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