High School Camp

This past week was incredible. I had the privilege of spending the week with eight girls from LA who all attend youth group at the World Impact Teen Center, Kaleo.

This past week, we had incredible amounts of fun. This was most definitely one of the weeks of my life I laughed the most in.

These girls are amazing. The majority of the girls are going into their senior year of high school. It was wonderful to have conversations about college, the future, life call, and God's direction with many of these girls. I also got the chance to talk and pray with girls about real struggles with self-image, abandonment, and abuse.

Thursday night after the big party where we got down on the dance floor and rocked Karaoke, we had an awesome cabin devotional time. We spent 2.5 hours praying for and encouraging one another. What a blessing to know these girls will return and have each other to support each other, as well as their incredible youth leader Sheila who co-counseled with me for the week.

On Friday when we said goodbye we exchanged hugs and tears. I'm asking God for the opportunity to see some of those girls again sometime.

God is good.

Jr. High Camp Update

Thank you so much for all of you who read my post about Jr. High camp and prayed for me. God's grace really carried me through the week. By the end of it, my girls who pretended they hated camp and me for most of the week were hugging me and telling me they were going to miss me and miss camp. I got to see God move powerfully to unite our cabin during the week and see the girls in my cabin respond to the love of God.

At one point in the week, girls from another cabin said some harsh words to one of the girls in my cabin, Cat. As she was crying, two of the girls that had been fighting with Cat all week came and put there arms around her and comforted her. During our devotions time that night after Fire Circle, Cat started crying and apologized to the other girls for fighting. She said "Where I'm from, people don't ever let go of grudges. Today, when Taylor and Destiny put their arms around me I knew that forgiveness was real and God's love was real. I know now that I can forgive people, and I don't have to hold grudges."

Praise God for His work!

Jr. High Camp

I've got a cabin of five jr. high girls, and I could use your prayers! This week so far has been a challenge. Our cabin is very divided, and very negative. It seems that I am trying to break up a fight for the majority of time. These girls are tough, from hard lives. Pray that I can reach them, and more importantly, that God softens their heart and they respond to His Spirit.

Pray for strength, patience, endurance, and the ability to communicate love clearly, especially while disciplining.

Thank you for reading and praying.

Teepee

Sunday ten wonderful girls from Hope Gardens (see below) arrived in my cabin for the week. On Monday, my supervisor had to move me to a different cabin because another group brought more kids than expected and the counselor to camper ratio was off. At first, this was difficult for me to have a good attitude about, but God was gracious enough to work in my heart and change it. I have since been having a blast with 11 girls from Bakersfield/Lancaster area.

This past Tuesday night we hiked up the hill and camped out in a teepee. We all laid in a circle with our heads in the middle. As I looked at those 11 beautiful little faces, I was reminded how incredible the image of God in His creation is. Before Liz (my co-counselor this week) sang us all to sleep, we had a sweet time of prayer together. It was encouraging to see some of the girls who hadn't opened up yet share during prayer requests time, but it was also difficult to hear the girls share such weighty requests. Here a few that were mentioned as we went around the circle:

• Pray for my dad - he is an alcoholic.
• Please pray that my mom will stay in Teen Challenge so she can get better and take care of us again.
• Pray for my mom and dad because my dad has a girlfriend.
• Pray for my parents because they have been fighting and I want them to stay together.
• Pray for my step-dad because eh works in the oil fields and it's really dangerous - he already lost a couple of fingers.
• Pray for my dad - he works in the oil fields 12 hours a day and I worry about him everyday he goes to work because it is dangerous.
• Pray for me because my older sister killed herself in March five days before her 17th birthday and my auntie died five days later.
• My dad is an alcoholic.
• Pray for my dad - he's a firefighter in Lancaster and last year two of his co-workers died. I worry about him.
• Please pray for my dad in prison.
• Pray for my brother in jail. I want him to get out because he has a baby.

Will you join me in praying for these requests this week? Thank you so much for even taking the time to read this. I feel your prayers and support - thank you!

I work with wonderful people.

