Week 4!

Hi Everyone!!! Thanks for all your prayers and support this summer as camp is officially over! I already miss it! God was glorified in so many ways and I just praise Him for all He has done!



Week 4 was another great camp week and it seemed to fly by! This week we had the most campers ever -95. This week was a little bit more sad as everyday the staff kept saying how this day was the last vespers or tonight was the last Bible improv etc. It was very bittersweet. We had a bit more rain than last week so we had a few projects the staff had to finish up for the campers. Daniel (another staffer) and I finished these handrails in the pouring rain one day. It was wet, but we got them finished and the family was very appreciative.



On Monday I was field for the day. We worked for 3 wonderful ladies and did some painting and yardwork. My groups worked up in my favorite county, Ashe where 2 out of the 3 groups did not have cell phone connection. :) I love it when that happens! Sometimes as a 'program' I do not get to see as much the work that the groups do and that the 'fields' of our staff get to see all the time, so it was really fun to be able to do that.



Again God moved in amazing ways in the campers hearts this last week. It was neat to hear their stories during a time of sharing that we have almost every day. The kids talked about how they go out to help people at CCC, but THEY end up being encouraged and pointed to the Lord by the folks we work for. It's really neat how God works. :)



So since CCC is a non-profit organization, we rely heavily on donations. Our camp in particular was down by several thousands of dollars which were from getting supplies, lumber ect. So it wasn't looking good. But God did provide! The churches we had this week came up to us and asked us how much money we needed. Then during the week they came up with different money goals that if they earned that much money, the staff would have to do something crazy. So during the week we had some staffers dye their hair purple, the guys shaved their legs, there was a chocolate footbath and a hotdog eating with that chocolate from the footbath on it, and I had to eat a happy meal......that had been in a blender...it was so gross!!! :) But the Lord really provided because the campers made almost $4,000!! We were not even expecting $1,000 so it was a huge suprise and made us think twice before doubting God!



The day campers left we had a lot of work taking down the camp and packing up from the middle school. Then the next day we had Celebration which is where all the camps get together and all the campers are invited to come and 'celebrate' the summer. It was a lot of fun seeing the campers again and getting one last chance to praise God with them! This summer has been full of suprises and fun. My staff got super close and I am going to miss not seeing them every day. God has shown me that He is in control and that I should be ok with His timing for everything. I have been so blessed in my life and this is just one way I was able to bless others and glorify the Lord.

Camp Week 3 is over!

Well I am well over halfway through! Only one more camp week left and a lot of wrapping up for the summer. This will involve a lot of going back to visit families we will not able to work for this time and telling them the bad news. Telling someone we can't work for them is probably going to be really hard to do so pray that I will use just the right words.

Week 3 went really well! We had a lot of great campers and families we worked for. The weatherman was forcasting rain all week but we actually got rain only at night. It was a nice gift from God. This week I went around and asked for a lot of donations since CCC relies on donations to keep running. That was a lot of times a hard job but it helps to remember that the worst thing someone can say is no. And especially during the summer and the bad economy, No was the more expected answer. It's alright though because the Lord will provide!

One day as I was driving around asking for donations, I stopped at this one local store in Lansing on the side of the road. I went into the store and nobody was there, so as I walked back out, the owner came out of his house across the street and met me in the front. I explained to him what CCC was and this time he had actually heard of it. So after he found out it was a christian organization, this old man went on to explain how he had a drinking problem for a long time ect and then 6-7 years ago he became a Christian and has been following the Lord ever since. He then handed me $7 from his pocket and said that business was slow but he could give that. I asked him if I could pray with him and after doing so he motioned for me to come into the store. He then showed me his baseball caps that he had in the store and gave two to me as a gift. One was an I love Jesus hat and the other was a hot pink john deere had. both very cool! I now have 2 favorite hats I like to wear. :) God likes to suprise us. At first I wasn't going to stop at this store, but even if I only got $7 from the owner, I got to hear his testimony and see how God had worked in his life; not to mention getting some sweet new hats!

God also did some great things among the campers this week, like he does every week. When we divide the campers into boy/girl/adult, all us girl staff members split up the girl campers and have what we call GT (girl time); and the same for the boys (guy time). But we had some great conversations in GT this week ranging from, "what do you think about drugs," to "what makes you a Christian," and "how do we know the bible is accurate?" All great questions that led to much discussion. God works in every situation and while you may not think a GT meeting went well one night, in reality God was pulling on the kids hearts and drawing them to Him.

As I finish up this summer with one last leg, pray that I will continue doing my best every day for the Lord and to rely on him for support and strength. Pray that the families we work for will see God through the campers and that the campers will remember that the point of camp is not just to do good for families and make new friends, it is to glorify the Lord in all we do and say.

