Milked cow, spoke lots of spanish, held sweet children, and played a lot!

    Hey friends and family!! On Saturday we got back from taking all the kids to a summer camp called Camp Penuel. I started writing this blog when we got back and tried to finish it the next morning, I was just so tired though, but here it is now!

     This camp was incredible, the Lord absolutely blessed all the kids in so many ways. The Lord brought up things in their lives and hearts that are hard, but is now bringing healing to them. The Lord also blessed these kids by providing so many opportunities for us to show them love and support them. The staff at the camp were amazing and just so loving towards the kids, you can just tell that their love is an overflow from the love the Lord gives them. These entire past few days have been even good for my heart to see how big God's love is and how much more vast it is beyond this entire trip and this week. 

    There is so so much I can talk about in this blog about the camp from everything that we did day by day, moment by moment, instead I think I'm going to write about the things that stood out to me and the things that I think impacted me. 😊 

    Before we went to the camp I was honestly not really looking forward to it because it's a lot of responsibility to take care of kids and just being in a place that is a campsite felt like a lot with showering and sleeping. I used to be a summer camp counselor for 4 summers in a row and it was indeed a lot, but I did love doing it because playing and doing fun things is a big part of my personality and how my personality can easily come out more. This camp felt like an entirely different ball game because the primary language is Spanish which made me feel nervous because I know I can be more helpful since I used to be in that role, but this time I felt useless more often. Communicating with the kids is such a big part of being a counselor. Anyways, the first night once we got there the kids learned all the rules of the camp, ate dinner, did some fun activities, watched a play put on by the staff, and danced/sung to fun kids worship songs with choreography. The songs were so catchy that some of them are still stuck in my head 😂. When the rules were given they were also told that each group would be able to help milk the cows with the little kids (the group I was with) going first the next morning and the big kids going the following morning. I was also told that I would be helping in the kitchen in the mornings for breakfast and had to be there at 6:15. 

    The next morning came and the first thing I was shocked about was that everyone, including all the girls I was with, were up at 5:15 all going to take a shower and get their hair done. They all wanted to take a shower and wanted their hair done it was really cute I just have never seen such clean kids and kids that wanted to do those things. It was amazing. Once we I finished getting ready, Kayla (Ana's mom) and I went to the kitchen to start helping, but like 15 minutes in they told us to go with our group to go milk the cows. The groups that went were both the littlest girls group and the littlest boys group (the group Sam was with), we put them in lines and sent them 2 at once on both sides of the cow and they were shown how to do it. All of them enjoyed it a lot, there was the occasional "eww, noo" lol but they still did it and ended up enjoying it 😂. After all the kids went the staff asked the adults if they wanted to do it and so I got to milk the cow! It was actually easier than I thought it would be and fun! After we finished milking the cow it was time to wash our hands and get ready for breakfast and then all the girls would be off to the swimming pool. Another thing that was interesting was that they made all the kids brush their teeth after each meal so 3 times a day. I learned it's a cultural thing to have really good hygiene like showering a lot and brushing their teeth more than twice a day. Following breakfast the rest of the day was filled with many activities, devotionals, singing, and much more. 

