Shannon Says...

This week I have been in Dyersburg, Tennessee working at a camp for at risk 3rd and 4th graders. Well, actually the group I was in was not at the camp site during most of the day. My group, Group AC, went into the downtown area of Dyersburg to work at the mission where all the other age groups that were not at camp came on one specific day to hang out for a little bit. The first day was the 1st and 2nd grade group; the second day was the 7th and 8th grade group; the third day was the 3rd and 4th grade group.
With each group it became my job to not only supervise the kids but interact with them as well. Before I even met the kids I was nervous because I did not want to let them down by just doing a minimal job. however, after we picked up the kids and brought them back to the mission, it became a lot smoother than anticipated. These kids accepted me and did not just put up with me. I would have never known these kids were "at risk" kids unless I had known beforehand because they did not behave or act any different than that of privileged child. It amazed me. They amazed me.
Even though I was kind of disappointed at the end of the day when everyone else came back and told of these fun relations they were having with kids they saw everyday, I found it worth it in the end to go to the mission. I was able to experience a bunch of different age groups and meet a bunch of kids that I could help.
There was one thing that I got to do at the actual camp which was go camping for a night with some of the kids. I did not have the advantage of already knowing the kids, since this was at the end of the week, but it did not tune out to be that hard because the kids were willing to accept me. for our camping trip, we stayed out in one of the fields overnight, cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows over the fire, played on the playground, and talked about the best and worst thing that happened to us while at camp. The only thing that caused a problem was when the kids did not want to go to bed when they were suppose to.
Overall, I had a great time and was very gratefull to hang out with a bunch of different kids. It was definitely a memorable experience. Oh and one more thing...

GO TEAM AC!

Just JACK

Welp, T.G.I.F for us here at camp. It's a bitter sweet day. For most of us its a really fun event that the kids and counselors have been looking forward to all week. The canoeing group is out on the River. The Sports group got to go golfing today. The art team had fun swimming in our neighbors pool, and the camping group (including me) had so much fun we stayed up until three this morning. But now we all had to say good bye to our kids that we have been teaching and helping with for the past week. It was cool that most of the kids and people around Dyersburg know my uncle, who was nice enough to lend me his sleeping bag and give us plenty of delicious cookies. Anyway I better let Ryan type some stuff so see ya! Thanks for reading.

Trujillo Tales

First of all, this first mission trip with my new family was such a blessing. The first day was hot. like I'm talkin' 99 degrees but the heat index was like 113 degrees. There were sweat bees and bugs everywhere. You should see how eatin' up my legs and ankles are. but through all the pain I made some amazing relationships. ANTHONY THOMAS IS MY BEST FRIEND. Let me just give you an example. he is like a brother to me. On the very last day, he asked me to spend the night with him. or at least eat dinner with his family. I was heartbroken to say no but what else was I supposed to do? Soon after, he gave me four numbers that I can contact him on -- his mom's cell, his house, his sister's cell and one more that he just texted me on in the middle of our prayer. I know that God put him in my life because he does not have a very good childhood, let alone family. He wants me to call every night and anytime he's in Nashville he's going to stay with me. Well its time for me to go. Just know that Anthony wasn't the only friend I had. All the others were a blessing as well. Ask me more about it when I get home!

Kathryn's Adventures

The week at New Life Youth Camp has flown by so quick! I have had so much fun being with the kids and teaching them about Jesus. As a youth group, this mission trip has been the most enjoyable yet. Although there is not much to do in Dyersburg, we always find something fun to do. My elective was art. I loved watching the kids draw and paint new creations each day. I also painted a sweet picture of a tree. It has pink bark with blue, green, red, and orange leaves. Being in Dyersburg and the New Life Youth Camp has been an eye opening experience to a totally different culture. I have seen God working through this trip and I hope they continue to seek Him. Mission Trip 2010 has been an overwhelming success!

Stephanie's Story

Today was the last real day of camp for the campers and us, though we still have elective trips tomorrow (and tent camping tonight). I am looking forward to canoing down the Buffalo River tomorrow with my group of kids, even though the canoing group is so small with only three or four children. With the exception of some behavior problems, today was a good last day of camp. The campers were eager to learn and recite their last memory verse for anyone who would listen, with everyone in my group earning a star for all of their verses throughout the week. I am surprised at how willing they were to learn these verses all week long.

I saw how quick all these children jump on a chance for a friend today, and all week long, while swimming in the afternoon. Although the playing in the water got to be a bit rough, there was no fighting or confrontation of any kind as everyone played together, the counselors, junior counselors, and adults.

Saying goodbye to everyone at the end of today was not easy for anyone, knowing that most of us would not see our campers again. Despite the sadness, we all finished the day feeling like we accomplished what we came here to do and helped these children's feel love in their lives.

On top of all the things I have learned this week, the most important is this: When a ten year old boy clamps onto your neck and face plants into the side of your face, RUN AWAY! They do not have good intentions. Important life lesson.

Matthew's Musings

So howdy from here in west Tennessee! We're having a blast so far. We're all getting along great with our apparently "troubled" youth. (They seem fine to me.) I'm the happy Jr. counselor of Group 6, the pink circles. It's a great place to be. So many memories and it's so fun. I'm supposed to be asleep and me blogging is letting everyone else stay awake. But still that wouldn't be enough time. I'm letting Lucas help me out with some things to say. Sick drum beats by "Tru-jello" (Lucas), while me and Jack, our red headed American friend, battled thru our golden verses. JESUS RAP COMING SOON TO A STORE NEAR YOU. LOTS OF PIGGY BACK RIDES. Pulled my hammy so i g2g see ya later mom.


PS: IF U EVER WANT TO PLAY MONOPOLY DEAL (this crazy fun card game) TEACH A 3RD GRADER HOW TO PLAY AND HE WILL FOLLOW U AROUND AND STRAIGHT BULLY YOU TO MAKE HIM PLAY.

Zoe, Zoe, Zoe!

So far I have had an amazing mission trip and know that I will be very sad to leave on Saturday. I have really started to create bonds with the campers. I spend most of my time with Dai-Dai, Kyetra, and Sierra. Luckily, I have not had many fights in my group and everyone seems to get along really well. I have my morning group with about seven kids where we do various things like fishing, archery, crafts, and horses. In the afternoon we have elective groups, mine is sports and so far we have taught them baseball, soccer, and golf all of which was a lot of fun. I am so grateful that I got to do this and I'm sure that I will never forget this amazing experience!

-Zoe