(This is my best effort at writing with a Kiwi accent. I rewrote it in USA English below if you can't understand. Then after these 2 paragraphs I just switch to English, so good luck!)
This past week we have been on camp. There were one one four of us total. The first day on camp we went over all the rules with the cuds. We as leaders knew that if one of the cuds was acting up we could send them to the main hole. At night after lights out if someone talked we were to send them out to the corridor. We all learned it was one of the leaders pet hates to have to deal with kids after lights out. In my cabin there were 12 beds and 14 people, so we had 2 cuds on the floor. We had 11 cuds and 3 leaders. Our cuds were all over the place emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Some of them were excited to be on camp, others tried to have as little fun as possible. But we made sure everyone had heaps of fun! When they did things well they were rewarded with lollies and praise like, 'good on ya!'. Overall camp was sweet as! There were some bad as cuds, cuds who tried to say it was boring as, but by the end of our time on camp all eeleven of our cuds had to admit it was a sweet as time!
(Here's a translation if you can't read Kiwi)
This past week we have been at camp. There were one hundred fourteen of us total. The first day of camp we went over all the rules with the kids. We as leaders knew that if one of the kids was acting up we could send them to the main hall. At night after lights out if someone talked we were to send them out to the hallway. We all learned it was one of the leaders pet peeves to have to deal with kids after lights out. In my cabin there were 12 beds and 14 people, so we had 2 kids on the floor. We had 11 kids and 3 leaders. Our kids were all over the place emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Some of them were excited to be at camp, others tried to have as little fun as possible. But we made sure everyone had lots of fun! When they did things well they were rewarded with candy and praise like, 'good job!'. Overall camp was awesome! There were some really bad kids, kids who tried to say it was super boring, but by the end of our time at camp all eleven of our kids had to admit it was a super sweet time!
Now I'm back to English and just going to tell you a couple more camp stories in English. We had several campers decide to give their lives to the Lord. It was amazing to see how God worked on their hearts over just one week. Two of the girls in my cabin came to camp refusing to have any fun and if the word God was spoken they were ready to fight. The quickly would say, "I DON'T believe in God!" During our first cabin devotion time I had to reprimand them and tell them they didn't have to agree, but they could not be disruptive. So instead of being rude and disruptive they just pretended to fall asleep. As camp went on they began to ask questions - still disagreeing of course! But on Thursday night they chose to accept Jesus as their Savior. And their questions after included, "Does this mean we have to try to be good now?" "What about my baby brother...will he go to hell if he dies?" "How can I get a Bible?" "Where can I find a youth group?" "Couldn't Jesus have saved Himself? Did He know He would die? Did He want to die?" They would have asked questions all night long if we had time. Please pray for these girls. There were several others as well that need your prayers. Most of the kids that came to camp have very hard home lives. This is not like camp in the US where parents pay for kids to go. Schools send these kids and so it goes to the kids from the worst situations.
One day during camp one of the better behaved campers in my cabin pulled me aside and whispered that she found a "hokey pokey wrapper" in the rubbish bin. She seemed genuinely concerned and I had no idea what a "hokey pokey wrapper" was, but with my group of girls my brain was full of not so great ideas. Come to find out it was a candy wrapper. hehehe
One of my campers tried to refuse every meal, but we always told her she had no option but to eat. It was quite enjoyable to watch her always go up for seconds when she thought we weren't looking. And at one meal we had a silent meal where we put paper on the tables and gave everyone markers. She of course had to try not to eat and get attention, so she wrote out "I'm not hungry." I wrote back, "Sorry...you have to eat", then in her anger she wrote in all caps "I'M FOOL!" heh, I wanted to laugh so bad at her poor spelling, but just dragged her up to the line with me instead. =)
The first day of camp I read a note from a friend back in the US that said, "I hope God is using you and you are growing more and more in His love." That was my prayer of the week. These kids were impossible to keep loving 24/7 without help from the Lord. They found every button and pushed them, but with God's help they were so much easier to love. I knew their meanness and anger was not really aimed at me, I was just there when it was coming out. God blessed me with the chance to know those kids, and he sustained me too. On Tuesday I fell really hard in one of the games and hurt my back, but was able to still do everything. On Thursday I woke up with a headache and wanting to throw up, but I faked it till I maked it and had a fun day with the kids. (Saturday I couldn't fight it anymore and I did lose my lunch, but camp was over and we were heading home that day, so last night I went straight to bed and am still actually lying there as I write this. I'm feeling a bit better, but would appreciate your prayers as we start up with classes again tomorrow, and I'm still not quite 100%.
Thanks everyone! Sorry this is so long! Hope you find it entertaining and please pray for those sweet kids. Love to all!
