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Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – Camp Swatara (again!)

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Well friends, this is it. Our last post as YPTT 2015. It has been an awesome ride and journey through our summer of teaching and learning about peace together. We couldn’t have done anything without the help of all of you wonderful people! We also would like to issue a HUGE THANK YOU to our sponsors, Church of the Brethren (Youth/Young Adult Ministry and Office of Public Witness), On Earth Peace, Outdoor Ministries Association, and Bethany Seminary! These are the beautiful people that make the experience of YPTT possible. So a big thank you to them, and also to all the people that we have met along the way who gave us advice or even just a friendly smile, you helped us through our summer together! Another thank you to all the camps we attended and their great staff and awesome campers! Without all those people, Youth Peace Travel Team would just be a summer of us traveling around talking to one another and accomplishing nothing! We are so grateful and so blessed to have been a part of YPTT 2015, so thank you to all who helped make it happen. On to our final blog post (sniffle).

We spent our final week together at Camp Swatara, attending and helping with their “Wet and Wacky” Camp. The camp is very aptly named, as it was both wet and wacky the whole week! It was a very fun camp for us to end our summer on, and we had a great time! While at Swatara we also helped lead some sessions for the Big and Small Camp and the Girl Power Camp that were happening this week as well! Here for the last time are some of our thoughts from the week.

I can’t believe we just finished our last camp as the Youth Peace Travel Team! The last 10 weeks have gone by so quickly! Our final week of camp was a fantastic time spent at Swatara again! We helped out in a variety of ways including a little bit of morning praise, Bible and some peace sessions. We led our creation care activity with the intermediate aged, and elementary aged campers. The campers always impress me with their knowledge of environmental issues and solutions. Even the young elementary aged campers had a lot to offer! A big highlight of the week for me was all of the fun and crazy water games we got to play. This week was wet and wacky week at Swatara so we spent a lot of time in a swimming suit doing something exciting. We had pool parties and water games every day. Another pretty wacky aspect of the week was meal times. Each mealtime we had some sort of challenge that made eating slightly more interesting. Some of the challenges were eating in the dark, only talking n questions, no utensils, being tied to your neighbor and opposite day. Swatara was a really swell way to end the summer! – Annika

“Isn’t that wacky? Isn’t that zany?” These phrases seemed to be the battle cry this week, and it was excellent. This past week at Swatara was in many ways the perfect week to end a summer on. The camp itself was crazy and high energy and helped us all to forget how tired we really were, and the campers and staff were awesome! This week we got to hang out and join in on a lot of the wacky and wet activities that happened around camp, such as “Organized Chaos” which is as wacky and wet as it sounds and pool parties and beach parties and all around fun! We also got the chance to lead a couple sessions for the youth, which was awesome! We again led our Creation Care session that focuses on sustainability and caring for the Earth, and got to hear some incredible ideas on how to do that from the campers. We also got to lead some bible times for the different camps that were going on! We led a session about John Kline and Sarah Major that we call our Peace/Faith in Action session! (Shoutout to Nell, who was John Kline’s horse, who we represented with a homemade stick horse. She was beautiful and traveled to 7 different states with us.) A highlight from the week for me was the sacred campfire that we had Thursday night. We created torches out of branches and towels and the counselors carried them down to the lake where we had a floating campfire that we lit and had our service next to. It was a beautiful sight. This week was so awesome and it was the perfect to wrap up our wacky (and wet at times) summer!!

P.S. Thank you to my teammates Annika and Brean. It’s been an incredible ride together, thank you for your ministry and for your part in the awesome experience that YPTT is. Blessings to you both as you continue to spread the peace. – Kerrick

This week at Swatara’s Wet and Wacky camp, I have learned that letting nearly fifty campers loose with mud, shaving cream, ice, Jell-O and feathers is probably both a genius and crazy idea. But that was right along with the theme of the week, and the kids seemed perfectly happy to go along with it-and so did I! I mostly enjoyed the themed dinners, from the resource staff dressing up “fancy”-and coming out looking like we were from different time periods-to only being able to speak in questions. All the themes were equally challenging and wacky. The camp activities were plenty wet too, with both a beach party and a pool party. The water was cold sometimes! A funny moment was when staff started leading dancing and exercising to keep the kids warm, although most of it was just jumping around. Besides the wet and wacky, I also enjoyed hike day, and revisiting the rock pile. The view of everything was just as beautiful as before. All in all, this week was a wonderfully fun week to close the summer on. – Brean

