time flies when it's moving so fast...

6/30/08
Wow! That is all I can think to describe these last few weeks. I am extremely disappointed in myself that did not write one bit during these last three courses we had. But camp life is so crazy here…work hard from 7 to 10 and then pass out as soon as you hit your bed. I love it! I have begun to love this job so much that I now spend almost all my free time with the actual groups that I am leading during the week. I find myself staying up til midnight playing cards and talking, watching the stars and sitting around the campfire with these kids…because I want to. I have also found that the more time I invest into these kids, the more they trust me, love me, and follow me. They participate in the elements, fully pushing their fears and comfort zones and are therefore impacted all the more. If I can just show my group that I really do care about them outside of my “job” then they will be able to absorb the maximum effect that this camp has for them. That is sort of my philosophy that I have come up with; at least a small portion of it.

Needless to say, God has been at work here at New Frontiers…I wish I could explain it all, but it seems to be one of those things that you need to be a part of to truly understand. I can try to tell people about the camp and what goes on and they will say they understand…but I don’t think that they really do. New Frontiers breaks the barrier of the summer camp norm, definitely throwing the stereotype out the window. And it is a blast…every minute of it.

Not only is God doing so much here and in my life, but I am simply learning so much that will be of benefit to me as my life continues. We have to just do things sometimes, even if we don’t exactly know what we are doing. To me, that is an awesome way to learn. I have been learning how to cook for a bunch of people, how to lead people through each individual element, new card tricks and card games, how to inspire and push people, learned about the bug life here, about the stars (how to find the North Star and all that jazz about constellations. Kids think that stuff is cool.) learn so much about people and how to love and serve them, how to read them as groups and individuals, learn a bunch of fun games that have meaning, a bunch of riddles, how to belay, run the high elements well, how to live in a cave, canoe through a lake, etc. The list goes on. But one of the biggest things that I have learned is that God has called me in this genre/area of ministry. Whether its youth or outdoor or both, I have seen God work through me, I have had so much affirmation, and I simply love what I am doing so much…and that is really cool. I have never had such a feeling of impact as I had this last week with my group from Spartanburg, South Carolina. I wish I could tell all about this group, my love for them, and all that they taught me…but that would be near impossible. However, I will write about them in the very near future, as soon as I get a hold of some of their pictures and videos so that I can put them on this blog. In fact I am planning on dedicating an entire blog post to the SCC (Spartanburg Community Church) youth group. I miss those guys…I haven’t washed my dusty car because they wrote on the windows with car chalk. Such a great group, what a blessing.

The two courses we had before that were Quest, 85 sixth graders from World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, TN, along with their 25 adult leaders, and the youth group from Cannon Community Church in Woodbury, TN. Quest was awesome. I really saw God work in the lives of many of the kids throughout the week. My group, the blue team, was made up of two smaller groups of 10 boys, 1 teen helper, and 2 adult leaders; overall that made a group of 26. I began to really enjoy these guys and have some really good talks with them. Even with the adults I had some very cool conversations getting to know them. I have also noticed while being here that my position is such a platform for all sorts of connections. One of the leaders wants to take me out to eat when I come visit the church, another one taught me some about cars, I got a bunch of pictures of the week from Mr. Dan, and a request to have me as a lead next time he came from Mr. Pat. The youth pastor of Cannon sells cameras and camera equipment on Ebay for a living and he might be able to hook me up with a good deal on one. SCC wants me to come visit them in the fall and speak to their youth group, and I can’t wait for that. There are also really good connections within the staff, the ability to get equipment through NF cheaper, Raymond wanting to detail my car, finding a cheap place to get Chacos in Cookeville, etc.

If there is someone that I really want to remember from Quest, it is Sam…he was such a joy to have in my group. God has such an awesome plan for his life. He was such a servant, such a learner, so willing to listen and to push himself past his fear of heights. Multiple people told me of the pure delight he was to them. Sam was the man! Canon was a such a strong communal group. They really loved each other so much, even though they were so different from each other. I wish they had been at camp for me than just the weekend because they were so great. They were a big breath of fresh air in a very busy time and they definitely were a joy to have around. I know that they were impacted and pushed beyond their comfort zones, and they loved it. They were so grateful to us and to me, it was such a blessing.

Hopefully I can write in more detail about those two courses later on, but for now I am really tired and am going to hit the bed.

Word,
Loho

PS- All these pictures are from the Quest week...thanks Mr. Dan. (By the way, Sam is the one climbing the ladder.) A shout out to my Quest boys : Sam, Aaron, Jeff, DJ, Sean, Tyler, Lee, Brady, Weldon, Adam, Andrew, Troy, Shane, Alex, Devin, Dalton, Cameron, Keaton, Lincoln, Brandon, Heath, Dan, Pat, Tim

continued

6/12/08

Well, my bruise has now colored up half of my entire thigh…the swelling has gone down but the pain is still there. If only I could show it off, people would be amazed at the range of color involved in this bruise. Seriously, it’s a real winner.

