Summer Camp in December - Day 3

We woke up bright & early to be ready for Morning Glory at 6am. I love that they call the morning devotion time ‘Morning Glory’ – it’s beautiful! I was a little nervous to have a meeting with the Counselors at Breakfast this morning; I wasn’t sure how much of what I shared with them they would understand. Thankfully, Pastor Nkosi was available and able to emphasize a point in Chichewa when necessary. There is a lot packed into their schedule – they change activities every hour – but this first day seemed to move pretty well. There is a gentleman, Christopher, who goes around to make sure that the groups are heading to their respective locations for the activities which is very helpful.

Some of the activities that I helped with today included Hymn Songs (teaching them the English version of some of the hymns in our old WCG hymnals), Volleyball (though I was only there for a moment; Kayla did most of this) and Dance. When I was at the volleyball, it was fun to watch the boys practice and be able to laugh at themselves & one another.

I was a little worried about the singing because I am not the greatest of singers and not all the campers understand English very well to begin with. I was able to tell the counselors to pick a song that they wanted to learn in English and then we would practice. They chose ‘How Great Thou Art’ and they did a great job! It took them most of the time to get comfortable with singing all the verses, but when they got to the chorus, what a joyful & powerful sound they made! J Edith was also available to help translate into Chichewa and to sing for them when they needed it. I played the piano for them as well and I really enjoyed working together with them through the morning.

I was expecting the girls to be similar, but many more of them understand English. They chose ‘Trust and Obey’ and sang it very well, so they chose a second one, ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ and sand that very well also; then we did ‘How Great Thou Art’. Even after doing all three of those and practicing specific verses, we still had about 15 minutes left of the session. I taught them the ‘Victory Chant’ and ‘We Love Jesus!’ chant. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it and I look forward to teaching the boys so they can battle back & forth to see who is louder.

I have a feeling that I am going to have more free time than I thought I might; which is not necessarily a good thing because I will be so tired from waking up early that I’ll probably fall asleep as soon as I have a moment to rest. Even now, I am typing up this info because if I don’t, I’ll just sit down on the couch & sleep. J

Back in the USA, when I accepted the position of Senior Camp Overseer for Pathways Camp, I had no idea it was going to help me in my role here in Malawi. It is because of my experience this past year with the planning team for Pathways that I am more confident in the abilities and gifts I can share with the leaders & campers here. I love the way our God works!! J

We’ve had our first real sickness – one girl went to a clinic and she has malaria. We have medicine for her to begin taking and I am hoping that helps her to feel better sooner rather than later. She does not understand English very well, so it is hard for me to communicate my concern and desire to help her, which makes me very glad that her counselor’s and friends know her well and are taking good care of her. I am hoping that this is the only major health issue we have to deal with this week.

It was raining earlier and now it is a little chilly outside – so many people, Kayla included, are cold J while I love the weather! It is as close to winter weather as I’m going to get at this time of year in Malawi.

As much as I was originally dreading our meetings with all the staff, I have come to appreciate Pastor Nkosi’s style of leading. He wants to make sure that decisions are made and approved by the group. While I think there are times when it would be better for him to just make an executive decision, I like that he is empowering the Youth Leaders to be a part of the decision making process and coming up with changes as they see the need for them. I am also glad for the acceptance that Kayla and I have received from everyone – campers & staff. Though the language is still a barrier sometimes, the campers are beginning to open up with us and have some fun, which I love!