Hey friends! I have an exciting update!!
I’M GOING BACK TO CAMP!!!
For those who don’t know, I grew up going to overnight camps. I would spend weeks away from home every summer at 4-H and Christian overnight camps. They were one of the highlights of my childhood. When I was in college, I spent two full summers as an overnight camp counselor at a Christian summer camp. Camp is my JAM.
AND I’M GOING BACK TO CAMP!!!
This month, my team, Five Multiplied, is living in Jeffrey’s Bay on the Eastern Coast of South Africa. We are a five minute walk from the Indian Ocean, which is so beautiful, and there are at least seven thrift shops within 100 yards of our front door.
AND WE’RE AT A CAMP!!!
I’m beyond excited, can you tell? I LOVE CAMP and we as a team have the incredible opportunity to do camp ministry for four weeks here in JBay. We will be facilitating and leading 11-13 year olds in leadership development while discipling them and pouring into their lives and playing games and getting to know them and making them feel loved and wanted WOOHOO! We will be camp counselors, small group leaders, and friends to these grade 7 kiddos. I’M SO EXCITED YAAAAY!!!
While I absolutely loved my camp counseling days, I have changed so much since then. Back then, I was living out of my false self and walking in so many patterns of the flesh. The Lord has done so much work in me since the beginning of the Race and I’ve changed so much. I’m so excited to “do camp” again as this new, real Jess.
And when I worked as a camp counselor, the camp staff community was hard for me; it wasn’t always a healthy community (and I wasn’t a healthy person, which made matters worse). My team of five women (plus Hannah, our squad leader) have been digging into Christ-centered, intentional, “Colossians 3” community for five months now, and I’m really excited to “do camp” again with a safe, healthy, and Christ-centered community that fully embodies the Body of Christ. YAY!!
I left camp counseling with some bitterness in my heart, and to be honest I’m coming into this month with bitterness in my spirit from last month, so I fully believe that God is going to do some life-changing and redemptive work in me and through my team this month. Not to mention our ministry hosts are INCREDIBLE people and I’m super pumped to work with them this month. WOOHOO!
That’s all I have for now! TL;DR we are in South Africa, I’M AT CAMP AGAIN YAY YAY YAY, and I’m excited for what God is going to do in me, my team, and this city this month.
Please keep me in your prayers as I press into these goals this month: cultivate a servant’s heart (grow in humility), have a spirit of thankfulness and grace, pursue intimacy with Jesus, love and pursue my teammates with intentionality, and trust and depend on God.
To God be the glory and honor!
Jess
