Halfway

So, I’ve reached the halfway point in my summer and I can’t believe how fast it’s all going by. Things have been great at BigStuf. Camp 6 starts in just a few hours and the campers are already arriving. I’m loving the work I get to do down here. I’ve been crazy busy (as you can tell from my lack of posting) but it’s been fun. This summer has already shown me how much I enjoy production and want to continue doing it if I can. I’m learning how to run lights, which is something that I never thought I would get to do. Anyway, I’ve got work to do, but just wanted to say that things are amazing down here and I’m having an incredible summer. Please pray that we’ll be able to keep the energy up for the rest of the summer and create great environments for these kids!

Thanks,

Caitlin

My Prayer

So, lately I’ve been focussing a lot on 1 Thess. 5:17 which simply states, “pray continually.” I realized that this  is an area that I’ve been slacking in and I want to make prayer and constant and completely natural part of all areas of my life. So this week I had committed to working hard at doing just that, praying continually. So what better way to start that week than with a little prayer walk?

Much to my surprise and excitement, this morning–the start of Camp 2–began with our leader, Jeff, asking us to do a prayer walk through the Big Room and to pray over each seat that the campers would fill. It was a great idea, and a great way to start off camp. Anyway, I thought I would share my prayer with you so that hopefully you could pray it with me too:

“In just a few hours these chairs will be filled with almost 1,500 people. 1,500 souls who are going to spend eternity somewhere. 1,500 of Your children. Some who are broken and lost and hurting. Some who are oblivious and prideful and couldn’t care less. Some who are running and afraid of You and angry with You. Some who need peace. Some who need joy. Some need clarity, and some need hope. But one thing they all need is love.

I don’t know where these kids are coming from or what they’re going home to at the end of the week, but I know that they need to know Your love. All of the preaching about time [our camp's theme] and making wise choices and giving time to God is great, but more than anything I want them to understand the depth and intensity of Your love for them. Because if they don’t get that, then none of this other stuff matters. I pray that they will find You this week and find Your unending love for them.

If there’s one thing that you taught me in Camp one, it’s that BigStuf isn’t enough. All the lights and the cool songs and funny videos aren’t enough. These kids need to see the love of their Savior, and nothing we do is enough to show them. Pushing the right buttons in the right order at the right time won’t change lives the way I’ve seen them changed at this camp. It’s not enough. But You are enough. You are a patient and thoughtful Father who makes old things new and dead things alive. You are enough for me and You are all that is going to be enough for these kids. And that is what I want to rest in. You. Because You are enough.”

Kenya-Day Two, Part Two

So, I don’t have any pictures for this post, but I might throw in a few from the safari we went on at the end of the week. I don’t think I’ll blog about that, but some of the pictures are fun. But I wanted to tell you about the rest of day 2.

When we got back from the Masai village we went straight to dinner at a hotel near ours. We were meeting some Compassion people from their Leadership Development Program (LDP). This is a program for the elite of Compassion children who have great potential. They are sent to college and participate in mentorship programs. It’s a great program that creates some great people and I’m so grateful that we got to meet some of them.

We had dinner with some of the college students and it was so much fun. Trent, on of my fellow interns, and I sat with a guy named Wilson. He was a college student studying Microbiology. He was awesome. He talked about how much his Compassion sponsor meant to him and how much he wished he could meet her and just give her a hug and tell her how thankful he was. He also talked about how much he wanted to give back to his community and help other people the way he had been helped. We talked about other stuff too. Winston watches a lot of western movies and TV shows, but some things were confusing to him. He asked me if everyone in America has a car, what Thanksgiving is, and what Prom is and why is it so bad? hahaha. He was very entertaining.

What was so cool about the dinner was that they were college students just like me. They were fun, and bright, and had huge potential. And if it wasn’t for Compassion, they would be no where. They wouldn’t be able to get an education, or even get out of the village or slum they grew up in. Compassion gave them hope and changed their lives. I knew that all along, but it really sunk in that night, because they were so much like me, but we came from such different worlds. It was incredible.

Here are a few safari pictures:

Kenya–Day Two, Part One

So, I’m finally getting around to day two of my amazing week in Kenya. We drove for a couple of hours outside of the city to start the day. That alone was amazing. The beauty of unfamiliar scenes is something that I will never grow tired of. I am reminded again of what an artist my God is. I’ve never looked so far in every direction and seen nothing but nature. Well, until day 4 and 5, but that’s another story.