Well there it is. The last blog post from YPTT 2015. Thank you to Camp Swatara for the excellent last week, and for allowing us to have our debriefing there after the week was done. If you haven’t made it out to Camp Swatara, you most definitely should take a visit, it is truly a wonderful place! Another big thank you to YOU for reading and supporting us in our journey this summer, YOU ROCK! Blessings in all that you do, and as always, keep spreading the beautiful message of peace and love. Thank you all again. We love you.

Signing off for the last time, the YPTT 2015.

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – Adventure Camp

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Hello friends! We are winding down on our summer, but that doesn’t mean we’re not having just as much fun as before! We spent the past week in North Carolina, at the Brethren United Adventure Camp (or the Brethren United Mountain Adventure Trip, BUMAT for short, as Camp Bethel calls it.) This camp is hosted by Camp Carmel, run by Camp Ithiel, and also attended this year by Camp Bethel, Camp Brethren Woods, Camp Inspiration Hills, and Camp Harmony!! Each of the six camps had campers and counselors that they sent and we all got to hang out and do adventure trip things together! We all had a blast, and here are some of our thoughts from the week! Thanks for reading!

Adventure camp was super exciting!  Campers and staff from six camps all got together for a giant week of excitement.  We had a new adventure every day.  On our first day we hiked to a natural waterslide. There we got to slide down a gentle waterfall along rock into a pool of water.  On the second day we hiked all the way up to the top of a mountain.  Once we got to the top we could see clouds moving in and they came right on top of us on the mountain.  It was so beautiful, we could see for miles (when the clouds were not in the way). The last day of camp was the busiest.  We went to a high ropes course, tubing on a river, and to a park.  It was so fantastic to spend all day hiking and exploring while getting to know campers. In addition to adventuring the Youth Peace Travel Team lead morning watch, a peace session in the middle of the day, and campfire every night.  A highlight for me was Faith in Action day where we did a session on John Kline and peaceful problem solving.  The horse prop named Nell that we use has now been to seven states!  I also really enjoyed hiking to the top of the mountain and playing Ultimate Frisbee in the park. – Annika

What a week! It was so busy and tiring, I found myself sleeping any chance I received, but I had so much fun! The views we saw while out hiking were breathtaking and so new to me-it was my first time seeing such a grand waterfall, and being on top of a mountain. The views and fresh, light air make me want to live the mountains, even if I’ll have to be walking up hills much of the time, and there were many steep hills. I’m just happy that being up so high didn’t scare me-I found it exhilarating…especially on the ropes course we went to on Thursday. I was expecting that I wouldn’t do well on it, since I have been doing poorly on other high ropes courses this summer, but most of Thursday’s course proved to be a test of courage and balance-not too much strength was needed, which I lack. I was so proud of myself for reaching the third and hardest level on the course, even if it was just because I wanted to propel down from the top. With all the new and exciting experiences, as well as the awesome and fun staff and campers who we accompanied, it truly was an adventure camp. – Brean

This week put the FUN in ADVENTURE(FUN)CAMP! J This was the first time that the YPTT had ever attended this camp and it was a blast. We played the role of resource people, so we led Morning Watch each day and led a quick peace session in the afternoons and then led Campfire/Vespers at night! In between all of that, we got to hang out with the campers and join them on the adventuring that the week was all about! One of my favorite parts of the week was that each morning and each night a different camp was in charge of leading songs for the group. This meant that all the campers and staff there got to experience a little bit of what the YPTT hears all summer, which is a bunch of new, different versions of the good ol’ camp songs! Another awesome thing was that each day brought new adventures, and with those came new spots for our sessions or campfire! Throughout the week we led sessions at a big rock on a hike to a natural rock water slide, on top of a mountain, and at a beautiful park! We also got to have a campfire on the side of a mountain one night. It was so beautiful every place we went, and it made the sessions that much better! This was our largest group of all senior high youth all summer, so it was a lot of fun to get to interact with them. The whole week was super excellent, from the sessions to the adventures, to the amazing food that Carmel had for us, to just being able to play games and have fun with the campers and staff! Whoooo! – Kerrick

We had an awesome time at adventure camp, and would like to send a major thank you to all the camps who helped make it happen, (Ithiel, Carmel, Bethel, Brethren Woods, Harmony, and Inspiration Hills) you all made the week great and are doing great things with your ministry!! This is our second to last week, so as we wind down with our journey, we’d also like to thank everyone that helped get us to this point, YOU ROCK!! And also, a huge ‘Thank You’ to YOU for reading our blog again, blessings to you in all that you do!

