This past summer I worked at Covenant Pines Bible Camp as the SWEAT Director. This means I was in charge of the high schoolers who volunteered up at camp. Basically, I was half counselor/half maintenance. Every day we would clean bathrooms, serve meals, wash dishes, clear brush, stack wood, dig trenches…basically anything that needed to get done, we did. This was the perfect job for me! Not only did God bless me with the greatest job ever, but He used it to prepare me for the World Race. Let me explain:
* God gave me patience. Before the summer I often used the phrase “patience is a virtue that I don’t have.” Unfortunately, an abundance of patience was required for my job. At the beginning of the summer I was a little nervous that my patience would quickly wear out, but after my first night of devos with nine crazy SWEATs I realized that God blessed me with patience! After 22 years of not being a patient person, all of a sudden I could wait for anything. God gave me the patience I needed to work with and lead up to 13 high schoolers every week for 8 weeks! It was such a blessing and after my crazy (but amazing) summer I don’t think anything could be a bigger test of patience.
SWEAT 4 being wonderful
* God taught me how to love like He loves. Every week I would get new SWEATS and I would quickly think of them as my little sisters and brothers in Christ. Even when they wouldn’t listen, didn’t want to work, or severely tested my patience, I still wanted the best for them and I longed for them to grow closer to God and to experience joy. Even though I don’t see them every day I still want these things for them because I love them like they are a part of my family. I am excited to meet my World Race team and know that God will teach me to love them just like He loves me!
SWEAT 7 at the Senior High Banquet
* God taught me to be comfortable living uncomfortably. Camp has one building with air conditioning and it’s the dining center. For work, I wore pants all summer no matter what the temperature. The heat was bearable for most of the summer, until one week when we lived in the 90’s with 100% humidity (typical MN). It wasn’t fun. To make matters worse, the SWEATS and I slept in a cabin on the other side of the lake with no electricity and no running water. This meant no outlet for a fan. The nights I was too hot and sticky to sleep I would sit outside on the front step and think about how God was using that to prepare me for my nights in Africa and Haiti. But most of the time I didn’t last very long outside due to the excess of mosquitoes. After living at camp two summers and spending time at Adventurous Christian in the boundary waters I can tolerate any amount of bugs. I also got over my fear of ticks and spiders (well spiders found in MN) and am a pro at killing deer flies and horse flies. At camp, I was comfortable while living in a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere. Whatever weather or bug comes my way, I now know I can handle it thanks to God preparing me for the uncomfortable.
SWEAT 2 after a muddy game of Gaga Ball (best game ever)!
I was so blessed by my summer on staff at Covenant Pines Bible Camp! I was only there three months and I learned so much! I can’t imagine how much God is going to teach me on an eleven month mission!
(To any SWEATS who read this and are not picture above, I am deeply sorry! I couldn’t put up every SWEAT picture, but know I didn’t forget about you and I still love you!)
