I wanted every moment to count, because every moment matters. A week...just to spend seflessly giving to those from whom even the simple joys of life had been selflessly taken. Over and again I prayed God would prepare my heart + use me to make a difference...be it just for one.
The preparation day came...Sunday afternoon tissue paprer became butterflies and fluffy flowers, while duct tape formed a picket fence. Outside our cabin hung a brighly colored banner hung, welcoming our butterfly beauties. The time spent working, worshipping, praying, and playing together Sunday night was grand but I could almost feel the excitement as we said goodnights early Monday morning. Our indescribable week was just beginning.
The sun shone down and the sky was vivid blue as over one hundred volunteers lined the bus loop Monday morning; our signs in tow, and our voices ready to raise. The wait was almost over. As the white bus came lumbering around the bend, Shining eyes and little waving hands became visible through the narrow window openings. Their royal family ran forward, some giving high fives, others pressing
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We volunteers easily recognize that we love them more than alot of their "caregivers". For the last time, they hopped on stage and sang our three favorite camp songs for the caregivers. we volunteers sang along, forcing smiles. Our emotions ran the gamete as the video of our precious week together played. The sky was ashen gray, and the rain drops blended with our tears as we gave them back. God 's presence was so felt as we cried and shared together. They 're in God 's hands, and that 's the only way have peace.
Heading home Friday night, the sunset was glorious. I smiled through tears, realizing those precious kids were seeing the same sunset I was. Emotions were overwhelming as I stepped back in my big, clean house with my dear family that makes it a home; all of them welcoming me, wanting to hear about my
The children go away for a week to attend these camps. They are so excited
I went to camp Kangaroobie in year 5. Camp Kangaroobie was my favorite camp, it was just so much fun! Camp was honestly one of my favourite school experiences! I learnt so much at camp and experienced so many new things, which I never thought I would!
My family and I were all headed down to a Mt Shasta campsite. We always went there in the summer with a close family friend.
This camp is designed for children who have limb deficiencies or amputations be able to come together for a week of endless excitement and fun. I was lucky enough to have eight girls ranging from six to nine years old in my cabin. It was my responsibility to be a leader to these girls, show them encouragement, boost their self-esteem and never let them give up despite of circumstances. Throughout the duration of this camp I truly learned how to be leader and how to exert a calmness in stressful situations that is able to reinforce sincerity and serenity. I left the camp feeling more blessed than I could have ever imagined. These children were able to teach me things that I will forever hold close and that I am confident will make me a strong
Going into camp I knew we would be helping out a school and I did not think I would have fun or get anything out of the experience, but I was so wrong. Even when I was on my hands and knees stripping wax off a classroom floor, I was having a great time just knowing how much my work was helping Ms. Kim and Cody and everyday I looked forward to going back. We later found out that Cody was able to take a week long vacation because we got so much of his work done! After finding that out, I knew I had helped make a difference in Cody's life which made me feel so humble and honored that I could do that for him. During our work, Ms. Kim told us that around 70% of the Black Fox Elementary students live in poverty and cannot wait to come to school so they escape their troubles at home. Ms. Kim told us that those kids were going to be so excited to see how clean we got their school to be and I wish I could have seen their faces when they saw what we had done. I now look forward to volunteering and helping others because I know that I am making a difference in someone's life, which is a humbling and amazing feeling that I hope everyone can experience one
Vacation Bible School is an amazing program that gets kids invested in their faith. I was gifted the opportunity to guide preschoolers through their Vacation Bible School experience and watch them grow in their faith. Vacation Bible School takes place at Hales Corners Lutheran Church, where I am a member. I helped with the set-up of the camp as well as be a leader for two days of the camp. The theme this year was “Cave Quest” and it focused on using God to find your way through life. Everyday of camp we started with devotion and songs. This part of the day always had a powerful impact because you could see the excitement in the kids eyes just coming to camp to learn about God. Next, we would go do a craft. The first day we made crosses out
The frogs were singing again. I had heard them all night through the thin membrane of my tent. Their songs had died down with the rising sun, but now they picked up again with a fervor that sounded not unlike desperation to my teenage ears. I rested in the tent only a few moments before clearing the sleep from my eyes and springing out of my sleeping bag to greet the mourning. Dew droplets still covered everything, and the mourning seemed as magical as any other morning does to a young person of sixteen, camping in the woods.