The faces we make on a Friday night after a long week of camp has come to a close.

Lunch at Rosey Dining Hall

This is what we look like on Sunday afternoons - check in time!

My Roommates (L to R): Bionca, Vaneetha, and Lois.

The longer I am here, the more impressed I am with quality people I work with. They are so gifted in so many areas, and all of them have chosen to use them this summer to show God's love to kids. I love hearing stories of their journeys, many of them growing in the same tough neighborhoods our campers are coming from.

Night Hike & Hope Gardens Girls

Above you will see me with one of my campers from 1st-3rd grade, Miriam. On the last day of camp, she wrote me a note that read "Thank you for helping me Haley. I will miss you so much."

My last couple days with my girls this past week were great. Our last night together, after the night pool party, our cabin hiked up the trail to tents to camp out (each cabin camps out once a week). We have the kids hand us any flashlights we have and do the hike totally in the dark. It's cool to see how the kids respond to the idea of God creating the night, and giving our eyes the ability to adjust to the dark, as it was all new to them. When we got to the top, we had everyone stop and be completely silent as we looked up at the stars. We then asked everyone who saw something they had never seen before to raise the hands, and almost everyone's hand went up.

During our debrief from the week yesterday afternoon I was given the list of girls that will be in my cabin this next week. I will be working with another counselor here named Jen to lead a cabin of ten girls. All of these girls are coming from Hope Gardens, and transitional living facility for women and children coming off of the streets. Pray for me, as I connect and minister to ten little girls that have only recently had somewhere to call home.

Pray that God would continue to give me strength and His heart.

Thank you for taking the time to check out what's going on with me here.

Ant Free!

Quick update: Last night we got to move to new cabins - yay! We had to split up the cabin because the cabins we moved into are smaller, and it was cool to see all the girls be really sad that we couldn't be all together. That warms the heart of this counselor.

Tonight is camping night - we will hike up the hill tonight and stay in a teepee. We'll see how this goes.... :)

4th-6th Grade Camp A

I have ten 5th graders this week! Whew! They are all of the following in different extremes at different times: FUN, dramatic, whiney, hysterical, quiet, distracted, and very kind hearted.

To the left you will see our at Bible Class this morning.

For me personally, this week so far has been much harder than last week. I struggle with the balance between making things happen (like getting us different places around camp on time) and actually having time to talk to each girl one on one about what is going on in their life.

I have had quite a few rough nights in a row, with homesick girls up in the night and loud sleepers. Last night I got to bed around 11pm and woke up at 1am with ants crawling over my entire body, including on my head in my hair and in my mouth. I jumped out of bed trying to brush them off only to realize they were also covering the floor, so as long as I was standing in the cabin I was getting more and more ants on me. I spent a few hours trying to get ants off of myself and the sleeping girls, changing bedding, and trying to go back to sleep but being too traumatized to be able to relax enough to sleep. Pray for me to be able to put things in an eternal perspective and not sweat the unimportant stuff that the enemy would want to use to distract and discourage me.

Something I'm thankful for is how much fun our cabin has been having this week. Monday we spent all afternoon at the lake tubbing and swimming. We finished off the day with a nail polish party before lights out. Yesterday, after morning classes and lunch we spent our free time eating ice cream, making tie-dye t-shirts and swimming in the pool. It's amazing how incredible being in the water feels when it's 105 degrees outside.

I would appreciate your prayers specifically for my camper Keyla this week. On Monday night, as soon as we started a time of worship at Fire Circle, she started sobbing and asked if we could talk outside. When I asked her what was going on, she explained that she is very worried about her mom who moved to Virginia a year ago. She misses her, and doesn't understand why she left Keyla and her siblings. She doesn't know if she is okay. The Holy Spirit is so faithful to do His job of breaking down walls of hearts.

Please also pray that I can continue to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as God continues to work in the hearts of these young women. I don't want to miss any conversation or any opportunity to share the gospel or an encouraging word.

1st - 3rd Grade

Hi Friends! God is doing incredible things here at THE OAKS.

