Week 2 - Stuff happens, but God is bigger than 'stuff'!

It’s fitting that last week was survivor week because we were forced to deal with crisis after crisis this week. We found out that one of our busses was going to be out of commission for the week. Our food order for lunches came in late one day leaving us with no food for the campers to eat that day. One of our vans got a flat tire on the way to a location. We had our first camper need a full restraint due to dangerous behavior. We lost the use of a pool facility on Thursdays, leaving us with 60 campers and no plan. One of our interns fractured her leg and ruptured her mortise while at the park, which put her in the hospital needing to have surgery. Another intern had their car broken into and attempted to get stolen. 

As you can imagine we found ourselves helpless and on our knees many times throughout the week. God is so faithful. In each of these moments of crisis God provided. We were able to borrow some vans from other departments who just happened to not need them and got all 130 people to all 4 fieldtrips planned for the week. The food order didn’t come, but we unexpectedly got one of the meals for the next week delivered to us giving us just enough food for the day. When the tire went flat a man just happened to be walking by who is a certified tire technician and had the flat changed in 10 minutes. Another YMCA pool stepped up and said we can swim at their facility once a week. The intern with the broken leg had a successful surgery that will make her ankle stronger than ever and we’ve had the chance to share about what we do at City Camp with many members of the hospital staff. The car that was broken into was a stick shift and the thief didn’t know how to drive a stick and couldn’t get it moving. The car was found still hot wired, windshield wipers on and everything, but still in park. God is so good. We were able to lean into His provision and his goodness. If you asked the campers about these situations they would know nothing of them because each of them was resolved in a way that was calm and seamless. Our staff didn’t get discouraged or give up but kept their joy rooted in God’s sovereignty and we rocked the week.

The theme for the week was Around the World. We had tons of fun learning about traditions from other cultures. A group of children from a Russian orphanage came and shared with us. The campers were full of questions about Russia and the children’s lives. On Wednesday we were able to celebrate a great American tradition and went to cheer on the Royals. On Friday we traveled all around the world thanks to the great exhibits at the Kansas City Zoo. Both the Royals and the Zoo donated tickets for our campers and staff to attend for free. We spent some more time in the sun on Tuesday at the pool and Thursday at Concourse Park.

Again, by the end of the week we were all worn out (campers included) but we had so much fun! We really are starting to feel like one big family and it’s fun to watch relationships grow.

Due to the injury of one of our interns we are having to shuffle our staffing. Please pray that God would help campers and staff adjust to the new roles. Also, please pray for Jessyca, the intern who just underwent surgery, and our bus who is undergoing a surgery of sorts as well! Our greatest need currently is snacks, so if you want to sponsor a day and provide 130 snacks we will put them to great use!

 

Week 1 - City Camp is Back!

Week one at City Camp was a ton of fun! We have 15 interns hanging with us this summer working to share the hope of the Gospel with the campers God has brought into our care. Many of the campers we have built ongoing relationships with don’t get out of school until next week so we had a slower start which gave us time to get all of the logistics worked out. We averaged about 85 campers per day and are looking forward to 100 coming on Monday!

We are so thankful to be partnering with Harvesters Kids Café this summer to reimburse us for breakfast and lunch meals. We are also excited to be partnering with the YMCA (Vivion Road and Platte County North) and Sherwood Bible Church to provide campers with the awesome opportunity to swim twice a week.

Each week of City Camp is characterized by a different theme. The theme for week 1 was “Survivor.” We spent time building team unity, competing in challenges, and learning about surviving. We had the opportunity to share with kids the ultimate survivor story of Jesus. He survived death and offers us the invitation to stand in His power so we too can survive our greatest enemy, death.

We also wanted to give campers the opportunity to learn about practical survival tips. We had several special guests come to help us with these activities. Chris Suchan, Chief Meteorologist at KCTV 5, came to teach us about surviving extreme weather. The campers loved getting to watch the footage of extreme weather situations and were even more excited about the chance to make the evening news!

Lucy Akins, from the Mission’s Medical Services team, came to teach us about surviving injury and helped each of the campers make their very own survival first aid kit. 

The Kansas City Fire Department sent 2 fire trucks and 8 firemen out to us to help us learn about surviving a fire. The campers had a great time on the trucks and hanging out with the firemen. We also had the opportunity to visit Clay County Parks and Rec to learn about surviving in the wilderness. Their park rangers taught us about mammals, snakes, archery, and took us on a nature hike.

Wow! Just remembering all that we did wears me out! It was a full week and we can’t wait for week 2 so we can build more memories and share the hope of the Gospel with the campers.