The last two days I have had off which gave me plenty of time to rest, visit Nashville for a few hours and go canoeing on Center Hill Lake today for about 3 hours. I think it was Monday that had our canoe training which was great. I haven’t been canoeing all that much in my life so it was really good to learn the J-stroke, sweep stroke, and such. Andy and I took that learning to good use today and got some good time in the canoe on the lake; canoeing is a really good work out by the way. In Nashville yesterday, part of my time was spent visiting Radnoor Lake State Park which was a really pretty spot to go for a walk. I was able to really just get away and organize my thoughts a bit and pray, which I really need to do a lot. I saw 11 deer not ten feet away from me while I was there. I was also convinced during my time in Nashville that I should have kept count of the churches I saw. I thought Chattanooga had a good amount of churches, but it didn’t compare to Nashville…huge churches too.

Anyways, tomorrow we start preparing for campers that come in Monday. Saturday I will be working the paintball arena for a father-son paintball day we are having here. I am pretty excited about putting all I’ve learned to action but it also makes me pretty nervous to realize that I will be leading and teaching all these kids and adults how to properly participate in all these ropes course elements. We took our final test on Tuesday; a written and practical test, which took quite some time. It made finally understand how much info that there is and that I will consistently have to be on my toes here at camp. It’s pretty intense…

After the test on Tuesday, we were able to spend some time with the horses. We each were given a halter and a leading rope and we got to pick out the horse we wanted to “catch”. I say “catch” because these horses are very tame and this was just a bit more of our training. To better understand, these horses are used for therapy for the boys’ home that is here at New Frontiers; a home for troubled boys, who struggle in their homes, with addictions, and/or with the law. This is an entire separate entity from New Frontiers Camp, except for every once in a while the boys are brought over to campus to partake in some of the courses if they have behaved well. These boys spend time with the horses on a pretty regular basis; not riding them, but basically everything else. Bonding with a horse is a very therapeutic way to reach guys who struggle with feeling unloved and unwanted. In my time with Generator (the horse I spent time with) I was able to simply to develop a certain bond that the horses take very seriously. Generator could recognize me afterward, which was pretty cool.

Well, there is still a lot going on, but time is limited, therefore, my posts must be as well. It will be an early morning tomorrow so I need some sleep. My encouragement to all of you is to take a look at the last two chapters in Hebrews. They were extremely beneficial to me in these last few days and there is some very impacting portions of Scripture there (let’s be honest though, what portions of Scripture aren’t impacting).
Until the next time,
Loho

the first week...

6/7/08
Since I have been here at New Frontiers, life has been a whirlwind. I have been leaving my room at 6:30 am and usually not returning until after 8 pm. So much has been involved in my time here at camp; emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally. I have been stretched continually. And I have learned so much about so much…if that makes sense. It is very evident that God is at work here and that He uses the workers as His vessels to reach kids, parents, and each other. New Frontiers is a camp that is anti-comfort zone. They push you beyond what you are sure of, what you know you can do, what you are comfortable with, and even what you want to do. It is all about taking you beyond all of that and becoming a better child of God in it…or in some cases, learning about God in a way that they yearn for the gospel. In other words, it’s a pretty cool place.

I know it has been a while, but I am going to try to make sure I write at least one post per week which, if every week is like this past one, won’t be nearly enough to express everything that happens or that I learn. Because of that I am kind of frustrated that I didn’t force myself to write more times this week. Now I will probably forget and understate a lot of what has happened…but oh well.

When I left Covenant last Saturday I took US-27 north to TN-111 into Sparta, TN, which is one of my favorite drives. On it are some of the best views and overlooks that I have ever seen in the southeast. Once I got to Sparta I decided to pay a visit to Virgin Falls, which is one of the best backpacking trails I have been on. In my three times there each visit brought some excitement, from way too much water (extra huge waterfall and overflowing river) to no water at all (ability to explore in the caves) to average amount of water (shower in Laurel Falls). Virgin Falls wasn’t too much out of my way and I was able to get half way through the trail before having to stop and head back. The flowers were sure beautiful this time of year. Once I left, I quickly headed west toward Smithville and my final destination…New Frontiers, Dowelltown, TN.

Once I arrived on site I soon realized that I was the only one there, which wasn’t the biggest encouragement or confidence booster. I began questioning why I was there. What was I thinking? Why would I leave my home to come all the way up to a place where I’m not even welcomed? What a foolish thought; that is what New Frontiers is all about. And God soon answered all of those doubts and fears. I met Raymond, Andy and Don who have each been a great encouragement to me and it has been awesome just getting to know all of them. Hopefully I can write more about all of them in future posts, but for now I will keep it all very brief. Andy, my roommate, showed me to my room and talked for a bit before he had to head out, then Don, a 61 year-old (who acts like he is 20) took me out to eat at a local café. Then Raymond took me to Sonic that night for desert. Soon I found myself in just one night, in love the place and thoroughly enjoying the time I had spent with the other staff. The rest of the staff moved in the next day, Laura, Ashley, and Bill and Abbie (married). One cool fact is that Bill’s last name is Ferrell…so is actual name is Will Ferrell. Including me and Andy the six of us make up the group that is staying in the staff housing apartment together, which has been a lot of fun.