Last week I had a wonderful time with five beautiful spanish speaking girls who just finished the first grade. We had a blast, as well as our share of drama, bumps and bruises, laughs, dance parties, good talks, and discussion/prayer times. It was so interesting to hear the stories from the city staff that came with the girls last week - dads in prision, siblings in gangs, and so many other hard things.

Last week I just about mastered the art of braiding five little heads of really long, thick brown hair in 30 minutes tops. Here are a few of my other favorite moments from last week:

• We were doing "Highs/Lows" before bed time, telling our favorite and least favorite part of the day. One of the girls said her low of the day was finding a hair in her food at the dining hall. One of the other girls immediately replied "Sorry!"
• One of the girls, Victoria, gave me a compliment I had never received before. She said I looked like Elmo. When I asked her why, she told me it was mostly because of my hair. What???
• On the last day of camp we have a carnival for the campers with lots of games, cotton candy, snow cones, train rides, and all the normal carnival games. I had multiple girls say to me "This has been the best week of my life. I never want to leave". The crazy thing is, it's true for some of these kids.

I am continually overwhelmed at what a privilege it is to be a part of this experience for these kids. I thank God for THE OAKS.

My continually prayer: Break my heart for what breaks yours. Everything I have for your Kingdom's cause.

Camp Time

Since arriving here, the Haley you know has become a more well-rounded person. This last week, she has:

1. Pass a vehicle maintenance/driving test

2. Passed a Jet Ski Driver training session

3. Become friends with lizards

4. Taken a night hike without lights of any kind and slept in the great outdoors.

5. Learned how to steer a canoe properly by rowing only on one side.

6. Competed in an intense evening of Paintball and has the large welts/bruises to prove it.

7. Learned how to help run the zip line

8. Participated in a Basketball class

9. Shot arrows

10. Now become the official motions lady during worship time at fire circle

This past week the staff here was able to have a lot of fun together. It's a gift be able to have more and more real conversations with my co-workers here, as well as random dance parties on the balcony and star gazing sessions.

It is finally camp week. I am thankful THE OAKS believes in extensive training and preparation for their staff, and I am ready for the kids to be here.

Each week I will be living in a cabin, working with either another female counselor or a City Staff member (an adult volunteer with World Impact that accompanies the kids from their own city), or both. Below is the schedule for the rest of my time here:

This week: 1st-3rd grade campers

July 3rd-8th: 4th-6th grade

July 10th-15th: 4th-6th grade

July 17th-22: 7th & 8th grade

July 24th-29th: 9th-12th grade

Please pray that God gives me the ability to communicate my testimony and the gospel well to these different age groups.

Thank you for even taking the time to read this. I'm loving being here but missing everyone back home.

H

Fresno: Week in the City Training

I spent this past week staying at World Impact Fresno. It was an intense week of training, with teaching sessions during the first part of the day and sports camps in the afternoons. One of my favorite parts of this week was interacting with the different World Impact Missionaries and their families that live in Fresno. I loved seeing and hearing how God is using them to change their communities because they have made the choice to be there.

We had two different sites for sports camp. I spent the week working at Hildalgo Elementary School. Kim, one of the missionaries, lives only a few blocks from the school we were working at. When you mention her name in the neighborhood, faces light up, and you hear things like “Oh I know Miss Kim, I go to Bible club at her house”, and “Yeah, Miss Kim, she helped me with _______” .

Veneetha, one of the other counselors here asked me the question, “Don’t you wish you could be Kim”? My answer: “Yeah. I do.” I don’t know what the future holds, but I want to always be in a place that I am willing to say “Yes Lord, I will do that.”

On Wednesday morning, our team was split up into groups of 6, each team representing an immigrant family. We were asked to hand over anything valuable that we had on us – watches, jewelry, wallets, bags – everything besides our clothes and water bottles. We were then given a list of tasks we had to accomplish before we had to return to the WI building at 2pm, along with fifty cents each to buy lunch with. Other guidelines for that activity were that two of our members couldn’t speak English, and we each had to keep an egg safe for the day, as it was our families’ prized possession. Assignments including finding the Immigration Office, the Government Housing Office, shelters, free food, how to get immunizations, how much lice treatment costs for a family of six, etc. We set off on foot, and about five hours later we returned with most of our tasks completed.

