I got an text today from one of my teammates from my New Zealand Trip today. It read…“So I was just thinking about what we would be doing on a Sunday afternoon in NZ…cleanin up after kids camp :P”
It got me thinking. I never really took the time to share with you what I did this summer in New Zealand. We spent our time living life at El Rancho which is a Christian camp. Their slogan is “Life Happens Here” and is that ever true! For two weeks of our time there we got to work at their kids camp. It was two of the best weeks of my life. We got to serve in so many different ways from kitchen duty, to activities, to praying over leaders and kids, to leading morning sessions, to cleaning, and even camp counselor. Life Happened those two weeks. Take a look at these pictures for a small glimpse of how blessed I was to serve in such a place filled with God’s Holy Spirit!
The crew…These people worked ridiculously hard to make sure camp ran smoothly. Pictured is my team, the El Rancho staff, and international volunteers. This is a solid group of people. During our time there we got to be Jesus to the volunteers who do not know Jesus. During one of her last nights with us in New Zealand, one of the volunteers decided to commit her life to Christ!
Angelic Angelica and Hissing Hannah. My teammate, Sara, and I performed a run on Newscast skit each day at kids camp before giving the Bible lesson.
Go carts and a zip line are two of the many activities available at camp
Each week of camp there are 20+ youth in the area that volunteer their school breaks to be leaders (counselors) at El Rancho. These kids range from 15-25 years old and are sold out for Jesus! Love them!
Kitchen duty. We washed thousands of dishes in that kitchen
My favorite camper. Yes, I’m allowed to have a favorite! This girl knows Jesus. And loves Him heaps!
Thursday night of camp…the kids made crafts for some kids in an orphanage in Nepal. There is nothing sweeter than seeing 100 kids eagerly wanted to serve others.
Game time!
Hearing the Word of God. For many of these kids its the first time they’d ever heard about Jesus. During the two weeks of camp we saw many kids come to Christ and some leave completely transformed. Our theme was “Amazing Race” and the kids got to see how big God really is…how He is the God of New Zealand and the God of America. We were so blessed to have been able to be a part of such an awesome ministry that teaches these youth about Jesus.
A huge thank you to each of you that supported me this past summer. It was such an amazing experience and has helped shaped me into the Woman of God that I am today. Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray for El Rancho’s camps and their staff as they continue to share the Good News of Jesus to the nation of New Zealand!
