A Rollercoaster of Emotions...

A Rollercoaster of Emotions… after less than a week!

Last Friday was Staff Night so my camp staff and Camp Spirit’s staff went out to a baseball game in Trenton, New Jersey (northern NJ) to see the Trenton Thunders (a minor league team) play. Our camp had one the luxury box from the Survivor game. The evening was so nice because we had amazing food, real food after a hard week at work. There were Philly Cheesesteaks, Hot Dogs, and enormous sandwiches as well as snacks, drinks, and desserts. I actually don’t remember who won, but we had a great time and Bruce even joined us with his family.

Saturday is where the enjoyable rollercoaster ride began to take a plunge. Saturday is our day off and free day were nothing was planned and so my APU group was getting together to just talk and hang out. We went to the mall and had lunch and walked around for about an hour and on the way back to headquarters is where the plunge began.

I received a call from my dad on my brother’s cell phone at 1:59pm Eastern Time and the first words out of his mouth were, “Don’t Freak Out, but…” Getting a call like that from a family member is never ever good especially when it starts like that and then “but” is proceeded right after. As many of you heard in my last email, my dad and brother were in a motorcycle accident in Azusa Canyon on Saturday morning on the way to church to help set up for a family friends’ funeral. Not giving me very many details, just that my brother had been knocked unconscious and that they were both airlifted to USC Medical back home, I began to obviously freak out and cry. I then told my APU friends what was going on and we all immediately held hands and began to pray and then we arrived at headquarters where I sent out numerous emails asking everyone to pray.

The original play for the day was going to be to go to Philly to hang out with my friend Molly and her boyfriend and some interns, but then changes obviously changed. I decided to hang out at the headquarters waiting to hear back from my dad. So most of my APU group decided to stick together and we ended up going to the movies to see Ratatouille and then proceeded to go to Wegmans (Wegmans is a HUGE grocery store chain on the East coast, but is so much better than a grocery store… like x10). It was nice to spend the day with people who know me and my family and who I am close with, it really calmed my nerves.

On Sunday, after not getting too much sleep Leann and I had to wake up early to do pick ups for choir and then go to headquarters. We then left for a Mennonite church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania where Courtney in the choir goes. On the way over Hugh and I and Nick and Katie were all sitting next to each other and Hugh began to get sick, poor thing, so I was trying to make sure he was okay without losing it myself. We sang for two services and then headed back and on the way I talked my dad saying that they were both released from the hospital and were both just sore and badly beaten and bruised, but doing well. However, my brother was/is still having short-term memory and was having trouble remembering I am in New Jersey. He is remembering who people are and peoples’ names.

We got back to headquarters and then chilled for a bit and then we went to another church to eat dinner with all the interns and then we sang and Tony Campolo spoke again. We ended up going to a Lutheran Church called Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church, which ended up feeling like home considering how sick, tired, and emotional I was feeling. Hearing Tony speak just reassured me how much God has called me to be hear and how people will talk about being Christians, but only to a certain point. He talked about not becoming a sell-out and saying you want to do so much when you’re young and where you will be in ten years and how you should not let yourself become seduced by the industry. He also talked about how you shouldn’t let yourself settle for a mediocre life compared to what you’ve always talked about. We then sang three worship songs and I just began to weep, for joy and for sadness. I have been so blessed these past two months and throughout life and I have loved being hear in Camden. I am working to do good and want to some how continue some sort of ministry in the very near future. I was just reassured that I am where I am suppose to be and where God has called me to be and serve.

What a SCORTCHER…

The heat is almost unbearable…

On Monday it was about 95 degree, but the humidity was what made it so difficult. Camp wasn’t really that bad, the only trouble I had was sweating bullets in my Bible classroom. I am teaching Bible this week and the 8th graders were so hard to work with because they like almost refused to read from the Bible, saying they didn’t know how. I have learned that candy is such a great incentive. Because it was so hot we ended up going to Bruce’s house to go swimming for a little bit.

Tuesday was yet another hot day, it was 98 degrees and then the humidity was even higher than the day before. The theme for the week at camp was obedience, so I taught about the first sin of the world, the sin of Adam and Eve. We also got to go to Bruce’s and go swimming again, which was just so nice and relaxing. After swimming for a bit, I even laid in the hammock and read and then fell asleep for a bit.

Wednesday was our swim day at camp, so it was a pretty easy day. We met with the kids at camp and had breakfast and then we headed over to a pool in Philadelphia. We swam until about 11:30am and then headed back to camp and had lunch, where we then went to a luncheon with donors. Afterwards, I went to the Camp Saved little girls game and the boys game. The girls lost and the boys won, afterwards I just hung out talking with Molly. We had choir on Wednesday night and learned three new songs for Sunday.