Camp Week #1

WOW. Our first week of camp here at Covecrest was incredible! This past week, we had about 250 middle schoolers come to camp. Like I mentioned before, I was paired with Incarnate Word. They drove all the way from St. Louis, and brought over 50 kids with them!

We spent the week doing all kinds of crazy fun things. I took a group of Incarnate Word kids through the obstacle course on Monday night, we had some amazing sessions with our host, Steve Allgeyer, played lots of 4-square, went to a water park and tubing down a river, and played all kinds of messy games. It was so much fun to just spend the week playing and getting to know all of these kids! I didn't really know what to expect going into this past week, but it was unbelievable. I haven't really ever worked with kids in middle school, so I was nervous about being able to relate to them and minister to them...turns out I had no need to be nervous. I cannot even explain how much I love all of the campers that came this past week. It's incredible how close I got with some of them in the 6 days that they were here.

Watching how God worked in all of these kids hearts this week was so amazing. I am so blessed to be able to be a part of this---it has already been a life changing experience, and I still have 3 weeks to go! I think I largely underestimated how amazing these campers would be and how close I could grow to them. Seeing how much they were affected by being here at Covecrest was so great, I don't even know how to put it into words. I also thought that the first two weeks I was here would be the end of my heart being changed. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! Seems like God had something else in mind, because the campers I spent the last week with changed me in ways they don't even realize. I know that we had an effect on them this week, but they left a lasting impact on all of the Summer Staff as well.

All of the Week #1 Campers!

Saturday came in what felt like the blink of an eye. I knew that saying goodbye would be difficult, but I had NO idea what was coming at me. I went and sat outside so that I could say bye to each of the campers as they loaded the bus. It was so hard to watch them all leave...I cried. A lot. Who would of thought?! If you had asked me last week, I never could have guessed I would feel that way at the end of the week. It was just so amazing to spend the week with them and to be a part of their lives, if even for this short time. It was really hard to watch them leave, knowing the brokenness that some of them are going home to. Covecrest is such a safe place for them, a place where they can be themselves and really grow in their faith and know that they are loved---some of these kids don't experience that at home, and it is so sad.

This week was incredible. To all my Incarnate Word kids, I LOVE YOU! Thank you so much for allowing me to get to know you and share this experience with you. Expect visits from me when I get back to Saint Louis :-)

Tomorrow we will get a new group of campers to love! I can't wait to get to know all of them and hear their stories, I'm sure this week has amazing things in store.

This is a picture of some of the girl Summer Staffers as we went through the obstacle course last week:

Ready for week #2!

Marissa