look at Job! God promises us eternity with Him though... and eternity is a lot longer than however many years were going to be here for! So Be GOOD!
Also... The anniversary banquet was amazing!! (wow nothing but good news today!) There were about 350 people there in this beautiful banquet hall, all to celebrate UrbanPromise! Everyone dressed up :) it was so much fun! My mom and my friends mom came all the way from Goderich! Tony Campolo spoke about losing the goal to be happy and instead hoping to be GOOD. It reminded me of when I was an intern and Colin shared a similar message with us. Being happy really isnt all that great if you're not good anyway. And God doesn't promise us happiness on earth... look at Job! God promises us eternity with Him though... and eternity is a lot longer than however many years were going to be here for! So Be GOOD!
Love BElla
Hey everyone!!
Im sitting at my friend Sarah's house; she, Chalak and I are getting ready for the big 10th anniversary celebration tomorrow! We are very girly! Trying on our dresses, painting our toe-nails, you know the drill... it feels like theres a wedding tomorrow, we're even planning seating arrangements! Its nice though, to think of where UrbanPromise has come from to where it is now. Lots has changed even since I started! Kids grow up, staff come and go, communities grow and change, but as I think about it all I love how obvious it is that God is in it all! Hes like the conductor of this grand orchestra, he knows the big picture and uses us to create great music!
I can't wait to tell you all about it! Tony Campolo is speaking, people are performing music and drama, and sharing testimonies! George Strombolopolous might even be there! Its very exciting! AND my mom and mrs. Kurlek will be there so really ... who needs George!? AND George (or Joerg) the german intern will definitely be there! Its going to be a great night!!
Summer has come and gone but I haven't finished the story yet. I realize I stopped blogging just as it was getting good and I apologize, thats kind of how summer blogging works I guess. Just as stuff is finishing off I get too busy to write, and then I go on holidays and get even busier! So here it is.. the final chapter...
Every summer we end camp with a big hurrah,
our annual community night. And this year was no different in the big hurrah department, however it was completely different in everything that matters. The evening started out as usual with a big outdoor carnival. Lots of people showed up from the community and from other camps across the city. We were so blessed this year in our weekly food donations, I think there were BBQ style foods every week that we were able to save up so that we didnt really have to buy much of anything! One week there would be tons of bottles of apple juice (our favourite!), the next there would be huge trays of hamburgers, and those new flat burger buns, and we even had potato salad donated! It was a weekly reminder of God's promise to provide all we need!!
What really mattered though, was what came next. We brought everyone inside and the kids went on stage and showed their community what they had learned. Not the leaders, the kids. They sang, danced, led worship, and even preached, and in everything GOD WAS PRAISED! Some of the older boys wrote their own skit about learning to listen to God and "not Satan" which ended with one of the shiest boys at camp praying over his friend that he would follow God and do good, and he didn't even use a microphone. The audience watched and listened, and the kids showed them how God had transformed so many of them this summer. It was a summer of harvest, kids who have been at camp their whole lives, tough kids, self proclaimed "bad kids", we're transformed by God's love this summer! And sitting in the audience that night, I've never been more in awe of HIS work!
LAST DAY OF CAMP
This summer's weather provided a new challenge for me. Most summers I watch the thermometer like a hawk. If it goes too high we stay inside, which means no park, no water-fights (which confuses the children, but being outside when its that hot (wet or not) is just not healthy)
This year the heat was not the issue, it was RAIN! It rained so much that we had to go to a plan B twice for our Friday trips! So on our last day of camp, when we were on our way to Toronto Island for a BBQ and park day and the sun was shining we were so happy!! The kids rode the ferry across the lake and it was actually pretty hot out. We ate and played outside, it was really fun. All the camps were there, kids, youth, even moms and grandmas came along! Then there was a giant team scavenger hunt. So we supervisors did what we usually do, sent the kids off to play and started picking up garbage! YAY! When the kids had been gone for most of an hour I heard something... it was a sound I personally REALLY don't like, actually it makes me want to cry sometimes... THUNDER. It was in the distance but it seemed to be getting louder. There still didn't seem to be any rain clouds but we came up with a plan incase they blew on in. The kids were due back in a few minutes so we watched and waited. Then the sky opened up. Rain poured out of that sunny sky and the thunder continued to get louder.
So here I am, terrified of thunderstorms, standing in a huge park, which is an island, with lots of huge trees everywhere, and ... no kids... great. Kids did start running in and we had a shelter big enough to hold everyone (squish-ily), but then they all wanted to run all over the park finding their bags, so I put on my serious face and said.... NO! What a way to end summer camp, hundreds of people scrunched into a shelter while streetleaders try to entertain and workgroup leaders give out ... candy (yay!... um ya no not for contained children). But... the kids were AMAZING, they just chilled and waited and kept each other entertained, they didn't fight, or run away, or cry (like I wanted to). The rain turned into drizzle and we gathered everyone up, said our goodbyes and started heading back to the ferry. The sun came back out as we climbed onto the bus and headed for home. When we got back to the church, the kids clamored to get a leader's camp shirt (hilarious because each of these shirts have been worn at least twice a week for 6 weeks by us smelly leaders - gross) but its tradition, so we put on regular clothes for the first time it seems all summer, and pass on the shirts to hopefully the next generation of leaders. At the end of the day, I sat with my leaders.... and we smiled... BEST SUMMER EVER!
Kayla: So Jesus died on a cross and people whipped him and cut him and hurt him right?
Leader: Yes.
Kayla: But why did his dad let him do that?
Kayla is 5 years old and this is her first summer at Camp Victory. During the first week it was clear she was the ring leader of the 5&6s group. A leader would ask them to sit, Kayla would laugh, and so would they. A leader would say please listen to the story, Kayla would start her own story and they would listen to her.
One day Kayla (yes I changed her name) was in the office on time out. She was on a very long time out because she had been on so many that day already. I asked her if she would like to look at a book with me since she had been sitting so nicely. She said yes. We read together a book called "The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children"
After finishing the story Kayla asked me some questions and I was able to explain to her why Jesus came to Earth and who he is. I told her about why he had to die so that our sins would be washed away. I told her that anyone who believes this and decides to live for Jesus will be washed clean of their sins and go to heaven to live forever with Jesus when they die. Kayla immediately said... "can I do that now?"
We prayed and told God that Kayla wanted to live for him...
The above quote is from last week. Kayla is constantly asking questions about her heavenly father and his son Jesus. She's not perfect, but she knows she is loved, and she is trying to live the way God would want her to.
So many kids have given their lives to Christ this summer... Greater things are BEING done in THIS city! The Holy Spirit is working through our staff this summer and kids hearts and lives are being changed. Leaders too! I've heard so many testimonies of staff who are striving to leave behind their old lives and live for God. One by one this city is changing, and I am blessed to be a witness to it!
BElla
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