Winter Camp 2008

One of the things I'm really excited about this new year is the "412" Youth Ministry at church. I met with our youth pastor back in December and I expressed my interest and passion in joining this important church group. So far, it's been great! I've enjoyed going to our Tuesday night meetings and I've welcomed the idea of taking on more responsibilities. This last weekend, I volunteered to go to the Middle School Winter Camp in Truckee. It was quite an experience being a youth leader again. It's been a while since I spent a weekend with pre-teens in a camp-type environment. Also, it's been a while since I was away from Dee and the kids. I got homesick the first night.

Yikes!

This weekend, although fun at times, was absolutely hard. We barely had any sleep. We were cold & wet for most of the time. We were bombarded with kids and their smelly feet. Our patience were tested during clean-up time ... and so on, and so on ...

I forgot how hard it was being a youth leader. It made me realize how old I am. I asked myself, "am I really cut out for this at my age?" Despite the hardship, God got me through the weekend. I achieved what I set out to do - build relationships with our junior-high kids. So, there it is - there's the reward. If God wants to use me to lead young people, then so be it. I'll endure pain, agony, and exhaustion. With the encouragement of the other youth leaders, I was able to survive this year's Winter Camp. I'm glad we only do this once a year.

Photos:

• 412 High School Winter Camp


• 412 Middle School Winter Camp