Spangles: Church Camp Take Three

Our church camp came early this year, as we decided to go over the student's spring break rather than in the summer. You can read about our previous two camps here and here. Because the place we have gone to before isn't open until the summer, we went to a new place this year. Oh I do love new adventures! So we set off from Iasi the day after Easter and made our way towards Targu Mures and ended at this beautiful place:

A big part of what we do at camp is have a time of concentrated teaching from the Bible. This year we had the great honor of being taught by Michael Turay from Sierra Leone. We learned about 10 "soul protectors", his name for a variety of skills that Christians can develop to more ably and effectively live the Christian life. It was incredibly helpful and practical, and I know that everyone learned a ton and will hopefully put much of that into practice!

The other big part of what we do at camp is fellowship. We hang out, we play games, and we do all kinds of crazy outdoor activities; through all this we get to know one another much better. Living together 4-to-a-room and being together 24/7 for an entire week DEFINITELY helps you get to know a bit more of the good, the bad, and the ugly. This camp had some similarities to the previous camp, both in what they had and what we brought. So, there was of course a good deal of foosball and Monopoly-playing.

But there were also significant differences, namely in the vast amount of outdoor activities this camp had. Some of them were excellent to promote team-building, and we did trust falls, built a "bridge" from our sinking "ship" to a rescue boat with 2 planks that were each too short to make it across, and sent our entire team through a "spider web." Some of these activities definitely stretched comfort zones, and it was awesome to see people working together and encouraging one another!

This camp also had a zip line and a high ropes course. Though I have tons of video from the zip line, I don't really have any pictures. But I do have some from the high ropes. It was actually pretty intense and physically challenging, and I am so proud that so many did it!

We also went on a hike, played volleyball and basketball, tie-dyed shirts, had a bonfire, and sang plenty of songs. A jam-packed week for sure. As with so many things as my time here is winding down, I took extra special notice of all the little details and tried to relish every last bit of it. With every "last" this or that, I just keep trying to absorb everything and soak up the wonderfulness of what I do here. What a joy to have been a part of this work for so long!