Tuesday Camp Week 3!!!!

So it is a Tuesday afternoon and I am in charge of the Tool Shed, which means I stay in camp and organize, clean, and prepare for campers to come back from their worksites. We have limited internet connection so while I can write on my blog I cannot check any of my email addresses. :)

This camp week has been good so far. We have about 80 some campers and having a really good time. Sunday was fun where we broke the ice and sang some fun songs and played some games. We broke them up into smaller groups with 2 staff members each in charge of them for the week, and then we broke them up into their "christian missions groups" with 6-8 people in each. Last night we had a good worship and the kids really enjoyed it. God is really working on the kids hearts and I'm looking forward to how He is going to further mold them.

Camp Week 2!

Well I am halfway through the summer! This camp week presented some more challenges as we had 72 campers. We worked for some great families this week. I was field for 2 days this week so I was in charge of helping paint this nice old man's house and doing some yardwork and cleaning for a couple old ladies. I wish we could have done more for Gwyn , the man whose house we painted, but we are only qualified enough to do certain things like wheelchair ramps, some floor repair, yardwork, painting ect. We cannot fix holes in the roof or lift up an entire sinking room which he desperatly needed. But we can show God's love as much possible just by spending time visiting with them. One of the ladies we worked for was named Virgie. She is a sweet 94 year old lady who did not hear very well. She loved the company and the work done on her yard. She especially loved prayer and it was an experience yelling a prayer in this lady's ear. :) During one of the days I was visiting families that we might work for, I went to this one lady's house in Jefferson. She was telling me about all the ways that the Lord had provided for her while she was sick and needing treatment. It was really refreshing to hear about how the Lord always provided even down to her meals she needed. Then I asked her if I could pray with her and after I had finished praying she prayed for me and the campers for the upcoming week. That was really humbling.

This week reminded me of how important it is to stress that we are not here on this earth just to be blessed and to be concerned only about ourselves, but we are here to love and serve others as well. God Bless America !! After the campers left on Saturday the staff enjoyed the tradtion of watching fireworks. Please pray for the campers that they would truly have servant hearts as they work for these wonderful families. Pray for wisdom for us on staff for us to know how best to encourage the campers as well as the families we serve.

Camp Week 1!

What a week! I'm bummed because the texting to my blog from my phone didn't work again this week. Precamp for this first week went really well. We visited a lot of families and scheduled the projects for our first camp. The kids came on Sunday morning and we played a bunch of games and split them up into their work groups for the week. Every morning during the week we would wake them up at 7, breakfast at 7:30, devotion after that, and then we send them to their projects around 9 am. while the campers were out working, I would go visit them, but mainly I was visiting more families we might be able to work for. We had various worships for the kids every night after they got back from working. On Monday we performed a skit with several of the staff where we were holding candles and singing this little light of mine. One of our staff members played the role of the devil and tried to discourage us. The point was that each of us has a light and we are to shine God's light to the world and take it wherever we go. On Tuesday night we did vespers which is just music and singing. Wednesday night we had a walk through worship where the campers walked to different stations where a staff member had a particular emotion. Then one of our staff gave her testimony and told the campers that in life they are going to go through all kinds of emotions and that they need to give every part of their lives to the Lord. It was truly powerful and we gave the campers the opportunity to come and pray with us or with their friends. Thursday night we had what we call "GT" worship. GT is call Guy Time/ Girl Time where we split up guys and girls and are able to talk about things they are struggling with or whatever they want. Friday night we had more sharing about how they saw God in the day and then "campfire". We couldn't have an actual campfire because we are at a school, but it is a time where the kids can do skits (funny or serious), sing songs, and have fun together. Then afterwards we take communion and the camp director gives her fishhook speech. This is the speech to remind kids to be fisher's of men and to not just live for Jesus at camp. My boyfriend Blake, who is camp director at a different camp also gave his fishhook speech last friday night and I'm really proud of him. :) After the speech/sermon, the staff gives each kid a pin that has a fishook on it to help them remember. Then on Saturday we send the campers off in the morning back to their homes and we finish up any projects we did not get to finish and then do all the paperwork.
We had a bunch of extra bumps in the road for this week. First of all we had a TON of rain! Many of our projects could not be worked on or finished because of it. Wednesday we had a tornado warning and I got caught in the middle of it with some hail and road flooding. On Monday our lead field, Will, hydroplaned and his car fell of the road and rolled on top of a house. He had to be pried out of his car, but praise the Lord he had no broken bones, just some bruising and soreness. One of our campers got bit by a snake as well, but he was taken care of. Other than that, it was an amazing week. The campers had a huge effect on me more than I realized they would. Several came and shared what was on their hearts and I loved having the opportunity to pray with and for them. The families we worked for were so thrilled not just for the work, but that people took time to be with them and talk with them. I am thouroughly enjoying serving the Lord and will be ready to continue serving after a few days rest with family and Blake.

