July 2009 Ninja Camp

 O camp!

 Well this year at camp was by far the best year ever.  I had the opportunity to be the Head Girls Counselor on the camp staff team (take care of all the counselors but not be with any kids) or be the girls counselor for my church and get to be in a cabin with my girls and some girls from another church. I really went back and forth with my two options I really wanted to be on the camp staff but I also wanted to spend time with the kids. So after a long time in prayer I decided to be with the kids. I feel as though God used every single one of my gifts during the week to help the girls and some of the boys that went. I felt like a vessel and God clearly showed me that he had me right where he wanted me.

I had a cabin of 11 girls they were made up of all different shapes, sizes, race, ages, and even their place with God. One young lady told me she was questioning God because she just didn’t feel him anymore, another is a pastor’s daughter that said she didn’t even want to come to camp and then there was one that didn’t know if God was real or not and of course the few that know God but just wanted to see their faith grow and get reconnected. I must say I was scared when I first saw the makeup of my cabin I thought we were going to have drama and attitude and maybe the “UN”willingness to even try to connect. But they surprised me above and beyond my expectations for them. Throughout the week our days were filled with super intense games in the hot sun, pool activities, lots of cabin time, ropes course, rock climbing, paint ball and of course the sermons twice a day-

The whole message during the week was on Identity and who we are in Christ – Who am I ? , I am chosen, I am free, I am loved/valued, and I am redeemed. The speaker was so good EVERYONE got something out of his message he was never boring he knew exactly how to connect with teens and relate on their level.

By the end of the week I was extremely sad to leave the girls our connection was so great and I felt like I was the luckiest person in the camp. I felt so honored to be able to spend my week with these ladies… I loved that I got to be the one to answer their MANY questions of who God is and what he might have for their life. I loved that my team of girls and boys were the ones that supported their teammates and encouraged everyone to try even if it meant loosing the game or coming in last.

I have a million and one things to say about camp but I know that I could never get it all across to how bless I was this week. I would love to keep talking about it but for now I am going to leave you with this… I think the thing that spoke to me the most this week was the question of WHY? Why does God allow things to happen to us and why is there so much destruction. I found myself trying to explain this to a lot of the girls throughout the week…but then the worship leader said it best – God might choose to deliver you, heal you or not but he will always see you through it. He is always GOOD, always right next to you standing there waiting for you and loving you.

Lucinda H.

God has blessed those of us who work and volunteer at Crossroads so much. I remember just last year how we all got together and prayed for more kids especially younger ones. It seemed like all of our youth were graduating and we would have no children left. Well He heard out prayers. Most Mondays and Fridays the place is full with 50 or more children. The average ages are middle school and below. Wednesday night youth group now has a group of youth who stay for the whole evening instead of leaving right before hte Bible study starts. And Tuesdays is the best. (Of coarse I’m prejudiced since elementary age is my thing) We have 20-25 littles ones who love the music, the games and the lessons and soak it all up. This year we had a lot of groups help with all the ages. One highlight was during Spring Break when a friend called me. They had a VBS all planned but the site they were going to didn’t work out. God knew what we needed and they brought it to Crossroads. Our kids are still asking when Crocidile Dock is coming back.

The other night I was sitting around a little camp fire in the backyard with a couple of hte boys and one of them said, “Look it’s like the burning bush!” I asked him what happened with the burning bush and his reply was, “God said, ‘Where are you Moses?” In a deep voice I said, “Where are you Titus?” His reply was “Here I am God.” They are listening and learning.

Please pray for the upcoming summer that is filled with camp and other activities. Also pray God’s blessing upon our dedicated staff and volunteers.

We had a snow trip to the Sierras with outstanding hosts at the church in Grass Valley. Thanks so much for everything you did to make this a weekend to remember.

“I think my greatest memory was seeing all the youth be children. Every single one of them played, laughed and let down there guard. Coco and Edward did a little dance in the church parking lot that is still in my head and makes me laugh ever time I think about it. Josh came out of his shell so much. He was so outgoing and was really the crowd favorite. My heart melted when he gave a toast at lunch on Sunday thanking the staff for all their hard work and telling everyone how much fun he had. It was also nice to see the older girls get to know and hang out with the younger girls. They are now connected and think “they are cool!” It was a weekend of seeing how great God’s love and grace work. It was also extremely nice of Whispering Pines Church to not only let
us stay there but treat us with such hospitality. They provided pizza, salad, dessert, and soda plus they came to meet us and hang out with us. Great Weekend! “—Lucinda

Crossroads was visited by some High school students from Thousand Oaks. They were from a Photagraphy and Art class. The following link will show you a video of what they did. Our kids loved it. http://vimeo.com/3576664?pg=transcoded_embed&sec=3576664

What great blessings the children and their families received this year. Thanks goes out to all of you who participated in some way to make this a special year for them. There were 91 children who signed up for gifts this year and most of them were at the party. The most exciting thing though was that 39 parents came with their children. Every one joined in the dinner, music, devotion and what we sometimes call the “festival of greed”. All kidding aside we did not have one greedy child there. They were all so thankful for what they got and couldn’t believe that they received more than one present.  We have gotten to take some of them shopping with their gifts cards which has provided for us some very good one on one time and an added  blessing for us. Thank you again so much.