P.S.- Shout-out to Camp Bethel for helping shuttle us to and from BUMAT and throughout the week, you guys are AWESOME!!! (And a shout-out to “Gus Bus” our fantastic van that handled all types of terrain!)

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – Camp Bethel

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Hello again friends! We have just finished up our second week of camp, this time at the amazing Camp Bethel! Camp Bethel is HUGE and incredibly beautiful! It seems like almost everyone we’ve met out east has some sort of connection with this camp, and now we get to share in that! Here are some of our thoughts from the week! Hope you enjoy!

What can I say about Camp Bethel? First of all, the camp itself in absolutely massive, but secondly, it is not even big enough to hold all of the energy and incredible fun that all the wonderful people bring with them! This camp prides itself on being a family style camp, even though their camper numbers are super high! It was truly awesome to get to interact with all the super enthusiastic staff and campers throughout the week! I got the opportunity to go on a canoe trip with one of the units, and it was without a doubt a highlight of the week! Another highlight was getting to work with the Day Camp that Bethel puts on! The YPTT got to lead a session with each of the six units at this camp (all elementary students). We led some fruit of the spirit discussion and games and some fruity songs as well! It was super fun and filled with all the energy and excitement that young kids bring! Another highlight from the week was getting to sing and goof off with all the campers and staff throughout the week. There were constantly games and songs that we were always more than welcome to jump into and join! Camp Bethel was most definitely an incredibly fun and exciting week! – Kerrick

What a fun week at Camp Bethel! The staff here has the highest amount of energy that I’ve ever seen in a camp staff. It was so awesome! Singing is a part of almost every camp, but at Bethel it is a GIGANTIC part of camp and worship. We sang songs after every meal, before worship and units would sing as they walked between activities. I loved hearing familiar repeat-after-me songs that I could join in on everywhere I went. Bethel offers a free Day Camp and over 80 children registered. YPTT spent two days with them. Our first day we led sessions with the elementary students about the fruit of the spirit and the second day we led cardboard games. It was such a joy to spend time interacting with the little ones. Another highlight was skit night. Each unit performed a skit that they created. Some were even based off of funny events that happened during the week. Camp Bethel was quite an exciting time. – Annika

The first thing I noticed about Camp Bethel was the water. There were streams winding their way throughout the camp, and a couple shallow ponds. I found the setting to be very peaceful. Yet as people began arriving the peace was quickly balanced by incomparable energy and enthusiasm. There were so many people, and so much energy that I was a bit overwhelmed at times-but song time was a blast. It was interesting to get to know a camp that was so different from my home camp (Mardela) in both size and worship styles. The people who call Bethel home are so different than those from Mardela, and it was fun getting to know them and doing my best to keep up with them at song time. I especially loved visiting campers and staff during “Home in the woods,” when people sleep out in the woods for a night. One group fed me! Around the fire, I was able to interact with some cool people, and was sad to depart the camp early on Friday for National Junior High Conference before being able to get to know these people more. Overall, Bethel was a unique experience. – Brean

Thank you for reading and sharing in a part of our wonderful journey around the camps! Thanks to Camp Bethel for the wonderful and exciting week! Until next time friends, spread the peace! – YPTT 2015

 

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – ECHO Workcamp

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Hello from Florida again friends! We spent the last week as directors for the workcamp down here in Fort Myers at ECHO Global Farm! We got to not only help lead devotions for the youth, but also got the chance to work alongside them. It was an excellent experience for all of us, and here are some of our thoughts from the week.