Did I mention it’s very, very warm in Fresno? I came back exhausted physically, with a burden to know those locations in my own city back home so that I can hopefully be of assistance to people that are new to the country. I am so thankful for that experience that opened my eyes to see how difficult it would be to come to a foreign country and try to build your life from scratch.

I walked a couple girls home from sports camp one day, since no one had come to pick them up. On our way to their house, a diseased looking dog was chewing on a piece of meat in our path. He snarled and started moving towards us. The kids froze and looked scared, and I directed them to the other side of the street so we could avoid the dog. After growling some more, he left us alone.

Then it hit me – no one is around to protect these kids. Normal life for these kids is walking their sketchy neighborhood streets alone. Anyone could take them, any dog could bite them.

I am so incredibly blessed and privileged. All my life my parents have made an effort to keep me safe. It’s impossible not to ask the question, is there a way I can help these kids?

Cam, one of the counselors who is doing this for this third summer in a row, said something that made me start thinking about my dreams. What are my dreams for my life? Is it to have a nice big house and a vacation home? Is it to always drive a nice reliable car and be financially comfortable? Is it to always feel safe? What if my dream was to live in a low income neighborhood, always be financially conservative and be able to be an active part of bringing the gospel to my community?

I’m trying to be faithful in keeping a journal – I don’t want to be done wrestling with these questions.

Please pray:

1. That the students that need to be at camp will be there.

2. Physical strength – I’m fighting a cold and feel worn out.

3. That I would have a teachable spirit as we continue in training this next week.

4. That God would use me to encourage the team and be a leader with my attitude.

Thank you for your encouragement and support. I feel your prayers.

This weekend I was reminded that God knows the beginning from the end, and He is constantly active, directing my path. My grandmother fell and shattered her shoulder last week, and had replacement surgery in LA on Friday. None of my family members were able to be with her this weekend at the hospital. I tried to call her on her hospital phone, but realized she probably couldn’t reach it. I am currently staying with my dear friends Katie and Andrew Alesso for the weekend, and they so generously loaned me their car so I could drive from Lancaster to LA to visit her. I’m so thankful I was even in CA at this time and had great friends that provided me a way to hang out with my Gram so she wasn’t alone. I got to read her some of her favorite Psalms and pray with her.

Thanks for reading friends,

HGK

I made it to camp!

We just got done with our first day of training and I am exhausted, but excited about the opportunities I will have this summer. We started with devotions at 7:40 and the rest of the day was filled with team building exercises, hiking, touring the camp, multiple orientation sessions, and a progressive dinner at some of the staff families' houses. It was awesome to hear how God led all of the full time missionary staff here.

After today, I can confidently say: If you need to know about safety procedures regarding bobcats, mountain lions, spiders, lizards, snakes, earthquakes, bears, or fires, I'm your girl.

Today I found out more details about what training is going to look like. On Saturday we will pack up and drive to Fresno for our Week In The City training. The point of this week is to gain experience ministering to intercity youth, as well as becoming better aquatinted with what life is like for our campers. I've listed our schedule below so if you want to pray specifically you can know what I will be doing on each day.

Saturday June 11th: Drive to Fresno, unpack, and complete Orientation at World Impact Fresno.

Sunday June 12th: Attend various churches in the city, prep for sports camps, hand out flyers in the neighborhoods.

Monday - Thursday, June 13th-16th: Sports & Art Camps (we will be split into two teams and working in two separate locations). Many of the students at these camps will come to THE OAKS later in the summer.

Friday June 17th: Debrief at Fresno World Impact and drive back to THE OAKS.

The week after next we will continue training here at THE OAKs, and our first camp for 1st-3rd graders will begin the following week on June 27th. As I understand it, this portion of training will focus on our work at the camp. By that time we will know what specific ministry team we will be working on, such as Bible Time, Worship, Drama, or Games.

