I Am the Tooth Fairy

The last two weeks have been a crazy blur with a weekend of almost non-stop sleeping in between. Camp is exhausting, and besides waking up to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial and Waikiki, we've basically spent the entirety of the weekend sleeping. All the girls, seven total, are staying in one big room at a local pastor's house. The minute we get back from camp on Friday afternoons our luggage goes in one pile, we go in another pile, and it's off to sleep.

With such tight living quarters on the weekends and living with eight year olds during the week it would be impossible for none of us to get sick, and in true Margaret fashion, I led the pack. I spent the entire teen week with no voice, little energy, and four cool girls who went with the flow. It was incredible to see God's strength in my weakness! I had never fully realized how proud I am until I didn't have a voice, but we serve a Great God who delights in using His broken children. Mostly whispering, I was able to talk to each of my campers about things they struggle with, and most importantly, hear their heart for Jesus and for reaching the lost. The messages were on being an authentic disciple of Jesus, something I can only do through the power of Jesus! 

Week ends, insert sleep here.

Zzzzzz.

Sleep ends, week begins.

Our second junior week was a little smaller. I had three campers, ages 8, 10, and 12. We laughed a lot and learned a lot. The junior campers become your best friend instantly, and they hang on your every word. It's nice. My girls asked a lot of questions about everything under the sun, screamed at my ghost stories, laughed at my jokes, and on Wednesday we all wore pink. Success. 

The highlight of the week, however, came in the early morning hours of Friday. The day before my eight year old camper lost a tooth.

So, in those dark hours of the morning, I bravely climbed up to her top bunk bed, carefully slid the little tooth out from under her pillow, and replaced it with money to spend at the Canteen. She didn't wake up.

I am the tooth fairy. And being the tooth fairy is being an adult. Success.

Week One

I'm a camp counselor.

Wow. I never thought I would say that. Never. But it's true. I even own a hot pink baseball cap. I lost my voice cheering, I'm covered in bug bites, and four little pieces of my heart belong to my four precious campers. 

This week I didn't sleep a lot. I ate crayfish caught only a few hours before, I won a belly flop contest, I gave more middle school relationship advice than I care to remember, I was pummeled with pillows, I ate spam, and I loved every single minute of it. 

The word "I" has already been in that post 15 times. That's the problem. Even my ministry is about me. There is no such thing as my ministry. This week was God's gift to me, and it's one I can never deserve.

The lessons God taught me this week are way longer than any blog post should ever be. I am so limited, but His limitless grace is always always, enough.  It is enough at 4:00 am when an 8-year-old wakes you up to play Pocket Pets. It is enough when two girls fight over friends. It is enough when you find a huge cockroach in the shower. It is enough when you get a stewed tomato and hot sauce pie in your face that stains your white shirt. 

My life in Christ is one undeserved gift after another, and this week was no exception. I laughed, I cried, and I absorbed the goodness of God. The messages focused first on redemption, then on growth. My girls weren't as open as I'd dreamed they would be. One on one time was hard, them distracted by bugs and boys and chocolate ice cream, and me distracted by myself and my selfishness.

My God is bigger than me. He is bigger than my pride, and He is bigger than my inabilities, and He was incredibly big this week. He worked in the lives of my girls in ways I would not have imagined. Campers found Jesus this week, and campers saw how amazingly fun serving Him is. Thursday night I listened to child after child tell their friends about their great Savior. I'm a cryer anyway, but when 10-year-old boys cry in front of a group of people when talking about the satisfaction Jesus makes, I'm a goner.

This week was hard. I'm emotionally and physically exhausted, and I caught some kind of bug that's landed me in bed all day. Please be in prayer for the health of all our team members this week. Getting sick isn't exactly in the schedule, and with seven girls in one room, the germs flow freely.

This week was hard, but hard is what my heart needs to grow. 

And So It Begins

Today's the day. Today's the day I'll set foot in my cabin and walk around the campsite. And tomorrow, my first batch of campers arrive.

I cannot wait.

I've spent the last two weeks training for this. We've snorkeled and paddle boarded (yes, even those were part of training) and been reminded of the immense love of Jesus. We've met a lot of the kids and their families, talked to the pastors who love and care for them, and learned how we can best explain grace to them. Tommorrow I'll find out how well I listened. 

Tomorrow I'm unplugging. No phone or Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or Skype: nothing. It's only till Friday, but it's looking like an eternity.

I'm excited.

I'm excited to focus. To totally devote my evergy to the 8-12 year old girls in my cabin. I'm excited to stop feeling pressure to record memories and actually  experience them. I'm excited to write good old fashion letters and record funny sayings in my notebook and flip the pages of a paper Bible.

Thank you for those who have been praying. Please, keep it up. Pray for my sweet girls and pray for their sinful counselor. She's gonna need it. 

If I've learned anything in life so far, it's that everything is an adventure, humor is everywhere, and all is grace. 

Hawaiian Hospitality

Hawaiian Hospitality

It's hard to believe that I've been here a week. My traveling nightmare seems like forever ago. I think that one day of traveling was longer than this whole week in Hawaii.

I've already learned a lot. I've learned that I don't like riding in the back of a pick up truck, I've learned that Spam can be used in more ways than you can imagine, I've learned that sunburns itch, I've learned that seven girls can live in one room and not kill each other (so far), and I've learned that the Hawaiian people are some of the most hospitable people in the world.

We've spent time with six pastors so far. We've visited churches, helped with Bible clubs, and attended training sessions win local pastors. We've gone to them, and they've come to us, and we've eaten a lot. Here's a breakdown of the food we've eaten.

Wednesday night: Pastor Rocky took us to a local Chinese restaurant. We parked in a back alley, and we were the only ones in the restaurant. The place was decorated in a combination Chinese/Christmas style. An adorable friend of the pastor cooked for us. We thought she had made us fried rice, which she had, so we politely gorged ourselves. The fried rice was good, although we're still not sure what was in it, but it wasn't alone. Fried rice was followed by beef and broccoli, chop suey, some tomato dish with a still unidentified meat, and battered shrimp. We thought we'd eaten a ton, but apparently not enough for the old lady, who sent us home with ten boxes of food.

Thursday: Pastor Estrella and his family had us over to play games, talk about camp, and of course, eat. Mrs. Estrella can sure cook, and once again, sent us back with leftovers. 

Over the weekend more pastors brought us dinner, several people took us out for ice cream, and Sunday night we had homemade pizza. You guessed it, there were leftovers.

Monday night we went out for Filipino food. Very local, and yummy. Lots of pork and more pork and a little more pork. And rice and pork.

So food is literally piling up. We've filled  refrigerators and the food keeps coming. Then, one refrigerator broke.

I'm sorry, sweet Chinese lady. Your food was great, but we just couldn't eat it all. 

You may have noticed that  I have 1) fallen behind and 2) skipped Tuesday. I don't really have an excuse for the first, but as for the second, Tuesday was one of those days that deserves a blog post all of it's own.