We're finally home! Sort of...

   I'm sitting here on the couch at the Richardson's house, and I figured that I'd kind of wrap things up for you guys. 

   Student Life Camp. Need I say more? Whether I do or not, I will. :)

I only have one complaint about this past week: it should have been two. In all of my sixteen years on this earth I have never had such an experience with Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. A lot of people this week have talked about how much they encountered God. That's all well and fine, but I really think that it was God who encountered me. I'm ashamed to think of my Christianity before June 1st, but that's the past, and welcome to the now, my friends. The reign of Jesus Christ throughout my life.

Just some highlights of this week for me:

  - my life has been totally "flipped" (you'll figure it out on Sunday)

  - from what I've heard, over 100 of the 880 students at camp came to Christ for the first time, and trust me, it was sincere.  

  - I met some great people, particularly Amanda, the female version of me (only much prettier :P) and a wonderful friend.

  - Not once was I asleep before 12:30 AM all week, which can be credited to the nightly football and soccer games outside my door.  

  - I experienced two amazing servants of the Lord, our worship leader Matt Papa (along with his band, including two guys by the names of Josh Girlie and Jordan Shababy...) and Wade Morris, one of my new favorite speaker/preachers. 

Since this is just a wrap up of the most life-changing (and nutritiously unhealthy) week of my life, I'll be out of your way. By the way, Megan has a lot of pictures which you'll be able to see soon.

- Caleb

   

jess's jammin' blog

     Hey everybody!

       Things are going great at camp. I'm really enjoying quiet time. I really feel God working in my life. It is so amazing to be alone and talking with God. I'm also trying to listen as well(: I'm definitely enjoying this camp experience. Our youth group is growing spiritually everyday. God is really revealing himself to me. I'm so blessed to have been apart of this experience. I'll miss camp greatly. But I must admit I miss home too. Hope everyone is doing well over in Louisiana,ttyl and I miss everyone:)

                                          -Jessica(:

Hello! this Erin writing from the most awesome camp on earth! I have learned so much more now that I came here. I learned especially that the world is always going to keep you from god. So I have to avoid that every day. I am enjoying myself a lot!

                                                                                                              Erin <><

Andrea's Corner

My name is Andrea. This is my corner. I would like to talk to you today about my time at camp. Fire...  Camp has been so incredible! People's lives are being changed here, and it's awesome to be a part of it. I've had a wonderful time minus the attack of the killer frisbee episode. I would like to take this time to thank anyone and everyone who made this trip possible!

( btw, I am not insane... (yet)... the first 3 sentences and "fire..." is a joke from camp)

                                                                                                                          - Andrea

madi

I have a coca-cola problem.  blah

                                     I have had a good time at camp.  It is very fun!  I enjoy listing to the music.  I have learned a lot.   

This is my first post from camp.  The week so far has been exciting, emotional, challenging, and spiritual.  I am very proud of the youth group's attitude and enthusiasm.  There is no way I could write all the experiences I have seen or felt this week without writing a never-ending blog.  God is completely in control and moving through our youth group and other youth groups.  Matt Papa's worship has been completely Christ-centered and AWESOME in every way!  Wade Morris's messages have challenged everyone, myself included, to change their view of the world.  They must become small, so God can show his greatness through them.  I have had so much fun with the youth and feel that they are more connected with God and each other.  Thank you for your prayers and thoughts while we are here.  I hope you get a chance to see and talk to the youth when they get back to see their excitement and changed attitudes.    

Same place, same time as yesterday. ;) Day 3 of Camp.

   Well at least we got some variety going. Today worship was good as usual, and lunch was okay (as opposed to yesterday's supper, which was positively pitiful) and right after that was rec, and our team had "Soaked" today. As the name implies, was grateful for the cooldown, but now I'm even more grateful just to be dry.

   Mark and I got like five hours of sleep last night, not because we didn't go to bed on time, but something or someone set off the fire alarm in our dorm last night at 3:45 AM. It shut off after a few rings, but it woke us up good enough to have us walking around. However I still had remnants of morning delirium because I started to gather my clothes and shoes for the day. I wondered why Mark had gotten back in bed, but I thought that he just wanted to wake up some. I turned around later to find him staring at me. 

