Ode to a shower...

How sweet the feeling of warm cleanliness is,
shooting straight for me from the beautiful mouth of the cleaning machine.
Forcing all dirt away to an underground destiny,
Soap, water and bubbles working together to create a feeling of being clean.
Steam rising around me opening dirt filled pours,
All traces of fields and grime whisked away into a spiral of doom.
Fluffy towels sit soft and waiting for me,
I can’t help but smile as a stand singing in the gorgeous washing room...

Teeheeheehee!

After a week of camping in the middle of a dirty field, surrounded by flies and insects biting you, occasional rain pouring down just when you are getting comfy in your sleeping bag under the stars leads you to a new appreciation of a warm, clean shower. However, a week of camping in these conditions at Ponui Senior Scripture Union camp also results in huge personal growth and understanding, new incredible friends, a warm and fuzzy feeling inside of encouragement and most importantly a huge sense of inspiration. For the opportunity to meet the leaders and campers even once in a lifetime, I would happily give up my beautiful shower. Never have I been so challenged about making quick judgements about people on face value.

Coming to collect the campers on the first day of camp, I stood on the barge that makes the journey between the mainland and Ponui Island scanning across the group of awaiting teens and their families smiling. I learnt in the summer that I really enjoy working with teens as I find they can be easier to relate to than kids, and so I was feeling happy enough about the week ahead. As I glanced across the group I picked out the usual looking suspects: the pretty bubbly girls who had instantly made friends, who I guessed would be wanting to talk about boys and complain about getting their hair wet swimming; the slightly shyer campers that I decided might need some encouragement and may risk home sickness; the alpha males parading their bravado and marking their territory, these of course are the boys that would be fun but at some point I was sure I would be having to tell them to calm down a bit. Just your typical group of teens I thought: they were probably all just coming to the camp for some fun and flirting and I would have to encourage them to come to the bible study sermons and discussions, as “cool kids” like these are reluctant to do anything serious like that aren’t they? ...I couldn’t have been more wrong. Over the week as I got to know this particular group of teens I discovered that amidst the minor fliring and giggling lay a united desire to learn to love God more to allow them to love others. The alpha males openly expressed their love of serving others for God, the “pretty, bubbly girls” splashed around in the sea joyfully describing struggles of finding their identity in Christ as they knew they wouldn’t find this is boys (what?!?!?!15 year olds know this??man am I behind!) and the shyer campers flourished amongst the group as, despite there being the usual issues of some cliques forming and giggling occurring between flirty boys and girls, all the group of campers wanted was to share love in the world, thus making the camp quickly feel like the most accepting and loving family you can imagine. I was breath taken on a daily basis watching huge acts of kindness and encouragement in the campers in the most normal of settings. People were happy to lose team points or swallow a bit of pride to make sure that all the group could get involved in all the activities and feel valued in the group. After completing 500 metres of a 800metre swim campers would tread water to wait for their friends to encourage them. Athletic boys would move aside on the volley ball court to encourage weakling (Scottish) girls to serve the ball for the first time. Boys that once seemed full of testosterone and bravado openly shared about their, often difficult, lives and the things they struggled with, but how they were just so grateful to have had God’s love at the centre of their struggles and shared plans of taking this love to serve the less fortunate.

But I think the best thing for me about all of this was that although there were some really emotional times and writing some of these things out now sounds a bit like the plan of a bad, cheesy movie, this love was all so natural to these people that it was the complete opposite of cheesy. There were no cringey moments as all this encouragement and testimony took place right at the core of a week filled with laughter and fun. Campers and leaders alike spent the week winding each other up and messing about, starting water fights regularly, kidnapping the cooks, bringing a Scottish-like dry sense of humour to most situations. For many the week was one of realisation and personal growth with behaviours and thoughts being challenged, but most of all it was a total messy, giggly, squeeling blast!!

Personally the week taught me that the fact that I quite regularly get called “wise” by people who have just recently met me and those who have known me for ages and regularly tease me for my silliness and blonde comments, maybe isn’t due to a strange and regular combination of coincidence and luck, but that maybe this is my gifting after all. As I prayed and chatted with individual campers that came to me for advice on some pretty huge and deep issues I heard myself giving advice that I didn’t even know I had the ability to verbalise. And the more I watched relief and understanding take over the struggling campers faces it finally hit me that this advice and encouragement I was giving wasn’t from me, but was from my many prayers to be used to help others. There were so many situations this week that God totally used me to share His wisdom and I just moved my lips in time to the words He put on them and then provided a hug and a smile at the end! Although I have always been told I am an empathetic person, wisdom is beyond my simple thoughts unless it is coming from a higher power. And I am sure that gifts from God are simply taking the things you enjoy and hope to improve to a greater level. Now I just thank God for using me to speak to others this way and pray that I can be humble and responsible enough to allow Him to develop this within me. Basically I want God to take me to “a whole nuther level”!! And I cannae wait!!!!

Jenn xx

P.S. Can’t explain how much encouragement all your comments and emails are! Logging onto the blog full of comments after an exhausting week is just incredible and is exactly what will keep us going this year! Thanks so much to those taking the time out their busy lives to encourage us! x