JAM Camp

Last week was the big week of the summer, JAM Camp (Jesus, Arts, and Music Camp). This is the big event of the summer for the Hatcher Pass Baptist Association. While most other camps draw kids from The Valley (Palmer and Wasilla) and Anchorage, JAM Camp brings in kids from all over the state. JAM Camp also has twice as many campers attend than most other camps. It's also special because it focuses on the arts: music, drama, puppets, creative movement, etc. To make the camp even cooler, Christ is the main focus. This camp is really one-of-a-kind.

This week was amazing for me in so many different ways. The blessings that God poured out are just too many to count. One of the biggest blessings was that six kids came to know the Lord! Two girls also accepted a call to the mission field (more details about that later!)! Several kids also took the time to pray with their leaders about issues they were struggling with. The camp was a huge success! God was really moving during that week.

So what part did I get to play in JAM Camp? I got to play 3 roles. 1. Cabin Leader 2. Drama Teacher 3. Summer Missionary. It was a very busy week for me, but I loved every minute of it. I want to tell you a little about each of these roles.

First, I'll tell you a little about my Summer Missionary role at camp. A lot of planning came under this role. As two of the Summer Missionaries, Emily and I were in charge of putting the Talent Show together for Tuesday night. We held auditions (just to see how serious the performance was, nobody was turned down), put together a schedule for the show, and MC it. Those kids were so talented! It was amazing to watch them get on stage and have a blast showing off what they could do. Emily, Ericka, Rachel, and I didn't get to watch the show though. We were busy behind the stage getting ready for our next MC part or a "commercial." We wore a different hat to introduce every act, had funny "commercials" between every few acts, and I introduced the commercials as Zorro. We had a BLAST! Tuesday night's Talent Show is one of the hi-lights of the summer. We, along with other summer missionaries, also did a short skit during worship every night to introduce the night's theme. This was also a ton of fun. Some skits were serious, some were funny and covered everything from prayer to salvation. The kids never knew exactly what was coming during our skits. The night I was in charge of the skit was the salvation night. We did the Sin Box Skit. We had a tub labeled as SIN. One person got stuck in it and 3 others got pulled in and stuck in SIN with her. No matter what we did, we couldn't get out. Then Jesus comes along and explains that He is the only way out of sin; we can't do it on our own. It's a pretty neat skit.

The next role I played was the Drama Teacher. Those of you that have watched me grow up know this: I love drama! There are very few things in life that give me as much pleasure as being on stage does. However, I've never taught drama before. When Gary asked me to teach the Drama breakout sessions at camp, I was ecstatic and extremely nervous. It was an incredible experience! I had the privilege to teach 2 groups (one younger group and one older group) twice a day, a grand total of 4 sessions a day. Trust falls, vocal exercises, relaxation techniques, a projection activity, silly songs, and the Question Game were used to teach some of the basic principles of drama. After all of that came the hard part, casting. It was extremely difficult to decide who should play what part. I'm pretty sure that I walked away from the casting process with more gray hair than I started with! Things turned out really well though. Due to the size of the groups, each group performed 2 skits on Family Night. Each camper played their part exceptionally well and the crowd loved them! I AM SO PROUD OF THOSE GUYS!! However, above all else, THEY HAD FUN AND LEARNED ABOUT GOD!!! That was the goal of the week, and it was well met. I was extremely blessed to be a part of the camp as the Drama Teacher. I am very thankful for that amazing privilege, and I won't forget the smiling faces and fun times of the Drama Sessions.

Finally, the most important part that I played during JAM Camp was the role of Cabin Leader. While teaching a breakout session is a very important part of camp, above all, I was there to be a Spiritual Role Model and Guide to the campers. If one one of my girls needed me, they were my number one priority. I got to be a Cabin Leader for two 13 year-olds, a 15 year-old, and 16 year-old. Each of these girls had their own testimony and their own struggles. During the time I had with those girls we shared laughs, shed tears, and gave encouragement and support through words and hugs. There is one special story from the week with my girls that I would like to share with you. This story involves me and two of my girls, Cari and Anne. On Monday night, Cari and Anne came to me during the invitation asking to pray. Both of the girls, Cari especially, were struggling with feeling God's presence. They talked about being able to feel Him during the good times when their faith was strong, but other times, it was like He wasn't even there. I talked with them a little about God's faithfulness and His promises. I reminded them of Abraham and Joseph. Surely there were times when these two great men of the Faith felt like God wasn't there, but God always saw them through. I prayed with them and asked God to remind them of His faithfulness and to let them feel His presence. Within 24 hours, we got a powerful answer to that prayer. The next night, this time with tears of joy, Cari and Anne came back to me during the invitation. THEY HAD FELT GOD'S CALL TO THE MISSION FIELD!! (I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it!!) Our missionary for the week, Amanda, had shared her testimony with the campers. It wasn't a fuzzy, feel good testimony. She talked about the struggles she's experience since being on the mission field with the IMB, but she also talked about how the sacrifices were worth it all. God is in control and He is faithful. Cari talked about how that kind of scared her, but she prayed about it. She felt God moving and calling her. Anne also felt God's call on her life. Isn't that amazing?!?!?!?! GOD IS FAITHFUL!!! It's amazing to watch Him work.I just can't believe that He would allow me to not only witness this incredible event, but to actually be involved. I can't explain to you the joy I felt when I prayed with Cari and Anne. I really can't explain just how amazing the entire situation is. This story will be a memory I will cherish and treasure for the rest of my days.

A HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT PRAYED FOR JAM CAMP LAST WEEK! God heard the prayers of His people, and He answered them. Thank you so much for your prayers.