Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set the example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. I Timothy 4:12
May. 19, 2009
Highlighting LC
AAAAHHHH! Seems I can NEVER stay caught up in my journaling! ARGH!
OK, rant finished. Except that I still haven’t blogged about LEADERSHIP CAMP!!!
Second rant finished. Leadership Camp highlights (I’m making a video from footage I got there, but these are the things that really stuck out to me at camp):
The role of the Branson team. I mentioned this in an earlier post, I think, but before Leadership Camp we as a Branson team were really encouraged that as the hosting team it was our job to be humble – we’re no better than any of the other teams – and to be the principal servants in everything. The first to clean up, the first to show people around, the first to make friends. It was our job to set the example. Whew! Tall order! I was a little concerned about how that would work, because I wasn’t really sure what there would be to do in the way of serving, but I talked with God about it A LOT before camp.
It was amazing! We cleaned up spills, volunteered at lunch and dinner, showed people around, and did our best to make friends with everyone (hahaha). Of course, that last sentence sounds prideful, but I’ll just say that I was proud of our SALTeam. I think that – with God’s help – we were really able to step into the role of servant and it was pretty amazing. I don’t know that I’ve ever really experienced true serving like I did at camp… with the right motives, constantly. It was a mindset we had to be in. I definitely want to make that kind of service a constant part of my life.
Jared and his chiggers talk that freaked everybody out. We had some dead time when we were waiting for one of the CA teams to get in and so Jared got up and told horror stories about Missouri chiggers and how big they are and all the scientific details of how they suck your blood and stuff. Then on the drive home all the PA girls were totally freaked out. It was SO funny.
Talks with Tim. The guy is incredible. He had a lot of wisdom about discipleship and we had this really cool question and answer time when we got to pick his brain. It was real helpful, and encouraging that a lot of other people are struggling with what I deal with as a mentor. Took lots and lots of notes.
Meal times. I dunno, but each time was something special. A couple of times Melissa and I helped serve (with various other Branson people thrown in there). One time we were having tacos and we didn’t have very many flour tortillas at all (we had a million corn), so Melissa – who was serving the tacos – would say, “Flour or corn? The corn ones are really good!” Most people didn’t get it, but a few did, winked, and asked for corn. Of course most of the guys went for the flour because they were bigger.
Then one time – dinner on Saturday – Tess asked Melissa, Madison and I to sell shirts. During dinner. And she asked us about ten minutes before dinner began. We had to sort through the shirts, separate the ones for the AKMT and the WCMT (formerly CAMT), and create a list so we could archive which shirts we sold. We grabbed – or rather, asked several of the guys to grab – the three boxes of shirts and set up behind the piano in the fellowship hall. Melissa and Madison went to grab a bite to eat with the intention that I would eat once they returned. I yelled really loud (had to be really loud to be heard) that we were selling shirts now, and only now, and the sale would end after dinner. And then I waited. Nobody came for about ten minutes, but when it rains it pours.
Soon about ten people were crowded around the piano, all asking what sizes we had in sand and did we have any polo shirts and how much are the long sleeves… etc., etc. Melissa was doing her little sales pitch, trying to sell those *coughuglycough* yellow dress shirts with the baby blue crosses. Madison was handing out shirts. I was taking money and writing down how many of what color in what size we sold, hoping that later the money and the shirts would match up.
I'll be remembering / The dark night; the hard fight; the long climb up a hill knowing the cost / The brave death, the last breath, the silence whispering all hope is lost / The thunder, the wonder... the power that brings the dead back to life!