It was so nice to be back at Discovery, for my third summer volunteering. It hadn’t felt like summer until I walked into the door and saw all the preschoolers. This year it was very different from the past 2 years because there were so many new kids and only about four from the last summer. The kids were all very excited to meet me and were very welcoming. It was nice to see some of the same teachers, but there were new teachers as well. All the kids came up to me to find out my name and to ask if I was a new teacher. I especially loved it when I introduced myself to one of the kids and he responded “Kalala, that’s a silly name”. It was amazing to watch the kids playing and learning and having the chance to watch how they interact with one another. They’re so nice
This camp is at a place called Awanita Valley and can be rented out. An evangelist named CT Townsend rents this place out every year and hundreds of teens from 6th grade all the way to college aged students meet. This camp has lots of fun things to do like a water slide and zip lining. Everyday you wake up and get breakfast at 8 and then go to morning service. After that you are free to do whatever you want until around 5. After that we go to a powerful evening service. These services can get extremely emotional. During these services your youth group gets together and we pray and this is when I realized even more how privileged I am. Privileged enough to have 250 dollars from working to pay to go to camp all by myself. But also privileged to have such an amazing youth group and for my
From the friendships they can make that will last a lifetime, to the distinct memories they have of campfire traditions, camp is laced with immeasurable meaning. The skills that children learn and practice at camp can become a part of their identity, and may even grow into passions that they will continue to pursue as an adult. Whether they want it or not, the songs with constantly haunt them throughout the years and though they claim to hate it, they secretly enjoy the reminder of summer fun and adventure. One thing camp taught me that I find of value today, is to say “yes!” to adventures and working with my team to accomplish outrageously fun challenges and
What does it mean to live a meaningful life? There is no ‘wrong answer’ to this question, because everyone experiences life differently. For me personally, I believe a life well- lived is one that happens through your own pursuit of happiness. I don’t think a good life is about your net worth or how nice your car is when you die; it’s the journey you took to your own end. It's how you’ve grown in your lifetime and the struggles that have shaped who you are.
...th this single life that I have been given. I am going to touch as many other lives as I possibly can. The moments we spend leading others to find their own personal definitions of happiness are worth so much more than ours alone. Sometimes to see the beauty and meaning in the small things, we must rid ourselves of all the "fluff' that threatens to distract us. Time is too precious and our gifts, as leaders, too valuable to be wasted on things that do not touch our hearts.
There have been tons of things that I have learned and been taught in my life, by a number of people such as family, teachers, or even friends on occasion. The things they taught me vary from math and other related subjects to just some truly simple yet meaningful life lessons. However, there is nothing quite as unique, quite as special as a person teaching themselves a life lesson. It really is an amazing accomplishment for a person to teach themselves something. It is not quite as simple as another person teaching them something because it is not just the transferring of information from one person to another. The person instead has to start from scratch and process the information they have in their mind in order to come up with a new thought
There once was a girl who lived a happy life until the age of thirteen. Everything changed that day because that 's when her mother started emotionally, mentally, and verbally abusing her. The girl wanted nothing more than to be loved by her mother but that was not the case. Her mother thought that she was nothing than a worthless piece of garbage on the street. Every day the girl 's mom had something negative to say to the girl whether it was that she was stupid, worthless, or even someone who nobody wanted around. Every day the girl wished to be accepted by her mother, but she knew deep down that would never happen. The girl battled anxiety and depression disorder caused by her mother 's years of torture and abusive ways. The girl was on
I have a very fulfilling feeling about what I have been able to accomplish in my life so far. I want the absolute best for myself and those close to me. I often go above and beyond to help those around me succeed and be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.