church camp and convegni PART1

ciaoooo tutti!

JUMPING IN

classes officially start back this coming week. while the summer semester brings different opportunities to travel and with different churches and partake in "convengi" ( italian word for "retreats" ) , i for one am ready to jump back into the swing of things here at the school!

picking up where we left off, immediately after returning from the states, we were on the road again . . .  this time to church camp!

C H U R C H  C A M P

church camp is held just outside of a small town called "Ascoli" near rome. the camp is held high up on a twisting mountain in a remote village named "meschia". Meschia is so small there isnt even a stop light. . .  just to paint the picture. We are surrounded  by woods, stars, and wild boars alike.

in years past, they have separated the kids according to age and facilitated 2 weeks of camp. this year, it was all ages combined. however, reflecting on what we have been noticing in the other retreats, attendance was low this year- barely 50 in attendance. . .and remember, this is a church camp for the entire country. definitely a different reality than to what most of us relate our church camp experiences.

i'll be very honest and say we were all disappointed with camp this year. its difficult to see the "gray" in the youth. personally, as previously stated, i believe a lot of this to be due to the society in which we live today. the new age philosophies, post modernism glorification of man, and.... technology. yep, technology. the kids are grappling trying to live among all of this.  its hard for them. a lot of times, they feel alone. they love God. they believe, but they feel so different and alone at times. so when they come to these retreats, they are excited, and at the same time, im noticing that its confusing for them. in a world where everything is compartmentalized, its difficult for them to embrace following Christ fully - not an uncommon problem for any of us in one way or another if we're completely honest with ourselves. 

its hard for any teen to understand being in the world but not of it, but especially if you are the only teen in your church, town, city, school, group of friends ... its disheartening bc we as Americans are beyond blessed, even if you think that you arent, in comparison with the rest of the world, we are - even if only by the virtue of being an American. one of the girls told me that she often imagined what it would be like to grow up in America- a big church, a big group of christian friends...but then she concluded by saying that she is now grateful that she wasnt born there. In italy, its a challenge for her to grow in her faith and to believe, and she's grateful for the struggle! how beautiful is that? 

Jodi and I volunteered to be the counselors for the teen girls ages 13-17.

the girls were great. as for me, being the adult isnt always fun, but its certainly always rewarding. i know i can say this also on the behalf of jodi, that we feel blessed to have spent the week with these young women. they are all different and unique, each with her own gifts and struggles, each loved deeply by our heavenly Father. sometimes in this work, a person can loose oneself, sometimes in ways that feel devastating, but then are times, when the goodness of the Father is almost too much to bear. When i think about the privilege we have to be in His service and to witness Him work tirelessly for the good in the lives of so many, i sit back and am overwhelmed. Our Father knows each of us deeply for who we are, for who He created us to be. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our fears, our dreams, bc He made us! to realize that He allows me to witness Him work in others as He simultaneously works inside of me is    b r e a t h t a k i n g   . im confident that He is at work in these girls, and its exciting to think about what the years ahead will bring.

while the age gap is obvious between jodi and me and the girls, it was fun to be let in our their music tastes and chit chats in the room during rest time :) one of our deeper talks lead to the modesty topic. this was interesting. we quickly learned that it is viewed as a "culture" issue, not a Biblical one here in italy. this was of course shocking at first. we gathered our marbles and began to talk with them about why it isnt a cultural issue. we talked about our bodies as living temples, self respect, boys, fashion, and future husbands. it was a little premature- they were still a little confused but they were listening. it was a good opportunity to have deeper talks with the girls and jodi and i were thankful for that!

S T U D Y 

Eric with Beatrice and Anna in the "boat". 

Each morning, the day would start off with singing and a small devo.

Another morning with David leading the devo.

Afterwards, the kids were split into different Bible classes. 

Anna, Dyan, and Laura 

David and Goliath

towards the end of the week, each class put on a skit that they had been working on all week. 

another one of my favs - The Good Samaritan

S P O R T S

In the afternoons, a lot of time was spent on sports.

Eric, Guiliano, Jeff,  and Miles helped orchestrate the sports and activities. .. we even built and brought our own corn hole games!  :)

While the older kids played sports, i soaked up some time with the little ones making bracelets, giggling, and talking about life ;)

A R T S and C R A F T S

materials used: shaving cream, food coloring, and card stock paper  = original hand dyed paper.

Jodi and i were also in charge of the arts and crafts, and it was no joke! the kids worked really hard and we made a lot of cool crafts! many thanks pinterest!

Modge podged tissue paper balloons made into lanterns!

looms, dyed paper, and wreath.

not pictured-we also made 3 tie blankets that we plan to take to the nursing home later this fall!

 L A T E  N I G H T  H I K E

Jodi and me and the girls! 

Every year, we all take a late night hike up the mountain. We stop at a grassy spot where we enjoy a devo while gazing up at the beautiful stars. 

all together :)

didnt our lanterns turn out good? eric and i brought back glow bracelets and passed them out to the campers before the walk. they also served as lights inside our lanterns!

"So we, who are many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another."

Romans 5:12

This was the devo for that evening on the hillside. 

Marie and Minnie

church camp was a very unique experience. . .  but our Florence retreat that followed blew all of our expectations way out of the water! i hope to get part 2 of this post up before classes start on monday!

God bless each of you wherever you are and in whatever work you are doing for him!

xoxox

E and J