Prepped and Ready to Serve!

Staff training is over and I am home for a few days! I learned so much in just a little over a week. For the first 5 days or so all of the 5 camps and staffs were all training together. Then the camp directors stayed up late one night in order to decide where everyone goes. We have about 35 or so people on staff. As I said in my last blog post I was placed at West Wilkes Middle school. I am really excited about this opportunity to share God’s love up in the mountain area. For those of you that know North Carolina, the counties my camp works in are Ashe, Wilkes, Surry, and Alleghany. Our staff consists of 1 camp director, 1 lead field coordinator, 2 field coordinators, 1 lead program coordinator, and 2 program coordinators (me being one of those). So during what we call Pre pre-camp our staff went to our own camps and visited families who we might be able to work for with the campers. We don’t just go to any random person’s house that looks like they might need some help. We have contacts from people like social services, or mobile meals who give us names people. Then we go to those families and tell them about Carolina Cross Connection with the name of the contact so that they know that we are not trying to scam them and are really who we say we are.
During one of the days we were doing first visits I met this woman named Ruth. She was definitely what I would consider poverty level living with her small rundown trailer with trash all over the place. So we approached her and told her about who we are and asked her if she needed any help. What she said surprised me. This eighty some year old woman whose home was the worst I had seen all day told me that she was capable of taking care of things and that she doesn’t want to take us away from someone who really needs the help, and she will let me know if she will in the future or of anyone else. I was just shocked and in awe of Ruth since she seemed to be the one who needed the most help. It reminds me of how blessed I am in my circumstances and how God provides for my needs.
The counties are divided up among the staff, so I am going to be in charge of Ashe county. This being the top left corner of NC, I ended up driving to Tennessee and Virgina as I was driving to houses located very near the borders. J Most of my days will be spent visiting contacts and doing first visits. During camp weeks, the first one coming up this Sunday, we will organize the campers into major groups splitting up the churches, best friends, boy friend/girl friends, ect so that we can avoid cliques and focus on forming the Christian community we are striving for. Then a field and a program will be in charge of one major group and they will be with that group for the whole week. We will be scheduling and going to the work sites for the campers as well as give them worship and community in the evenings. Each smaller group of 6-7 campers that was divided among the major group will work at about 4 families houses throughout the week ranging from painting and yardwork to building porches and wheelchair ramps.
There is a lot of work to be done before the campers arrive such as more first visits, visiting contacts to get new names of families, scheduling the projects by visiting the families a second time, delivering any needed lumber, and preparing for the skits, worship, and activities for that week. During the days the campers are here, while they are at the work sites, I will be visiting them and helping as well as visiting new families. I am really excited about this opportunity and following God’s leading to work at this camp. It is so much more than what I would consider a normal camp and it is exciting to be able to minister to my ‘neighbors’ here in North Carolina. I will do my best to update the blog as much as possible!

Staff Training

Hi Everyone! So i tried to post onto my blog through my cell phone and it did not work so I need to work on that. Right now I am at a house up in Wilkesboro and I am borrowing someone's labtop. But I found out that I am going to be at West Wilkes Middle School for camp! The mailing address is:

Carolina Cross Connection
Robin Betsch
West Wilkes Middle School
PO Box 1292
Millers Creek, NC 28651

I am really excited about what we are going to do in Wilkesboro! My staff is up in Wilkesboro now working on planning for camp and doing first visits. Already I have seen the great need in the area for our work and God's love. I am going to be in charge of Ashe county which involves me driving all over Ashe county visiting families to see if we can help them out. I will explain more later but I am having a wonderful time and when I get home for a few days I will go into more detail as to what I have been doing. I have to go to a staff meeting right now so I need to run and even though I am not getting much sleep from all the work we are doing, it has been worth it! More to come!

Love,
Robin

Off to Camp!

Well I leave today for camp! I'm really excited to be able to help those in need and most importantly glorify the Lord. I will try and post as often as possible to keep you all updated! Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers as I follow God's lead.

So in just about a week I go to staff training at Camp Loy White in Casar, NC! This is also when I will find out which of the 5 camps I will be placed in. I'm pretty excited and can't wait to get started! You could be praying for guidance for the camp directors and leads who will be trying to determine which camp the staff (like me) should be assigned to.