I was already excited to see ECHO again, as I went there as a workcamper back in 2009. Having that experience gave me some know-how, but it didn’t help me “know how” to be a director – that was the biggest difference! But I still had a great experience at both the farms and with my campers. These campers were an awesome, hard working, energetic and song-loving group. Sing-alongs were a must during the week. But it wasn’t all play. The work was dirty and tiring, and we drank so much water. We were all inspired to live more mindfully of the earth and the resources we use. I daydreamed about having my own garden of multi-use plants and produce. My parents say that I came home daydreaming about a garden back in 2009 too! ECHO must have a great impact on people as well as their staff. Proving just how dedicated to their spiritual calling, two elders of ECHO prayed for me for something I’ve been struggling with. I was definitely happy to be back. The beautiful gardens, the wonderful staff, and the great campers made it an unforgettable experience – one that was definitely worth the fire ant bites!  – Brean

Last week the Peace Team played the role of the director, which was new for everyone. I really enjoyed ECHO for many reasons. I love the philosophy they have on global farming and helping people around the world learn how to grow their own food. Food insecurity is something that interests me a lot so ECHO was a perfect opportunity to learn about and participate in helping to alleviate that problem. Echo has sections of the farm that replicate different regions of the world including: rainforest, mountain, wetlands, semi-arid, urban farming, community garden, and more. I worked in semi-arid by weeding and planting okra. I also worked in the community garden by hauling and mixing sand and soil to raise the beds in the garden. I haven’t ever done farm work so ECHO was very new and exciting. On our free day we got to go to Barefoot Beach. It was gorgeous! We got to swim and dolphins swam by us about 200 meters away! We also found crabs, sand dollars and sea stars; I’ve never seen that much wildlife in the day at the beach. It was wonderful! – Annika

This past week at ECHO was a wonderful time! We played the role of director and worked alongside one of the workcamp coordinators (shout out to Hannah). We had a great group of campers and advisors that we got to lead through devotions and just hang out with. During the day we would all head over to ECHO Global Farms where they would split us up into different work groups that would go with interns at the farm to work for the day. And when I say work, I mean WORK! It was tough work of all kinds, from weeding and planting to building shelters to mulching and everything in between! And on top of that it was in the Florida heat! But our campers persevered and did an excellent job! Everyone was always tired when we broke for lunch and at the end of the day, but then we could rest knowing that we had done great work for an amazing cause. The staff at ECHO were all super great and helpful, and incredibly excited to have our help for the week! One of my highlights was getting to work with a big group of campers to replace one of the shade coverings at the nursery. We spent all our workday up on ladders or running tools around to take boards down and put new ones back up! The coolest part was that it couldn’t be done as a one-person job; we needed everyone and all had to work together to get the job done! Another highlight was how welcoming the Saving Grace Church of the Brethren in Fort Myers was to our camp. They let us use their building, and also had a cookout meal and concert for us one evening! ECHO was a great experience and an excellent week! -Kerrick

We all greatly enjoyed the week at ECHO, and if you ever get the chance to go down to Fort Myers and volunteer there, we definitely recommend it! (Although maybe not in July) J Thanks to everyone who helped make this workcamp happen and thank you to all who took time to read our blog post here! Blessings to you all!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – Camp Ithiel

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Hello friends! We just finished up a very energy filled and exciting week at beautiful Camp Ithiel! We had 49 junior high youth there with us for the wonderful journey that is church camp! Camp Ithiel gave us the opportunity to lead a session everyday with the youth, (Two sessions actually, because we could only do half the group at one time), which was super awesome! We also got to hang out and join in on the rest of the activities throughout the week!

At the beginning of the camp week, I was adjusting to both the hot weather and the number of junior highers attending – 49 in total! It was such a diverse group, and I loved it! During Vespers, the kids turned singing songs into dancing for Jesus, and the energy was almost overwhelming. We also enjoyed our sessions with the campers, especially since it was the first time we had a chance to do all five of our topics. As the week went on, the campers offered more and more insightful comments, so I really hope that they continue to be passionate about peace. Outside of sessions, the campers were so much fun to play with: nine-square-in-the-air, gaga ball, and then even a crazy game of clothes pin tag! I loved the camp and their staff, and I’m enjoying my time in Florida.

-Brean

I had a fantastic week at camp Ithiel! It is such a unique camp because it is located right in the middle of an Orlando suburb, while most camps that we have visited are out in the middle of nowhere.

