Note: This is a particularly LONG POST. Sorry in advance.
Hey there. I've been gone awhile. How've you been?
Do you remember a couple of weeks ago, I posted the essay I wrote for my church paper about my first Student Life Camp? Yeah. I'm back with a completely new edition: My third Student Life Camp in Denton, TX.
First of all, the University of North Texas is a lovely campus. :] Big, but lovely.
Ermmm, where to begin, where to begin? (I don't want to write a post that is thirty years long...) I guess I'll just start from the top. Monday morning at 7, my dad, my friend Krystal, and I pulled up at FUMC Houston (Westchase Campus) to...
Haha. Yeah, right. Not that detailed.
This week (July 26-30), Tenth Avenue North was our worship band and Ben Stuart was our speaker. I had been super pumped (Pumped: All the Time!) since early January when I learned we'd be at UNT, have Ben as our speaker (for the second year in a row), and be worshiping alongside Tenth Avenue North, one of the best Christian bands I've ever heard. (Dude. Guess what? They're even better... LIVE.) Three great things rolled into one week. :D Plus, we were headed to Six Flags after camp. Shyeah. Need I explain my excitement? Didn't think so.
We loaded up for camp in several 12-passenger vans and headed towards Denton. We shared a lot in my van until everyone crashed after our stop at Buc-ee's in Madisonville at about 9:30 a.m. (Blahblahblah, driving through small Texas towns, Dallas, Denton!) We went to orientation, which, in classic Student Life fashion, were shown in video form. --In my opinion, I liked Edwin's Corner: Camp Rules WAY better than that other guy... The one who slapped children. Luckily, we got Edwin EVERY morning. After that was dinner. At 4:30. (I guess for the whole time zone difference or something because of the people who come from out of state.) Then I met my family group around 6:15. Besides the four other kids from my church (Rico, Marquis, Krystal, and Anthony), the FG leaders Brett and Becca and the other students Patrick, Kat, Jake, Bethany, and Eli were from Missouri. More on this later.
Tenth Avenue North led us in some great songs (you can see all of the details of what we did as a whole camp HERE), and then Ben introduced his series for the week on the book of James. (By the way, the theme for camp this year was Re. Each of the days had a different 'word of the day' that began with the prefix re- -- i.e., remain, respond, etc.). He spoke of fake spirituality and how when we need it to kick in, it 'fails and becomes destructive'. He reminded us through James that we need a radical change of lifestyle to walk in Jesus. (Reality check for Lisa #1). Afterwards we had church group time where we broke into small groups based on our grades. We talked about why we wanted to be at camp, and I expressed my feelings about wanting to see my friends from the Westchase campus of my church (I'm at the Downtown campus) and how I wanted to grow closer to God because I was in a state of confusion. Hmmm. I didn't mention the AH-MAZING adults on the trip (from our church): Brian, Nikki, Michael, Bert, Jessica, and Tammie. :] (Mady and Leah and Marquis still count as "youth" to me.)
The next morning, we had Quiet Time after breakfast. The word of the day was Return. The guided quiet time in our SL Magazines had questions that startled me because of the answers I had to give. This was the first time in a long time that I had been honest with myself and honest with God. (Reality Check 2). Then we went to Celebration (morning worship) and we did crazy dances with the guy who did this video for last year's camp like "Texting While Driving" and the "Out of Reach Balloon" to wake up. Ah, good times. :] Then more worship, and Ben did a morning series on communing with (bringing all of yourself to) the Trinity as the three separate beings and as one. The rest of the dances we did in the mornings included the Sarcastic Octopus, The Apologetic Ninja, and The Fanning Off Your Armpits. (I'll post the rest when I remember...) Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North even taught us some dances like the White Boy, Pull the Rope, and the Hula Hoop. :D
Note: I will spare you details of EVERY single thing that happened at camp because you'll probably faint at how much I have to say (sadly, this is the condensed version. I'm sorry...). I will continue in this post with the things that had the most impact on me, but if you're looking for more "How did you feel on Thursday around 3:58 p.m.?" I can answer that in a message or in person. (By the way, I was straightening my hair and I was a little ticked off at the people who were currently in my room...)
I remember on Tuesday night, we sang a Tenth Avenue North song called Hold My Heart. The lyrics are written in a protest to God asking Him to rescue us and to show us His face. I sang them, angry at God for leaving me. I could feel Him sort of wrap His arms around me and say "I'm here", and I was instantly comforted. I'd been stuck in a dark hole of disbelief and doubt during this past year, my sophomore year of high school, because of other people's influence on me and my thoughts. These people found ways to poke holes in everything I thought was sound, and THAT'S how I became confused (from above).
That week, I also decided I wanted to start a non-profit letter correspondence with kids in other countries, just to get to know them and share God with them. I haven't worked out any of the logistics yet, but because I really want to, but can't support a Compassion kid, I want to reach out to them and be their friend.
I got angry at God again because in my Family Group (which is a group of kids in your age group from other churches at the camp) we were having these amazing, intense (and funny!) discussions about our faith, and as soon as I'd come up with an incredibly genius idea, the subject would change, and my point would become irrelevant. I thought He didn't want me to look like I was participating. I only got to make one point on the very last day at the very last second possible, but I soon became thankful for that. I'd finally discovered that it wasn't about proving myself to anyone.
Anyway. :D The family group I was in bonded like crazy in our Rec activities (although the activities showcased my lack of athletic ability... and the fact that marching band is only worth being in if you've learned to roll your feet in an effort to keep liquid from spilling...just kidding!). My church group got closer again, even if only for a week.
Every time I go to Student Life Camp, I go LOOKING for God to change me. This year, I finally stopped looking, and I feel like I got what I needed.
Micah 6:8, our theme verse for the week says, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." I think that's the one thing I finally realized by the end of the week. God's done so much for me, and all He wants in return is for me to show His love to other people. Crazy, right?
Do you want to know why Student Life Camp is so amazing? Because of the camaraderie between youth groups and family groups. Because of Rec. Because of getting away from life at home for a reality check. Because of the feeling you get when you leave. Because He is.
Thanks for reading!
Lisa :]
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