Thank you all for praying. Please pray:

• For strengths and stamina
• For opportunities to connect with other staff members on a more individual basis
• That I could be an encouragement to those around me
• For my attitude as I work people that had a different mode of operating than I do

I just finished reading Out of Ashes, the book written by Keith Phillips, the founder of World Impact. The beginning chapters chronicle The Watts Riots of 1965 and the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 in which, combined, 87 people were killed, thousands injured, and tens of thousands of buildings were burned. As I was reading about the LA Riots, I was shocked that I had never heard of them before, even though they happened in my lifetime, only a couple hours away from where I was living at that time. World Impact was founded by Phillips after The Watts Riots, and was able to help their community when The LA Riots took place.

I am so thankful THE OAKS assigned us this pre-camp reading. Reading this book was eye-opening as I began to better understand not only the World Impact mission, vision and philosophy of ministry, but also the purpose of why it was started in the first place. As I understand better the needs this ministry is addressing, I also understand better God’s heart for the people we will be serving.

The more I read, the better I understand that these campers and I come from different worlds that are located in the same country, and often the same city. As I write this in the comfort of my grandparents suburban home in Bakersfield, check out this story of a camper that is a 15-minute drive from my current location:

“The moment I heard about six-year old Riley, I knew I wanted to take her to camp. She lives in an impoverished home in Oildale, a neighborhood full of criminals and addicts. Riley has special physical needs and fears her mother’s abusive boyfriend.

So last year, Riley attended her first summer camp. She loved the delicious meals, the fire- circle times, crafts and swimming. But mostly, she delighted in learning that God loves her. As the campers were leaving, Riley dug her fingers into her counselor and begged not to have to go home, explaining “I want to live here—all the good food and my own real bed!” Camp was the best experience of Riley’s life.

When Riley returned home, there was a shoot-out. Her mother’s boyfriend was killed and her mother arrested. Riley and her siblings are now in the county system, but they know that God will never forsake them. Now, you know why taking Riley to camp was so important to me. If anyone deserved a carefree vacation in a loving environment, Riley did.” – Dr Keith Phillips, World Impact Bulletin May 2011

When I read stories like Riley’s, I am overwhelmed at the opportunity that has been presented to me. I am so grateful to be a part of helping young people encounter the love of God in a tangible way this summer.

1. That God would continue to prepare my heart, and that I would be ready to learn (Psalm 25:4-5) with a teachable spirit when I start training this Wednesday.

2. For finances for the students coming to camp. Each camper earns/raises a small portion of their camp cost (I think $30). Pray these students have the motivation to work hard and not be discouraged as they obtain these funds (opportunities in their community are provided to them).

3. For continued personal health as I am training for two weeks and then will start our first week of camp.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Seriously.

Much love from sunny SoCal,

Haley

It's hard to believe I will be flying out of Seatac in 9 short days. I will arrive in CA in time to celebrate a friend's graduation from Biola University, and spend time with friends and family until I leave for training at camp.

This summer, from June 8th - July 31st, I will be working with intercity youth at THE OAKS Camp & Conference Center.

To learn more about the ministry I will be serving with, check out this video.

At THE OAKS, I get the opportunity to work along side a team of other counselors, as well as high school students that are a part of the Leaders In Training Program.

I've already received a couple requests for my address while I'm at camp this summer. Please see below if you are interested in correspondence via snail mail:

Haley King
C/O THE OAKS - Summer Staff
P.O. Box 437
Lake Hughes, CA
93532

While I am working, I will have Friday from 5pm to Sunday at 1pm off every weekend. During the week, I will have at least one hour off every day, but at this point I have no idea what time during the day that will be. Due to this schedule, I am anticipating contact by phone/email/FB to happen mostly on the weekends. Feel free to send me mail and I will do my best to respond.

If you are reading this, chances are good you are very dear to me. Thank you for all of your encouragement, prayers and support!