This week 49 junior high campers came to camp!  There haven’t been that many campers at Ithiel in years. Each camper was so unique and full of energy. The campers came from very diverse backgrounds and it was such a joy to get to know them.

On Thursday, I was sorting the recycling and one of the campers came to help me. I said, “Thanks for your help” and he told me that he didn’t like what happened to his sustainable village when they were destroyed yesterday, so he wanted to become actively involved in living more environmentally friendly. On Wednesday, we had done our Creation Care workshop where the campers designed an environmentally sustainable village and then when they finished the YPTT drew in business, coal mines, etc, to show what happens to the environment when new industries are built. I was so happy that he continued to think about the topic the day after the session!

Another part of the week that I really enjoyed was going to worship with the campers. A couple times a bunch of the campers and staff started dancing as we sang. It was a completely different worship experience than I’ve ever had, but it was AWESOME to see how joyful they were!

-Annika

Camp Ithiel is an incredible place. As you are driving into it, you are completely surrounded by suburban neighborhoods and then Boom! There’s the camp entrance, and a whole new world behind it.

This week was an excellent experience for us on the YPTT, the staff were so welcoming and great! And the campers. The campers were CRAZY!! And I mean that in the best way possible! They were all so full of energy and it was such an great opportunity to get to work with them and try to channel that energy into the activities we had planned in our sessions!

One of my highlights of the week was the chance to join the campers in their Rec Choice time, playing alongside them in volleyball and soccer and all other types of games! Another highlight was getting to do our sessions with the youth. It was definitely challenging at times to get them to pay attention, but when we succeeded the ideas that they had were so insightful and awesome! This week was definitely a fantastic experience that challenged me, but at the same time was incredibly rewarding!

-Kerrick

Camp Ithiel is a beautiful place full of beautiful people, and we definitely want to thank them for a wonderful week! We greatly enjoyed the opportunity to work with the youth each day and the chance to hang out alongside them as well! Our summer as the YPTT is flying by and we would like to thank the people who have been praying for our ministry and for us! Thank you for all you do! Until next week, so long! Keep spreading peace and love!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – National Junior High Conference

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Hey all you awesome people! YPTT here again! This time to tell you about the wonderful weekend we just had at National Junior High Conference! We had the opportunity to help lead some workshops and some recreation activities and of course hang out with the awesome junior high youth that attended! Here are some thoughts!

We spent June 19 – 21 at National Junior High Conference at Elizabethtown College! It was so fun to be able to hang out with the youth and leadership there! One of my highlights from the weekend was leading Ultimate Frisbee during recreation time. Being able to just go out and have fun with a bunch of youth from all over the place while playing a game that I love is definitely one of my absolute favorite things to do! Another excellent experience that I had this weekend was all of the wonderful worships that we all had together. In my opinion, there are very few things cooler than singing and worshiping together with a massive group of people! We also got to lead a YPTT booth at the carnival we had together, and we led the youth in Peace Hopscotch!! This was my first NJHC and it most certainly did not disappoint! The leadership did an amazing job of planning, and the youth all seemed genuinely happy to be there together! What a great weekend!!

-Kerrick

If I wasn’t annoying everyone with my knowledge of Elizabethtown College by day one, then surely it was obvious by the last day that I’m a student at E-town and I was excited to visit. As if I needed the extra excitement-National Junior High Conference was a blat. I saw many familiar faces, and met a bunch of new people. There was so much energy during worship and I loved the music. The worship services were so easy to relate to, even if I was a few years older than the target demographic, and I absolutely loved seeing Alexander Mack and Walt Wiltschek as Peter on stage in a skit together. The weekend brought back memories of when I attended NJHC and NYC, and I was reminded of why I loved those events so much.

-Brean

This past weekend was my very first National Junior High Conference. It was so cool to be with so many Church of the Brethren youth in one place at the same time. I helped lead peace games, and really enjoyed doing activities with a peace purpose. We played step tag to represent different ways to handle conflict. Additionally we played giant Jenga. As the youth took down each block they said a way they could peacefully begin to resolve conflicts. As the structure came down, each person wrote their thoughts on the blocks and we rebuilt a peaceful structure. I loved seeing the awesome and insightful ideas the junior high youth had. Eventually the original structure fell and a new peaceful structure was created.

