Summer of Service 2023
We Are Made For A Time
June 22, 2023
Its been almost a week since I arrived here in Romania and what an exciting time it has been. Not only have I been able to reconnect with some amazing people but, I have also been able to make new friends and meet others from a background completely different to my own. Not only that but I have been able to put into practice and apply some past experiences to the work I am now doing here.
So here’s a little about what happened here in the last week!
Within the first day of getting here to my final destination in Romania, we were already all training to work on the ropes course for the summer. This included all the common stuff about how to safely hook in and properly change throughout the course but also included the element of understanding how to actually traverse the course. Most importantly, this traversal experience was the first step to connecting the real goal of the entire setup: to share the Gospel. To be honest, I never thought of the biblical or spiritual lessons that could come from a ropes course however, after going through the different setups and hearing about some practical connections from our instructor, I’m stunned I did not make these connections sooner.
After the days of training and a day of rest, I was trained in some aspects of property maintenance and was quickly thankful that I had previous experience of understanding how machinery worked and best practices. My experience helping my friend Cole cut lawns before coming out this summer was especially helpful in helping me understand what works best time wise while also avoiding common problems. Most importantly, it helped me realize that time spent mowing and cutting is the perfect time for jamming out to some music, listening to podcasts, or even learning Romanian.
Throughout all these experiences I began to realize that an important theme began to emerge within the work I was doing. In many ways, I believe the Lord had prepared me for the work that was being done. In the last few months I have learned how to best do things such as lawn care which may seem minor but have helped a lot. In the longer outlook, God has allowed me to use the skills I picked up being a zip line guide and transfer them into helping in a ropes course. Perhaps God has made me for the time I am in?
It’s pretty cool to see that God really does work in this sense. I am reminded of the story of Esther and how she was made queen and in the end, that position helped her save her people from their deaths. Her uncle even told her when she was afraid,
“Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b.
In a much smaller way, I believe that God has put me in the place I am to serve in this time and I believe that He has made a time and place for all of us in which He wants and needs us. It may not be on the same scale as Esther’s calling but He believes that it is just as important. So I will end this week with a questions for you the readers,
Where are you being called? What place is yours?
Thankful In All Things
June 16, 2023
Next, I can say that we were all thankful for the support we received from the various groups of people that support our camp as we got volunteers out when we needed for hard days. One such example that still blows are mind is a small army coming to help unload over a hundred bales for an archery wall while others gave their days off up and helped finish the wall and then helped with the large tents. Another great example is that small groups of kitchen staff have been consistently out to camp to help with the rentals.
Lastly, I can say that we are all thankful for the energy and endurance the Lord provides as we made it through some long days while also putting on events and activities they have not done since the pre-Covid year. It is amazing to see how God has been working through things even such as that.
And with all that said it brings me to the last point in this post and that is I am thankful for making it here to Romania safely in the last few days. Thankful that I have been able to find the rest needed and also not get sick. I am thankful that even in the hiccups, God is working bigger and better things.
Despite what sometimes we see the Lord is moving. He’s moving in the small things and the big things and I cannot help being thankful for those moments.
I leave this with a verse that I think sums this up in short:
16Always be joyful. 17Never stop praying. 18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
What Does it Take To Serve?
June 02, 2023
A little over two weeks since the summer has begun in earnest and it has been a great time thus far with highs and lows. While I have been lucky enough to work with the same team last year to help set up the local camp for the coming summer, I have also been able to grow the friendships that exist out here and continue to grow my relationship with God. One such aspect of growth has been in coming to really understand the idea of service, what it looks like, and what it takes in a camp environment.
When people usually think about a summer camp the first thing that comes to mind is working with kids. People may specifically think about cabin leading, playing games, and supervising dozens of children making sure everyone gets to the places they need to be. However, after working here for a year and seeing how summer camps work, I can tell you that there is way more than meets the eye.
While some people come to mentor and disciple the campers, there are still others who come to serve in other ways. Every years we have members of the team dedicate their time to maintaining the camp by doing repairs, mowing lawns, and running garbage to the local dump among other things. We also have team member who have dedicated their time to housekeeping duties such as cleaning windows, sweeping, mopping floors, and even braving the bathrooms to keep them clean all summer. There are others yet who have given their time to feed campers for a week or more at a time, essentially reenacting a smaller version of Jesus feeding the five thousand three times a day while others make sure there are clean dishes to use in the process. And even beyond all these people, are the many who give a day or two just to help out around the camp and fill the gaps, lend an extra hand, and even give their days off to simply support the camp ministry as a whole.
It is through these examples and from doing some of these tasks myself I have learned that service takes three important things:
1. Serving takes a servants heart
Serving is about doing more than what you want to do. It’s about being willing to do the things that are sometimes asked of us, stepping out of your comfort zone, and doing things that grow us as people and followers of Christ. A great example is to be like Peter and step out of our own hypothetical boat and walk on the water with Jesus.
2. Serving takes using your God given gifts to help others.
While serving is about being willing to step out of your comfort zone, it can also be about using the things you are good at. It is written in Romans:
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” Romans 12:4-5.
We all have specific roles we are best at and serving takes us embracing those roles. If you believe that you were blessed in the gift of leading youth, then be a youth leader! If you were blessed with a crafty mind and ability to build and create, then bring that to building projects or maintenance! And if you don’t know what your gift is, then don’t be afraid to ask others what they think your gift is or step out of your comfort zone to figure out what that gift is.
3. Serving takes doing it all for the glory of God
After every staff meeting the camp director asks us why we do what we do? And the response is simply, “For the Glory of God.” In the end, serving is not about ourselves, it is about furthering the Kingdom of God here on Earth and knowing that everything we do is for more than ourselves. This is what drives everyone who comes and gives their time at this local camp every year. And I can tell you from what I’ve seen, Gods Glory really does shine through.
While there is totally more to be said and talked about, I will leave it here for now with another fun sunset picture.
How did we get here?
May 13, 2023
It would be an understatement to say that I have been excited for this upcoming summer. In fact, I am through the roof ecstatic for what this summer will hold and for all the different experiences that will come along. There is both excitement for serving in Romania and also spending some time here at home working at a summer camp that quickly became near and dear to my heart.
I thought it would be a great place to start by sharing the origin story for how the plans for this summer developed. As you will see, its a story filled with friends,
It began back in autumn of last year when I applied to be a delegate at the 3rd Global Peace Summit which was hosted by Humanitarian Affairs Asia. For some context, I had been to their 2nd Peace Summit which they hosted right before the world shut down due to Covid-19 and I was excited to finally see them putting on a third iteration with an interesting group of people. After being accepted I began to plan the journey down to Thailand but thought, “If I’m already outside of North America, why not travel a little because it will be cheaper?” For those that don’t know, we who live in North America pay a premium to leave the continent however, that’s for a different post.
Fast forward through the planning process and I knew I wanted to go to Cyprus, an island that has been the focus of some of my studies due to the conflict present, and also see Auschwitz which was helpful for my graduate studies. I shared these plans with a close friend of mine Cole, and he suggested that if possible, I should visit our churches missionaries in Romania. It seemed like a great idea because Romania was in the middle of both places. Soon enough, Romania found a place in the itinerary, flights were set, and arrangements were made.
It was in January 2023 that I began my journey and despite some foreseen and unforeseen changes, I made it to Romania and got in touch with our church missionaries. The few days in which I spent with serving alongside them and other volunteers were some of the high moments during that trip. When it was time to continue onward in the journey, it was the hardest and most difficult place to leave.It was in those few days that I felt as if I had left a piece of myself behind.
On the train and bus ride out of Romania, I had a long time to think and pray about the experience. It was during this time that I believe I found the answer: God was calling me to go to Romania again.
Over the course of the next day as I made my way to Serbia, the next leg of the journey, I contacted the various people who run things at the mission in Romania and began to plan out what it would look like to get there in the summer. The following night I called up the same friend who first suggested I go to Romania and told him about the plans that were forming. His response was simply, “I cant help but think I had something to do with this.” and Cole was right! Without his initial suggestion to visit Romania, I would have never went and started these chain of events.
While I have had friends like Cole who have walked along this path with me, I know that above all God was working through these plans from the start. To think that this whole new journey began with a small suggestion to go to a place unrelated to any locations in a trip that was already mostly planned? Only God can take those circumstances and make them work out like they have.
And thus here you have the origin story for how the Romanian part of the summer came to be. In terms of the local camp, I still wanted to help out where I can. So that is where we start this week.