Youth Camp 2012...

What an amazing three days! Youth Weekend (tho it was actually Mon-Wed) was incredible!

I liked it alot better than last years. Of course I had only been in NI for a couple days then so that's part of it and also I kinda knew what to expect this year thanks to the last one.

I packed literally the night before, throwing last minute things together Monday morning. We finally got all of the cars we needed and packed them full with youth and luggage.

Sun was out nearly the whole trip! God is good! We arrived at the site around 11am and everyone dispersed into their rooms. I was in a room with Rebecca - and our door had a lock - PRAISE GOD! Although this year I did come prepared with pranks of my own, I wasn't looking forward to getting toothpasted again!

That afternoon the kids who payed for activities headed off to the high ropes course. . . HILARIOUS! But I was proud of the kids for doing it, especially the ones who were scared of heights! Later on Alan got a game of basketball going.

SIDE NOTE: I have always had a strong dislike for Basketball. Not quite sure why except as a kid I grew up loving baseball and football. My best friend growing up always loved the sport, but try as I might I couldn't get into it and think I watched possibly two games on tv my whole childhood. However, basketball was the sport I played the most, not on a team but with friends, mostly at youth group. I actually have alot of fond memories attached to those numerous games. I have within the past couple of years had more of a love for the sport.

With that being said, I have actually been wanting to play for the past year. . . so when Alan announced that he was organizing a basketball game, I was the first to enter the gym. Ha well the first game wasn't fully "basketball" as we played with a football/soccer ball, but it was still a ton of fun! My team (Alan, and a few of the teens) were losing to Rique's team when we broke for a "halftime" but we came back and won! Such a wonderful feeling. Hahaha I'm afraid the competitive Julie I've been hiding from the N Irish for the past year possibly emerged over this youth camp!

Later on in the evening we had a time of worship and a small word on hope. We split guys and girls and Emma and I had a wonderful time talking with the girls.

I must've been tired cause I slept like a log that night. Poor Alan was up majority of the night with the kids and here I was fast asleep! Tuesday was great. After breakfast we opened up the game room which had snooker, pool, ping-pong, foosball, and an organ. Alan started another basketball game which of course I joined - this time with an actual basketball. My team was winning by the first half but we never had time to finish the game (which was a blessing in disguise for me as I possibly broke my finger running into the wall going for the rebound).

It was such a fun day all around from pranks, to a football game and mini-golf tourney, watching the kids do archery and zipline, shooting, four-wheeling, and a mechanical bull.

SIDE NOTE: So I was beyond sore from the games of basketball the past two days. Plus my nose, and finger, and ankle (still bad from the cops and robbers game in May) were all badly injured. Seems like physically I was getting hurt in fluke ways wherever I went! To ride the bull seemed like an obvious bad idea. After watching about 8 of the kids ride it I figured, what the heck. . . they just slid off so how bad could I get hurt? Terrible idea! I was on it for about 20 seconds before front flipping over the head of the bull, hitting the side of my face and smashing my good hand on the way down! Now literally every area of my body is in pain! Should've gone with my gut but hey. . . you only live once :)

Tuesday later in the afternoon I was in the game room with some of the kids and I started playing the American National Anthem. Next thing I know two of the boys started to belt out "God Save the Queen" Great Brittan's National Anthem. I then started to sing another song and then they did and this continued for about 10 minutes, each time we would raise our voices a tad bit louder to out sing the other one. (About 5 mins into it I realized how out numbered I was when the 2 boys turned into about 5 kids so I quickly ran and got Rique.) We then started to sing  "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and to my surprise the kids joined in saying they loved that song! Haha who would've guessed :)

On Wednesday the kids went canoeing/swimming and then we loaded up and headed back to the church. All in all the youth week was amazing! Alot of the kids got a real touch from God - anxious to see how it develops!

Rique is away with a new friend he met named Carl and Ems is here reading in the room. Really loving how close the 3 of us are! Although we don't have a house still and I don't know when we are actually gonna get one. . . we are trusting Jesus together.

Well I'm exhausted from the past few days adventures and even though we are off until youth tomorrow I need to get some sleep so I'm gonna wrap this up here.

Missing yall  back home! Hope you are doing well!
-J