-Annika

P.S. We also got to ride to NJHC with a super awesome group of youth from Virginia! We got the chance to get to know them a little bit and road trip together! We also got the opportunity to stop at Hershey Chocolate World with them, which is always a super amazing experience!! So a huge thank you to the two youth groups who allowed us to tag along with them to conference!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2015 – Brethren Woods

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Hello friends! Welcome to the first YPTT 2015 blog! Here’s how this tiny glimpse into our weeks at camp will work! Each week we will have a little intro that says where we were and then each of the team members will write a short blurb about their experiences that week! Hope you enjoy reading!

We of the YPTT 2015, Annika, Brianna, and Kerrick, have just finished up our first week of camp here at Camp Brethren Woods. If you have not been to this amazing place you most certainly should take the trip out!! We got to work alongside the wonderful staff here and had a great group of campers to work with as well! Here’s what we each thought about the week!

Hello! My name is Kerrick and I love donuts! Our team just finished the week at Brethren Woods, which was an awesome and different experience for me, personally! I have grown up going to church camp my whole life, (shout out to Camp Colorado and Camp Mt Hermon!!!) but Brethren Woods was by far the largest camp I had ever been to! It was so cool to have multiple age groups there at the same time, and for our team to have the chance to work with all of them. One of my highlights from the week was the Water Carnival that we had one evening. I got to help run the snack station (ICE CREAM!) which meant that I got to talk to all of the campers as they came by to get their snack. It was so cool to see all of them having so much fun together and was just an awesome time in general! I also really appreciated the sessions that we got to lead with the campers and the discussions that accompanied those. It is always so amazing to see how smart and wise kids can be, sometimes completely out of the blue! This was an excellent first week, and I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the summer as well!

Greetings, this is Annika.  The week at Brethren Woods went swimmingly!  A highlight was hiking up a mountain to a waterfall where we lead a peace session and cooked dinner over the fire.  The hike was so beautiful and the water felt wonderful to jump into after hiking for 2 miles. It was also a great time to get to know some of the campers as we scaled the mountain. The sessions we led were quite dynamic. I was excited that there were many different opinions spoken during our time with the campers.  This was my first time at a Church of the Brethren camp because I went to a Mennonite camp called Menno Haven. I was so impressed by the enthusiasm of the campers and staff.  Brethren Woods was so welcoming to the Peace Team and I couldn’t ask for a better start to the summer.  Until next time!

Brianna here! When I first arrived at Camp Brethren Woods, it was dark, so I couldn’t see much of the beautiful sky and mountains that framed the camp.  On the inside, I must have been the same way. I started this summer worrying about everything I could do wrong, and it distracted me from all the fun I could have been having. Brethren Woods boasts a hilarious and hospitable staff, as well as energetic, fun loving campers. I was so distracted that I ran into some obstacles – quite literally. (Word of caution, if you are canoeing, try not to run into any trees dipping into the water. I became caught in the branches, covered in bugs, and was nearly knocked out of the canoe!) I had to learn to fall into the rhythm of things. Kids are an insightful bunch, and I was reminded of that throughout the week. I stopped worrying so much about perfection and let the kids lead things where they needed to be and we had some great discussions. I definitely enjoyed hearing all the perspectives each kid had, and all their worldly awareness. I made it out of the branches, and got some good pictures of the mountain scenery.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, friends! As you can probably tell, we greatly enjoyed our time, and are off to a great start this summer! Until next time, stay awesome and bring the peace!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2014 – Camp Mount Hermon Moments

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Senior High Camp at Mt. Hermon, Western Plains Districtbell

Greetings, wonderful supporters of the Youth Peace Travel Team! This is Shelley speaking, and I’d like to take a moment to orient you in how we plan to blog our adventures throughout the summer. Each week, one team member will write an overarching summary of our time and leadership at each camp or conference, followed by more personal reflections from the remaining three members. This week, I have the honor of documenting a summary of our time at our first camp of the summer, Camp Mt. Hermon!