From Sunday night to Wednesday morning we had a group of 39 from Gwinnett County outside Atlanta, which was crazy awesome. It was crazy because we as the summer staff hadn’t even trained yet and we had to cook and serve food, clean, play games with the kids, help lead in the elements, etc. But because of all that it was so awesome to learn a lot through experience and participation. I learned so much in those few days that it blows my mind. I also found myself passionately being drawn to those kids, desiring to share with them an excitement for the gospel. Over the days I saw the time and effort that we had put into a lot of these kids really begin to show and shine. Concepts really began to click in their heads and their faith became so real to them that it made me cry (and them). Tuesday when I was with a group at the zip line, there was one girl who was terrified to make the climb up to the top of the course so that she could ride the zip. With each step that she took up the pole she wept louder and louder, but would continue to move upward. At one point she wanted to give up, but eventually continued on until she got to the top where she was hooked up to the zip line. Even then she was bawling her eyes out…until she took the step out and began the ride. One second later she turned her head back toward us and gave the biggest smile, her joy was evident. In the debrief, we were asking what they had learned from there zip line experience and this girl said, “I learned a lot about God from this. Sometimes being a Christian is really hard and I don’t want to do it, but I know that when I finally get to heaven I will be so happy.” God really taught this girl something, but also used her to impact others around her. As she said this, two of the chaperones, both parents over 40 years-old, began to cry. It was like it hit them out of nowhere…God used this little 10 year-old girl to move in the hearts of these two parents. One of them said, “I thought I was coming here for my daughter, but now I realize so clearly that God brought me here for me…to be with Him.” When this group left the next morning there were plenty more tears and a lot of changed faces from the time I first met all of them. They came in expecting to have a lot of fun, hang out, climb up stuff, ride some things, explore a cave, make a bonfire…but when they left, they had been impacted deeply from those very experiences. It was amazing. I couldn’t keep from feeling extremely sad to see that group leave. I had developed a pretty good bond with the eighth graders there (Michael, Geno, Maddy, Chrissy, Casey, and Wade) along with some of the younger guys and girls. When everyone left there were plenty of hugs and pictures to go around…and many good byes.

It’s rough for me to develop relationships like that, where I bond with kids and desire to continue that bond. It’s rough because I know this summer that there will be several groups like that that I will never see again. It was so hard to say good bye to a group of kids that truly loved me beyond the love I had shown them. All some of them wanted was to feel significance from me…a desire to simply hang out with them because I wanted to. Kids like this will come and go all summer long and that will be truly difficult for me.

The rest of the week has been staff training which has been extremely challenging. Maybe I can explain all of the elements a little better in the future, but for now I will just write about what I have taught and trained in thus far. I have learned how to tie all the knots (figure eight, half fishermans, etc.) and all that rope jazz, along with other gear knowledge, went through belay school and began belaying on the climbing wall. I learned the high ropes course, the Flying Squirrel, the big Swing, the zip line, the Pamper Pole, the cave, the low ropes/IGs, and the X-treme Team. Tomorrow we will go through some more of the low ropes, canoeing, and some backpacking stuff. Not to mention I have already learned to cook and clean in the kitchen more than I ever wanted to, gone out to feed the horses, and learned plenty of riddles and ice breaker games. Bill and I are both leads, so we have had to make sure that we experience everything that the campers will be doing. Therefore, I have found myself doing all of these ropes course things and loving them to death. Some of them have been extremely challenging and required a lot of mental concentration. Overall, an awesome week.

Yesterday was the most difficult day for me thus far. I wasn’t feeling too well in the morning and then on the X-team I jumped off one of the poles after fixing a pulley up top, forgetting that we were using dynamic rope which gives a bit. I ended falling from about 6 or 7 feet straight onto a “just right” belay anchor (basically a short telephone pole) right on my left butt thigh. It ended up turning into a goiter sized bruise which made squeezing through the cave (literally squeezing through 2x2 spaces) that afternoon awfully painful. Since then the swelling has gone a bit down, but the pain is still pretty bad. Needless to say, the location of the injury was in one of the few places on me that has any meat whatsoever which is a praise…it has also become kind of a joke to the others (“hey Ben, how’s your butt, ha ha ha” is usually how it goes). I am so thankful for everything that God has put me through this summer and I extremely look forward to what is in store.

I wish I could write it all down, every experience, everything learned, every person here, everything…but then this post would take hours upon hours to read. So until later, God bless. Thank you for all your prayers for me, don’t stop…

word,
Loho