Winter Camp

(Pictures courtesy of Jamie)
Last weekend was winter camp, when all the Brethren in Christ youth groups in southern cali head to the snow for the weekend. Those who know me well, know that I love camp. This was no exception. It was a blast (one of the best wintercamps I've ever been to!!). The kids were awesome, the teaching was heavy but excellent, and there was plenty of snow. An added bonus was that Jamie Sensenig came out for the weekend to be a boys counselor, took some pretty sweet pictures (of course that means that he is in NONE of them, becuase I didn't take my camera out of my backpack...sigh... will I ever learn?) and he got to hang out with some of the coolest kids on the planet and my family. As always, it's fun to have him around!


Two speakers came from Fuller Seminary's Youth Institute (FYI) and talked about finding Christ in the midst of pain, what ever the source of pain be. We all were challenged to be honest with the deep places of hurt in our hearts, things that are undealt with and swept under the rug, and seek the Lord there. Like in Hosea when "the valley of trouble becomes a door of hope." There were kids that came forward with things like cutting, abuse, hurt from broken homes, deaths of parents, bullying... It was a topic that both adults and kids could relate to. We were left with the story of Job and the fact that he never got an answer to his question of "why" but that what he got was far greater: God showed up. I was really affected, and I know I'm not the only one.

Until this weekend, I didn't realize how much I missed the kids. I pulled back from the youth ministry at the end of the summer for several valid reasons (I still keep in contact with most of my girls but haven't been around youth group much). But something has been happened this weekend. It could have been that I was at camp, it could have been having a good friend from PA around, or it could have been that I had way to much caffiene but there is something about being with these kids that makes me feel like things are right with the world....

huh??

it's been rainy and cold here. I walked out to my car this morning, running fashionably late as usual. To my surprise there was ICE on my windshield... what happened to the Southern California weather I've grown love?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

needless to say, I don't have an ice scraper and was more than just fashionably late.....

Sunshine please please come back soon... my feet hate shoes..