Moments – goofy moments spent interacting with senior high campers and fellow Camp Mt. Hermon staff, heartbreaking moments spent witnessing the struggles facing our youth and listening to their burdens, victorious moments in Ultimate Frisbee and Capture the Flag games. The 2014 Youth Peace Travel Team’s time at our first camp of the summer can be summed up by the joy and sorrow found in these precious moments.

We were first greeted by thousands of sandy-colored butterflies as we rolled down the rocky drive on Sunday afternoon, and next greeted by enthusiastic parents, campers, and staff at YPTT’s own Jake Frye’s home camp. It wasn’t long before the inevitable and all-uniting Frisbee discs were brought out to help us learn names and personalities, and not much longer until the bell, the central time-keeping device of camp, was rung. Throughout the week, it was the rustic metal bell that alerted us when it was time to come together to sing praises, break bread, swim ecstatically (cough cough Chris), gather around the campfire, and when to whisper our last prayers and fall asleep at the end of each life-giving day.

Jen Jensen, our director for the week, said it best when she proclaimed that at Camp Mt. Hermon, “we work hard, we play hard, and we worship hard”. We worked purposefully during daily chores, service projects at camp and church, and while serving lunch at a soup kitchen in Kansas City (a special Camp Mt. Hermon tradition). We played cooperatively during Camp Mt. Hermon Olympics, late-night glow-in-the-dark Ultimate Frisbee, and old-school tetherball before mealtimes. We worshipped wholeheartedly each night around the campfire, where campers had opportunities to illustrate both the burdens of daily life at home and the hope brought by camp and the power of God. The pinnacle of our worship occurred on Friday night when the feet of campers, counselors, friends, enemies, brothers and sisters, and once-strangers were washed all the same (for 2.5 emotional hours!). It was the bell that kept us in a daily rhythm, but the real human moments in between that make camp life and our work so special.

The leadership of YP-double-T at Camp Mt. Hermon was used primarily to lead campers in “hot topics” discussions, where we facilitated open and candid discussions about anything from war to drugs and alcohol. We experienced moments of honesty from campers who felt safe in sharing their opinions, moments of unity as youth discovered that they could respect the differing views of their peers, and moments of silence as we were called to deeply reflect upon current events through a Christ-centered lens. We also asked campers to help us in starting a big summer project – a traveling mural focused around their visions for peace. They blew us out of the water with their creativity and diligent work in illustrating Camp Mt. Hermon’s visions.

As we leave Camp Mt. Hermon with full hearts, we feel honored to have been welcomed into such an uplifting community and participated in its traditions and pastimes. We are thankful for the moments we shared connecting with campers, laughing with staff, continually getting to know each other, and serving our Lord. While the old reliable camp bell was anything but quiet, we are at peace with the Spirit-filled moments that we were blessed with each day at Camp Mt. Hermon.

-Shelley

small group

Shelley summed up daily, wonderful life at Camp Mt. Hermon, but no blog could contain all of the meaningful memories made this past week. One of the most significant ones for me came in the form of the homeless men and women that we met in the soup kitchen whom we served on Thursday afternoon. We sat and spoke with them while we all ate and discussed life. A man I conversed with over lunch was really open with me about his struggles with alcoholism and we were able to have an honest conversation that impacted us both. In the end, he left saying, “I hope all of your dreams come true, Christy” and I told him I would keep him and his family in my prayers. Moments like that are unforgettable. Another significant time for me was the concert played by my brother Jacob Crouse and friend Mat Thorton! From covers of “Let It Go” from Frozen, “Happy” by Pharell, and “One Day” by Matisyahu to their originally written and composed worship music, the concert got our hands a’clappin’ and our feet a’tappin’. I even got to sing on a couple songs with them, which felt amazing. Nothing can beat worshipping the Lord alongside both camp family and family family :). The music engaged us all and it meant a ton to every one of us for them to share their time and talent with the Camp Mt. Hermon community!