After a long, bumpy ride in some sweet Land Rovers, we finally pull up to the Compassion project we were visiting in a Masai community. We were greeted by a group of singers who were praising God and wearing some of the coolest outfits I’ve ever seen. The Masai traditionally were mostly red and they are all about some beaded jewelry. We got to hang out with them for a few hours and listen to some songs and scripture while we had tea. Then we split up for the home visits.

Our home visit was to one of the mothers that Compassion sponsors. They have a small program that helps out young moms by giving them a way to make money and by helping with their kids. We watched our mother make soap to sell at the market (fourth row, first column). Then we got to sit with her and her family in their home which was made completely out of sticks and mud–impressive. We gave them some groceries and prayed with them.

When we asked her what we could pray for her about I expected her to say something about food, water, shelter, health, etc. because if I were her, that’s what I would be asking for. None of those things are guarantees here. But she didn’t. She asked for us to pray that she would be influential in her church and be able to serve God well with the position of leadership He gave her. Wow. That was a huge lesson right there. In the span of about 30 seconds God reminded me how big He is and how small my problems are. He reminded me what is important and what isn’t. They truly understand and believe Matthew 6:31-33: “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” What an amazing reminder. I suck at this. I worry about things even more trivial that this. My food and shelter is pretty secured, and yet I still worry. It’s as if God has given me a reason not to trust Him to provide, and He definitely hasn’t. This was a critical take away from this trip for me, and it all took place in less than a minute. Wow, God is powerful.

Anyway, after the home visits we went back to the church for a homemade lunch from the women of the tribe. We got to hang out for a few more hours and they gave us all gifts of handmade jewelry, which was sweet.

I met so many cool people and got to love on a lot of different kids that really got to me. It’s too much to really explain. I will say that one of my favorite moments with this project was when we gathered to pray at the end of our visit. The pastor prayed over all of us in Swahili, which was cool, but I also got to pray for a little girl named Victoria (second row, middle column). For some reason she clung to me for almost the entire day. She wanted to hold my hand and touch my arms and put my hands on her face. She was super shy and just followed me around all day, barely speaking. But when I got to put my hands on her shoulders and pray for her during that time there was something about it that was powerful. Just the unique opportunity that I was given in that moment was something I will never forget.

So, it was a long day and this wasn’t the end of it, but this post is getting long and this is a good stopping point. I’ll get to the rest later, but here are some pictures of the day:

Btw, these kids really loved to try on your sunglasses and take pictures with your camera. It was a little crazy, lol.

Craziness

So, for those of you who don’t know I’m officially in Panama City Beach, Florida for the  summer. Better known as PCB. Load in is going really well, even though it’s completely exhausting. The stage is looking really sweet and I am totally pumped for camp one to start on Monday. I have  had almost no down time. We’ve been here for over 3 days and I’ve seen the beach for all of about 5 minutes. All that to say that I’m trying to get more up here about my amazing time in Kenya, but things are crazy. Sorry to hold you in suspense, all two of you who are reading this, but that’s the reality. Hopefully I will get to put something more up soon. Peace.

Day One

Technically this was day three on our trip. We spent most of Saturday and Sunday traveling, so I don’t count those. Anyway, Monday we spent time in Kibera, one of the largest slums in sub-Saharan Africa. It is roughly the size of Central Park in New York City, but it is home to over one million people. We visited a Compassion project in a church on the outskirts of the slum. The children greeted us with songs and dances and presentation. They were so into it and had memorized a ton of scripture and poetry and songs for us.

From there, we split up into four groups to do home visits. I got to visit with Loice (7th picture, pink sweatshirt) and her family. She was a rare case because her mother and father were still married and living together in her home. They were also very interested and involved in her life, which is often not the case with children in this area. It was really cool to see the sacrifices and effort that her parents had put forth to help her achieve the kind of future she wanted. That was really encouraging. However, her family had lost everything, their home, all their possessions, and their livelihood, in the post-election riots in 2007. There was a lot of violence, especially in Kibera, and some huge fires. In fact, the church we visited had been burned to the ground completely and was still doing construction to get their facilities back. The coolest thing about that was that no matter who you talked to in the church about it, they all spoke of what a blessing it had been. They were focused on God’s plan and didn’t get caught up in losing so much–even when they had so little. Definitely something to learn from.

