I am realizing that the summer is coming closer and closer to an end as my contract end date becomes something that is 2 1/2 weeks away instead of 2 1/2 months away. It's crazy how fast time can fly past. This summer I have had the opportunity to go and serve at Village Creek Bible Camp in a facet that I have never done before. This summer I was the support staff supervisor and the d-team leader. There were aspects of my job that I did not enjoy at all. There were aspects that I disliked at first and learned to love. There were aspects that I have loved from day one. There were aspects that I loved at first and have grown to dislike. At the start of summer during staff training, Camie, the director, challenged the staff to get outside of their comfort zones and do something that we have never done before. I can recall the first week of camp being told that I would be working in the office. Office work is something that I enjoy, for the most part. However, my least favorite aspect of the office is the telephone. I HATE talking on phone to people that I don't know. When I learned that phones were a part of my job description and when I had my first office hour I prayed that the phone wouldn't ring. Surprisingly it didn't ring! :D However, that was not the case the next time I was in the office and will never be the case ever again. So, I've stepped out of my comfort zone and I've answered and talked to more people on the phone than any introvert cares to admit. A fun way that I stepped out of my comfort zone was by going down camps zipline at night! SO MUCH FUN! First drop was a little terrifying and I screamed however after that it was so cool to just sail through the sky. Because it was dark I didn't even notice the height that I was at because I couldn't see.
One aspect of my job that I loved from the get go was d-team leader. This part of my job required me to meet one-on-one with most of the girl staff. I loved being able to meet each of the girls and just talk about life with them. I loved being able to build friendships with some really great high school students and meet some new awesome college age staff. It was a strange feeling to be considered as part of the "old" staff. I guess having a college degree gives you that label. ;) Anyways, I loved chatting with these girls and coming alongside them as they journey through life and seeing how God is using them and growing them.
The support staff supervisor part of my job was not my favorite at the start of camp. There are still aspects of the job that I am grappling with and I think that just has to do with my personality. In this role I go around camp and find cleaning projects for support staff to do when they do not have other assignments to work on. They can be projects from cleaning toilets, mopping floors to taking out the trash to watching sleeping campers. I struggle with this part because most of the day I sit in the office doing office stuff when I could be the one out there doing the cleaning. But I've learned that I cannot do everything and that delegation is important in any kind of ministry.
Another part of my job that is hard is confronting people with their faults. I struggle with this because I know I have my own faults and as human nature goes we are so quick to point out the faults in others before ourselves. I've learned that the discipline needs to happen. If all of staff got away with being on their phones we would miss out on what is happening in front of us. I'm also really learned to dislike my radio. It is just this thing that is attached to me that talks all the time and I can't choose to ignore it like I do my phone.
This summer has been one of the longest summers that I have worked at camp. I started on May 26th and finish up on August 16. With that being said as the summer comes closer to a finish I am having to rely on my Christ for strength to get through each day. My patience runs thin and I grow weary but HE strengthens me and uses me despite my cranky mood sometimes. I have also seen God through the people who work with me. Last week, Terri, a wonderful woman from town who works in the office with me, invited three of us over to her place for coffee and conversation. It was so refreshing and so needed. It was so great to sit in someone's home and enjoy fellowship and not worry about what was happening in the Valley. During our conversation the two girls who told me that they feel at peace when I walk into the room and they just enjoy the presence of someone who has "been through it before". Being a college grad they look up to me as an a model to follow. I was so encouraged and it was in that moment when God was like listen to this Alison because this is the answer to why you are working at camp this summer. It was so great to hear the encouragement from those girls. It was such a great reminder that Christ works through us even when we do not realize it.
This summer has by far been the most stretching and growth filled summers that I have had. I got to use some of my gifts to write the curriculum for the children's chapels for family camp as well as compile resources for the family devotions time. I'd say that this summer has been unlike any other. I'm incredibly blessed by Village Creek Bible Camp and the people there who have been able to pour into me and be able to see my grow in my faith from being a little junior camper to cabin leader to leadership staff.
I'm so excited for what God has in store for the next chapter of my life. After a little break after camp finishes I will be off to Lafayette, CO to start my internship at Flatirons Community Church in their children's ministries department. I would greatly appreciate prayers as I transition into my house and job in Colorado. I'm so thankful for the opportunity that the Lord has given me to live in CO for the next 11 months and I know that it will be a very growing and stretching experience for me and my walk with the Lord.
