Croatia and Slovakia

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A few weeks a go I co-directed the first ever Slovene Girls Camp!! This was a huge first for me and I was a little nervous as to how it woudl turn out. There were 26 of us all together that gathered on an Island in Croatia. The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere of the camp was really precious as well. The week was built around the theme of Beauty. With this theme we also talked about the Prince (Jesus Christ) who longs to know our hearts. Overall it seemed like Camp was a huge success and girls are already asking about next year!

Two days a go I returned from a week and a half in Slovakia where I worked at Josiah Venture Missionary Kids Camp. This is a camp that has emerged from a ministry headed up by Becca McMartin (a former Multnomah Student and missionary kid from Haiti). At camp I worked with The Ducks, a group of seven, 8year old girls (none of which had ever been to camp before!). And I thought directing a camp was challenging!! Although it was a lot of work, I had a fabulous time, running around, playing silly games, and singing fun camp songs!!

Co-Directing
Camp went better then I had expected and even hoped!! On a more personal note, directing was on of the most challenging things I have even done! It definitely pushed me into many areas that I am not very strong in and challenged my trust in the Lord. Wheh! I really could not have done it without my Slovene Co-Director Glorija. She was definitely my right hand girl! I also had the privilege of working with Laurel Jenkins, a close friend of mine from Multnomah Bible College. Laurel is working with highschool students with her husband Brad on a military base in Germany with a ministry called Malachi. Laurel brought four of her highschool girls to Croatia to help out. It was so fun to work with someone I already knew so well and deeply respect!! After returning home Josh Patty mentioned to me that he was dreaming about how we can do multiple all girl camps next year! Im not sure if Im quite ready to think about that yet....!

Girls Camp
There were 26 girls (leaders included) that came to camp. It was small but very sweet and intimate! Every morning we would listen to a story from Dubrovka (the Pastors wife of the church we attend). Her stories would address different issues such as identity, significance, and spirituality. The afternoons were filled with laying out on the beach and doing different Art projects. After dinner our night program would begin. Based on the book, Keeping a Princess Heart in a Not-So-Fairytale-World, we discussed issues of beauty, pain, and ultimately how Christ is the Prince of our souls. It was the gospel in very different words, but very powerful and effective! My heart is rejoicing when I think about how this girls camp met an incredible need in the country of Slovenija and Im excited to see where it takes us!

Josiah Venture Missionary Kids Camp
This was my second summer of working at JVK Camp. This is a camp led by Becca McMartin; her target is the kids of Josiah Venture, kids that are third culture kids. These kids are unique because they are not fully from the culture of America, or of their Eastern European home, but have in fact formed their own culture with pieces of both cultures. This camp is significant because it is one of the only places where these missionary kids feel as though they truly belong--with other third culture kids. Becca has done an incredible job ministering to these kids and I was privileged to join her for a week. It's not at every camp where you hear, "I cant read my English Bible, I can only read in Czech!". It was a fun week!

The Ducks
All of the Josiah Venture kids are split up into different groups based on their age. I worked with the Ducks last week. It was their first time ever at camp and they were really excited to be there! Words that I would use to describe them are: Sweet, Sensitive, a bit Sassy and Spunky. I really felt like the mother duck, everwhere I went I had a little trail of girls following me. It didnt take long to fall in love with them!

Thanks for taking the time to read whats going on in my life! Pictures will be coming soon...