-Christy

Art at mt hermon

Washing dishes

I attended Camp Mt. Hermon every summer from 2003-2012, including two years of counseling junior high youth in 2011 and 2012. During those two years of counseling that I met a great group of kids that I had the joy of returning to this summer. When I left that group in 2012, I viewed them as kids. Upon my return this summer I was greeted not by the kids I had left, but by young men and women with love and compassion for this community that lifts my soul. This love was most exemplified in our Friday night foot washing service. As a young Brethren man I have been a part of numerous foot washing services. But, none of them compare to the beauty of this service. For two and a half hours I watched young men and women wash each others’ feet. As tradition, four counselors volunteered to wash the feet of the campers, one of those privileged being me this year. It was incredibly humbling for me to be a servant for this amazing group of young people. The foot washing didn’t end with us counselors washing the feet of our campers, the campers then proceeded to wash the feet of their peers. Brothers and sisters, both in faith and in blood, serving each other in breathtaking acts of love. The community at Camp Mt. Hermon has always been its strongest attribute. This attribute is so much more beautiful and meaningful when you’re working behind the scenes though. The spiritual and emotional growth I’ve witnessed in these campers restores my faith the future of the church. Remembering their inability to sit still for a short camp fire just three years ago and surpassing it with this wonderful new memory of humility, love, and service. As I become part of the community which helps build Camp Mt. Hermon, I look at these young people and am assured that this community is one molded by God and bound together in a love that must be experienced in order to understand.

-Jake

Chris thumbs up
At Camp Mt. Hermon we were called upon to lead a campfire on Wednesday night. The theme for that night was “Jesus as Teacher.” As we walked around the campfire leading songs, old and new, I was struck with awe at our energy. We were alive, we were singing the songs as loud as possible and the campers responded with their own vivacious cheer. We were together. The moment felt as if we had arrived, the beginning of a coming into being of what it really meant to be a member of the YPTT. I was impressed with our ability to draw in the campers and allow the energy to move through all of them.

As the campfire continued, Christy shared scripture and spoke more on how balancing one’s faith takes effort when we have the distractions of daily life set before us. Then I told a story about an incident with my brother that showed me what true grace was, and how Jesus had taught me through that moment. Jake described his life journey and how he struggled with his own foundation in life. He emphasized that Jesus teaches the importance of a strong foundation and challenged each camper to find their own stable base to rely on in times of uncertainty. Shelley ended the campfire with Peace Pilgrim’s Prayer.

It was a beautiful service and we really connected with the people of Camp Mt. Hermon. I felt caressed by the warmth and welcoming of Camp Mount Hermon, and the refreshing joy of starting such an exciting journey with three amazing people. I feel blessed.

-Chris

 

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team at Camp Mardela

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Camp Mardela Quilt 2
Camp Mardela
July 14 -20, 2013

Unexpected. This word describes many of the experiences we’ve had on the Youth Peace Travel Team and the ways God works. Our week at Mardela wasn’t any different.

During our week, there were surprise blessings, such as Heather and Jacob surprising me with an “Appreciate Amanda Day” and a random dance party in the kitchen. There were also unexpected jobs, such as the day I had to help the kitchen staff chase a squirrel out of the dining hall with brooms, boxes, and air horns (don’t worry, the squirrel eventually returned to his tree safely!).

We also saw God work in unexpected ways. There were times when the campers didn’t seem to be listening. But then, during our biblical peacemaking session, they surprised us with enthusiastic participation in skits and songs. When campers shared what they had learned at camp at the Thursday night campfire, I was overjoyed when a majority of campers shared something they had learned at peace sessions.

We could also see God in the spirit of the campers. They enjoyed God’s creation while fishing and swimming. They showed the creating spirit God gives us by drawing and making bracelets. And they were joyful when we taught songs to them that we had learned at other camps.

There were ups and downs this week, but God blessed us and the campers. I think we all learned that we can expect the unexpected and God always has a plan for us.

Youth Peace Travel Team

YPTT at Camp Ithiel

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July 7 – 15, 2013

A reflection on Camp Ithiel from Heather

Camp Ithiel.

Just another way of saying “God is with us.”

A little bit of harmony in the midst of city life.

A small group of Jr. Highers came to camp and tried to leave behind things from home as they discovered what it means to follow Jesus. We were part of a family at Camp Ithiel. We played “9 square in the air” and sang about how God makes beautiful things. We saw snake friends and marveled at the grey color that the lake turned when the rain fell.

We wondered,

Does an alligator really live in there, and when had we seen a brighter double rainbow?

Campers and staff learned about peace and being connected with one another.

Camp Ithiel.