   "What?" I asked.

   "Dude, what are you doing?" was Mark's reply.

   "Getting ready for the day..."

   "Um, it's 3:45 in the morning."

It finally came to me then that it wasn't time to get up. Mark proceeded to laugh his head off. 

We fell asleep again around 5 AM.

           - Caleb

  

                        

Today from Pam

So far today, we have talked about bearing each other's yoke and knowing that when we give our life to Christ, it means total sacrifice.  Our group is very enthusiastic and we have definitely become closer - friendships are blossoming and those that are typically quiet, are definitely blooming.  I am thoroughly enjoying myself.  We just finished lunch and are about to go the rec activities, where I hope to annihilate Mark with water guns.  

Continue to pray for us and we are witnessing remarkable growth with the camp.  I hope we can return next year!

Pam's notes

Camp has been tiring, hot, but the most absolute wonderful experience for me and the students! I have enjoyed spending time with all of them, and especially getting to know Mark and Megan (and MacCauley). The speakers are so inspiring and Matt Papa has been terrific.  Today we did the Hokey Pokey - rocked out style.  Anyway, we will all return sunburned and a little more exhausted, but definitely with a new purpose and a new drive for Christ and His word.  Keep us in your prayers, and thanks for the ones you've already sent our way!  Love! Pam

     Hey everybody:)!, 

          We are having a great time here at camp. My favorite time is worship. It makes me feel even closer to God. Matt Papa is amazing(thats the worship leader) by the way. The speaker is great as well. Right now we are eating in the caff.(we're having quesadillas:) I can't wait for Late Night tonight, they usually have skits prepared. They are really funny. My favorite is Edwins Corner:D

ttyl!

                                                  -Jessica(:

(Day 3) Day Two at SLC.

3:34 PM ET Lee University, Cleveland, TN

   Hello again! Well we finally figured out the internet here at LeeU, so we'll be able to let you guys back home follow us here at StudentLife Camp. We're on freetime now, and it's just after recreation, which was quite fun, except for being in the middle of a softball field at 1:30 in the afternoon, while it's...85 degrees or so? Maybe closer to 90. We had lots of teamwork games within our church group, as well as with a couple of other groups. A lot of fun, which came with a lot of sweat. And a lot of the games involved standing as close as possible, or holding on to each other, etc. It was a match perfect for youth camp.

   After that we got freetime, which is 3:30 to 4:30 today. The girls went back to take showers (?) and probably re-straighten their hair, put on fresh make-up, etc. I asked them if they wanted to write something on the blog here, and they said no. So that's why I'm here writing again. Megan isn't feeling well, so Mark is staying with her like a good husband. Macauley is sleeping(though it doesn't make much difference to me when it comes to someone to talk and walk around with), and Mrs. Pam is staying with her and Megan. Which means that I am out here by myself, but it's not too bad. I'm in a shady outdoor table  just outside the cafeteria writing to those of you who are reading, and it's pretty nice.

   Yesterday's camp was really good. Worship here is fantastic- Matt Papa (whom Mark and I have pretty much deemed a clone of David Crowder in looks and style) is a great musician with wonderfully simple yet powerful songs. Wade Morris, the pastor for this week, is pretty cool too, and he comes at us with great messages and an amazingly hyper preaching style. Last night was one of the most powerful worships I've had the chance to attend. And that was day one. There's no telling what tonight will be like.

   Auditions for Wednesday's talent show are in about thirty minutes, and Erin is going to head over there. If it all works out, we're going to try and get Mark to try out Macauley with her talent: sitting and being cute. 

   Quiet time this morning was excellent; God has been here with us ever since e got here, but this morning when I was alone in my new secret spot (a shady courtyard type thing with lots of trees and hills and these cool seats that go around the trees),  I learned a lot and felt a new drive to do what God has called us as Christians to do. 

This camp rocks.

  - Caleb

   Dinner is from 4:30 to 6:00, so maybe you'll here from one of the girls then.

           

Day 1: The Trip Up

10:36 PM CT  - Trussville, Alabama 

   Hey everybody,  Caleb here. I thought this would be a cool thing to do, so that you guys can follow your favorite teens on their escapades at Student Life Camp. I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

   The trip began when we pulled away from the BCM this afternoon with a myriad of waving and blown kisses to parents, siblings, and friends. All of the youth were in Mrs. Pam's van, with Madison in the front, Erin and Jessica in the middle, and Andrea and I in the back (I'm not really sure why seating arrangements are important, but now you know anyway). About fifteen minutes later we had just gotten on the interstate, and out came the ipods. Well, the ipods and a mystery novel . I was just minding my own business with Family Force 5's "Love Addict" in my ears, when Andrea whips out a 500(ish) page Sherlock Holmes book.  I suddenly felt very shallow.

   The ipod/Sherlock Holmes continued for the next hour and a half or so, when we decided to do something a little more inclusive. Namely, interstate alphabet. The object is to spell the alphabet using letters from signs, license plates, etc. as long as it's outside the car. It was 3:21 then, and we were going to try to get all the letters before 3:30. All was going great until we hit the letter Q, at the same time that we entered a long stretch of nothingness. That carried us through to 3:33, when we decided that 3:35 was our revised goal. We got to Z at 3:37.

   Interstate alphabet was so fun however, that it wasn't long before we were spelling the alphabet backwards, and then 0 to 9, and when we got to 7 doing the numbers backwards, it got a little old and we decided to watch Kung Fu Panda on Madison's portable dvd player while Andrea went back to "Holmesing". The only problem was that we couldn't get the audio to run through the van's speakers, so we couldn't hear the movie very well, and I eventually faded into a doze.

   I woke up and put my earbuds back in, and we stopped at a Burger King around 5:15 to stretch and maybe get a snack. But I'm pretty sure it was really because Macauley was hungry and cranky. I had some fries and a mix of orange Hi-C and Sprite that came out tasting like flat Coke. Odd.

   We hit the road again at 5:50, and continued on until we got here: Trussville, Alabama. We stopped at an unusually spacious golden arches, where hdtv's were actually present. I was quite impressed, except for the trash scattered around the sticky floor. Gotta love McDonalds.

   I got in line right in front of five omg-ing preppy girls that all looked the same: 15 to 17 years old, "cute" strapless dresses, high heels, and hair-straightener hair that was twelve shades lighter than their salon-fried skin. What they were doing in a sticky-floored Mickey D's was entirely beyond me. 

   I got my food and went to the table where everyone else in the group was already sitting, when I discovered that I had gotten my food- and only my food. No drink. I wasn't about to choke down a Chicken Ranch BLT (which was quite tasty I might add, despite the overflowing ranch dressing), so I grabbed my receipt and went to stand for another ten minutes behind the omg-ing preppy girls, as well as some other people. I finally got my cup and went the safe route with Dr. Pepper, and sat down as everyone else was finishing up. 

   It was about 8:00 PM CT, which would be 9:00 PM ET, which would mean that we wouldn't get to our hotel until about 11:30 PM. Long story short, we're still here in Trussville, Alabama. We're quite comfortable and thankful that we aren't just now getting into the hotel. We'll drive the last 2 1/2 hours in the morning.

   Once we got unpacked and settled in, we pulled out the t-shirts Megan had bought for us to decorate. Our group has been assigned to be part of the Red Rumble, which is some sort of SLC "faction" if you will,  with several groups in it. I guess we'll figure out what it's for when we get to camp. When I got my turn with the red fabric marker, I was doing fine until I got to "L" in "RUMBLE". I stopped paying attention and looked down to find "RUMBE". L's can be made into E's, but E's can't be made into L's. Or at least, that's what most would think. But I searched my creative mind and came up with a plan that ended up disguising those extra areas of the (now) "L" as these cool orange bars that go across the text. It's hard to explain, but maybe I'll post a photo later. I finished, and me and Mark headed to our room to take showers and go to bed. Or rather, take showers, blog, then go to bed.

   So for now, I'm tired and it's late, so I believe I'll switch over to the go to bed part.

                                                                                                                - Caleb