Milkin' the cow! 😎

    From the moment we were with all the kids to get to camp and during camp there was so much Spanish and so my brain was working hard. My experience at the camp was so so helpful for me to learn and understand more Spanish. The second full day it was the girls turn to go on a hike in the camp through some creeks and up a mountain. During the hike the staff were talking to me a lot and we were making friends with each other which was really fun. Some speak a little bit of English and I speak a little bit of Spanish so we were able to understand each other for the most part. They told me that they were told that gringos (us lol) were coming and that they would have to practice speaking English and that they were nervous to talk to us the first day. I said I was also nervous to talk to them because I don't speak much Spanish. So it was really cool to relate to each other in that. They told me that they would speak in English to me and that I had to respond in Spanish. It was actually really fun talking to them like that and good for practice for the both of us. I also felt very comfortable practicing with them because they were nice about correcting my Spanish and I think (or at least hope) that I did the same for them well. The feeling of comfort may have come from the fact that we were all around the same age and also that the Lord is just always there to provide comfort for us in all our moments. For me practicing Spanish with adults or my friends that know more than I do makes me nervous and scared to practice with them. The staff were also just really nice and very welcoming. After the hike they invited me to hangout with them in their cabin while they got ready before lunch and they all asked me to follow them on instagram. It was so sweet and so fun because I don't think I've ever felt more invited into being friends with people as fast as I did with them. In the cabin we hungout, chatted, joked around and enjoyed each other's company (I definitely enjoyed their company). When it was time for lunch I went with my group to sit with them and then the staff yelled my name from their table and invited me to join them for lunch. I know I stick out like a sore thumb because I am a gringo, but I just felt very seen by them while at camp. At some point during all the time that I was with the staff they asked me to consider coming to volunteer to work at the camp this coming January. It was very random in conversation and really cool that they would ask me to consider it. The camp has a team from Minnesota coming in January and they said I could possibly join them during the time they're here, they suggested I talk to Paul and Telma (the owners of the camp) about the possibility of coming with the other team. The entire rest of the day I was thinking about it and just how it would be such a cool opportunity. I also just really really loved the camp and my time there with the kids, the people, and all the love that is just filled everywhere, you can tell that God's presence was there in such big ways. Later that day I got to talk to Paul about the possibility for me to come back in Januray and he said they would love to have me back, he gave me more info and that I can look on their website to contact them again to talk more about it. Our conversation was really good and I was just expressing how much I loved the camp and all my experience throughout those few days. Before I contact them, I'd like to talk to Ana about what she thinks about me coming back in January to work at the camp because I want to be sensitive since I would be coming with a different group. If y'all could please be praying for that conversation and the possibility of me coming back with the Minnesota team in January. 💛

Camp Staff friends! This was when we went on the hike and when I also got bit by lots of hormigas negras *sad face*, it's okay Doña Maria sprayed my feet with some type of anti-itch spray lol. 

    Another big reason why the camp impacted me so much is because I got a firsthand look into each of the kids' lives, especially the girls in my group. We've served at the CDI a lot this summer, but sometimes it's really hard for me to understand how the kids are doing or what their lives are really like at home because I don't understand a lot of Spanish nor can I speak it to ask question or even understand social cues or nonverbal communication. There were a lot of devotional times and every activity the kids did had some way to point back to Jesus and God's love and a living a life for God. I got the gist of each story or devotional, but it was still hard for me to understand since I would catch every other words or sentences. I could definitely tell that the Lord was/is doing something in these kids lives by their reactions and everything. On the last night there was a time of worship and all the staff lined up in front of all the kids and said if any of you need a hug you can come up and hug them. It was so powerful to watch because all or least a majority of the kids went up there and hugged them. The staff were worshipping, hugging the kids so sweetly, and praying over them. You can see the love of God fill the room. I could see most of the kids weeping. At one point during that time Nathaly ran from one of the staff members to me and got in my lap and just continued crying and I just held her. I hugged her and held her and just was with her for a long time. I've never felt so much care and love towards a child until that moment. I've also never been the one that a child chooses to be with when they are sad like she was in that moment. As I was sitting with her I was just praying over her, rocking her and in that moment realized was able to understand these kids lives more. My love for all of them I think grew so much. It was so sweet and so powerful for my heart and for the kids' hearts. Even seeing how much the kids were grateful for being able to get more food, taking as many showers as they wanted to and how they take care of their things so well made me feel like I am just so undeserving to have the things that I do. 

La Sirenitas (aka the Mermaids)! My group at el campamento! 

    I still keep thinking about the random question and suggestion for me to come back in January. I realized the randomness of things is not always from God, but they are things to pay attention to. It's still hard because I want to pray and think about it and consider it carefully. Like I realize that randomness is not always from God, but it's also hard for me not to think that it is from God because it very much could be. I also am starting to pray about and see if God is continuing to pull me back to Costa Rica in different and the same ways. Throughout this entire trip I have felt peace, love and just like at home here. I also know that I am a person that exists in the moment of wherever I am and I know I also feel at home in College Station. So I'm curious to see what the Lord says in those things. 

    Anyways, camp was incredible in lots of different ways and there's so much more, but I'm definitely excited to talk about more of my experience with any of you that would like to hear about it in person! 

All the kids, leaders, and staff! 

Prayer Request: 

• For the kids to continue to feel God's love, especially in a fatherly way.
• For the impact that was made on the kids' at camp to stay with them and to allow their relationship with the Lord to grow stronger. 
• For protection over the kids when they are at home with their families. 
• For the opportunity that I have to come back in January to the camp, for clarity from the Lord about it. 
• For our team in this last week and a half here to be filled by God's leading and Spirit. 

As always (well if you're and Aggie) Thanks and Gig 'Em!