Amazing.....

These two weeks have been awesome. God is amazing!

First of all, my name is Shalak (i.e. Shellac) :0). All of the camp staff receives an official camp name that you use for the rest of the summer. (It's a huge deal for campers to figure out their counselors real name.) Basically everyone tells stories until another staff member thinks of a random word with which to dub the new counselor or staff member. Mine came from a story about sprinting across my school campus to get a laptop power cord from my dorm before my class started. It had been raining which makes the sidewalks at my school extremely slippery. So as I booked it around a corner, I totally whipped out, getting soaked and conveniently smacking my hand in a puddle of mud that splashed all over my face. Not realizing that I had a lovely layer of black chunky mud all over my face, I proceeded to walk across campus until I got to my room and saw the wondrous sight....yep...... Anyway, when I told the story I said that the sidewalk was so slippery that it looked like it was "coated with 'shalak,'" to which someone yelled "SHALAK" and my name was born.

Staff training was absolutely great. I have never bonded so closely with a group of people so quickly before. Our counseling and LIT (leader in training) staff is amazing. Each person has such a heart for ministry this summer. Everyone is focused on Christ, reaching kids for Him, and supporting each other as a family and the body of Christ. Like I said....amazing. We spent the first week learning the ropes of keeping kids safe and having fun. We had some great info meetings, awesome times of worship and Bible study, and sweet times of waterslide-ing, paintballing, go-carting, hayride-ing, nature center-ing, gold rush-ing, and marshmallow roasting. We also learned (and sang like nobody’s business) all of the crazy camp songs that we would lead our kids in before and during any and every event. Overall we prepared ourselves for the summer of camp ahead. We filled ourselves with Christ and bonded together so that we could serve Him together.

Last week was Junior Camp (4-6 grade) and Jr. High camp (7-8 grade). I was placed as a counselor with the Juniors. Honestly, at first I was disappointed because I thought that wanted to be in Jr. High. However, I quickly realized that my place that week was orchestrated by God. I was able to work with another counselor named Ziploc that I had grown pretty close to the week before. Together we led a truly amazing cabin that quickly became "our girls." We had a blast with them and saw God work in so many ways. It was "creation week." The speaker at Smash (chapel) and other speakers really broke down the creation story, and how it relates to us as God's creation. I never realized how much kids this age are influenced from school, media, and pop culture to believe that evolution is true. They don't realize the love of God for them or His amazing plans for their life; and it leaves them wondering why they are really here. It was awesome to see these girls encounter truth, understand God's love in a new way or for the first time, and worship Him. God gave me the opportunity to lead one of these girls to understand her need for Christ and ask Him into her life for the first time. Then He continued to work and called five more of the girls in my cabin to be His daughters. He orchestrated the salvation of this second group in a way that I would not have expected, with details too long to go into here. However, it taught me that God is not limited by methods. He simply accomplishes what He wills in His amazing plan. I watched my cabin change from quiet girls to a bonded group of sisters in Christ. Thank you Lord.

Thanks for all of the prayer! I appreciate it more than you know. God is doing amazing things, all for His glory. I would greatly appreciate a lot of prayer next week as we go on a missions trip to Detroit and Dearborn. We’ll lead a day camp at a local church with a lot of need as well as minister to the surrounding community. Pray for safety and that God would use us as His vessels to reach people for Him!

- Shalak

camp

Well, I’m almost done packing for camp. I have all the essentials . . . clothes . . . toothbrush . . . and all the things that would make little girls think their counselor is sweet like nail polish, markers, stickers, and, yes, even supplies for matching bracelets. It should be a sweet experience. I’m really excited and really nervous all at the same time. I’m trying to be prepared, and yet have no idea what to expect. I was talking to my cousin about camp and soaking up her “former camp counselor wisdom.” I told her that everything that I learn about camp helps me to be more prepared. Her response was a good reminder. She said, “yes, but you can never really be prepared.” It’s true and a little intimidating. But as crazy as that thought is for me, it’s part of what makes me look forward to this summer with great expectation. “If we go only where we know and do what we’re certain will succeed, we remove our need for God” (Erwin McManus, Seizing Your Devine Moment).
So, this summer pray that that I can lead a cabin full of girls well. Pray that I will fill their week at camp with lots of crazy fun. Pray that I can bond them together as a cabin. Pray that I will help them encounter the love of Christ. Overall pray that I will stop thinking about what I can do, and start thinking more about what God will do through me when I offer each day to Him. There will be times when I feel like I’m on top of it all, and times when I’m burnt out beyond belief; But ultimately, that shouldn’t matter if it’s God working through me.
I know that God has amazing plans for this summer. What He is going to do in the lives of the kids who spend a week of their summer at camp is going to be greater than what anyone of us could ever accomplish on our own. It amazes me that I’m going to have the opportunity to be a part of it. Basically, I want to be a vessel. I want God to be able to work in and through my life so that I can serve Him out of the overflow of my heart, acceding to His heart. For, “Christ does not exist in order to make much of us. We exist in order to enjoy making much of Him” (John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ).