Another Type of Transition

This is Chelsea updating the blog today, and I apologize in advance as my husband writes much more poetically than myself...

This morning marked the final meal of English youth camp, the official end to the first third of our journey. These last two days or so have been marked by what you would call controlled chaos. Thursday was Bastille Day or Quatorze Juillet (July 14th), and the kids, per usual, had a fantastic time with lots of games and fun, but of course it also meant just two days left of camp, and David felt overwhelmed with the amount of scenes to shoot and editing to do on the video. However, God definitely provided and they were able to finish. We should be posting the finished product online somewhere, and we will link the blog to it when we do. It turned out so well! The kids at camp loved to watch it and see their friends onscreen speaking English.

Last night was the final night at camp and we had the whole evening planned down to the minute. In camp, all the kids get to choose a workshop where they learn about a certain art and then learn about glorifying God through it (hence the video and such). On the final night, every workshop (and every camper) displays their arts, so there are dance routines and such. The night began with the theater workshop coordinating with the kitchen team, creating a dinner theater atmosphere, complete with Dustin entering the room singing the name of the main course (tartiflette, an alpine favorite). Then, after dessert there was worship, so we showered and went to the hill and we watched the first dance and then the self defense program. Then we walked through two of the buildings where watercolors, ceramics, print-making/woodcutting, and photography were displayed. Following that we went to the main building and then watched the presentations for puppets, video, and the second part of dance. We then watched a fantastic video made by a Chris who is here filming everything that really captured the spirit of the camp and the reasons why everyone loves it so much. It is such a special special place where everyone is encouraging and people have a refuge and a safe haven to be themselves and express their faith with no judgment.

As everyone said their tearful goodbyes to one another and I watched from a distance I was struck by how short this is for them. They only get two weeks! It may seem like a long two weeks to us because of the business and how much work we do, but it flies by for them and they count down the days until they return next year to this incredible place. I feel blessed to be a part of it.

Next, we transition into adult camp, a period for young french people aged 18-25 to come for fellowship. David and I will be more on the program side of things, which is super exciting. Although I'm sure I will be stepping into the kitchen to help occasionally (I'm about to give an orientation to the new cook), I will be leading a cooking workshop and we will be working more directly with the campers, which is fantastic. David and Phillip will be leading another video workshop, which will be less structured, but also David will not be so active on the service team, so it will be a much needed break for both of us.

Pray for us as we are heading to Grenoble for a night tomorrow in order to get away, do some grieving and such by ourselves.

Also pray for us as we began the planning and organization for the next two parts of camp! They will be busy but less stressful with fewer rules as we are no longer working with minors.

We love you all. God bless you.