Another cool thing that happened on Monday was that a lot of our team members got to meet the Compassion children that they sponsor. While I was not among them, it was still an awesome thing to watch. A lot of people are skeptical about organizations like Compassion, but I can tell you first-hand that it is legit. These kids are real, and these sponsorships really do change their lives. You can see evidence of that on the faces of all their parents when they meet a person who has provided a future for their child. Everyone should want to be a part of that.

They didn’t want us to take pictures of the slums because people don’t really like it, so I don’t have any of those. Also, I apologize in advance for my less-than-stellar photography skills. Everyone has a skill set, it is not in mine. Anyway, here are some more pictures of day one:

Home, Sweet Home

Well, I’m crazy jet lagged, but I wanted to give you a little taste of my last week. Needless to say, it was an incredible experience. I had to keep reminding myself that it was real and I was actually in Africa. Hopefully I can post more specific stories and more pictures in the near future. For now, I’m back at the StayBridge, trying to relax and catch up on some much-needed sleep. Thanks for your prayers while I was away. Be back soon.

Leg #1

Okay, so, the first leg of my summer is done. I have to say, it is already not what I expected. We all drove up to Camp Highland for a few days of fun and team bonding. However, unbeknownst to me, that also included sleeping outside in the woods, giant spiders, and getting really dirty. We had a few great bonfires and I even got to hear the testimonies of my entire team. It was a great way to get to know everyone and learn more about my new summer family. Combine all that with a low ropes course, a giant swing, and some sweet made up frisbee games and you’ve got a great introduction for my time at BigStuf. It was a perfect transition from my normal life and all that I am going to leave behind this summer. I am excited to continue getting to know the interns I’ll be spending my time with. The last three days have felt like at least a month, so I know that means I’m in for a wild summer.

I’m headed to Africa tomorrow. Prayers would be appreciated for what could be a life-changing week. But right now we’re kicking it at the lovely StayBridge Hotel in Alpharetta. Score. Anyway, I’ll be sure to be back here in a week or so to give you guys some stories from the Motherland, or, ya know, Africa. And, in case you’re wondering, God has already been rocking me these last few days so I’ll try to roll out some of those details for you in the next few weeks/days.

Thanks!

P.S. Did you like that usage of “roll out”? That’s something I’ve already picked up from our wonderful Camp Director, Jeff. He talks weird. As in, he says weird stuff. But it is awesome in its weirdness. I’m sure more of his odd phrases will work their way into my posts in the future.

Right Where I Want to Be

I think David Crowder best captures what I’m thinking on the day before I start my summer…

I think I’m on the brink of something large
Maybe like the breaking of the dawn
Maybe like a match being lit
Or the sinking of a ship, letting go gives a better grip

I’m finding everything I’ll ever need
By giving up gaining everything
Falling for You for eternity
Right here at Your feet
Where I wanna be
I am Yours

I feel like I am on the brink of something amazing–something life changing. It’s so strange for me to think about this summer and the person I could be by the end. I know this summer will change me. I will see and do and feel things that I never have before and that I might never again. That change is what excites me the most, and makes me the most nervous. It’s hard not to be a little unsure of something that has the potential to be so monumental. However, I also know that I am exactly where God wants me to be, and right where I want to be. I am spending a summer at the feet of my Savior, serving Him and His people. And that knowledge is enough to erase any glimpse of doubt and ease any semblance of fear.

I’m letting go this summer. Letting go of my comfort, of familiarity, of certainty. I’m letting go of the cautious, planned-out way that I would normally do things. I’m letting go of myself and my needs and desires. I am letting go of my family and friends for the longest amount of time that I ever have. I am letting go of everything and holding onto God and His will and His plan. And as much as all those other things seem frightening, what I have to hold onto is more than enough.

In less than 12 hours I will have met 15 amazing interns and countless other staff that I will spend my summer with. I will also be at the beginning of a 2 1/2 month journey that will take me across the world and across the paths of thousands of students. God is going to do something amazing this summer. I am His.

One Month!!

I’m about a month away from the start of my summer. God is preparing me in ways that I didn’t see coming and I am eager to get started. I’m starting to understand slowly how challenging it might be to be gone from my family and friends this summer. However, I think that it is the perfect time in my life for an experience like this and I know that the time spent away will be a powerful catalyst for change in my life and in my heart.

I can’t wait to see what He will do.