Spring Break 2011
Camp Grace, Camp Freedom and Camp Spirit spend spring break in Virginia.
What a great trip this was for the interns and our camp kids. We planned on raising $8,000 for the trip and exceeded our goal thanks to our selfless donors. I especially wanna give a shout out to Christ's Lutheran Church in Oreland, PA. And thanks to Jill Stevens for facilitating that relationship between Christ's Lutheran Church and UrbanPromise. Here is a brief overview of our spring break trip to Virginia:
Monday
Started early with a long trip to D.C. When we arrived to the nations capital we went right to the Verizon Center where the Wizards and the Capitals play. An old intern Eugene works for the Wizards and gave us an exclusive tour. The tour including going on the floor, checking out the locker room, the player's hang out spot, and their practice gym. Eugene really hooked us up. My highlights include seeing John Wall's locker room and playing a huge game with all the kids on the wizards practice facility. After the Verizon Center we walked around checking out the capital building and the Washington Monument. The kids were pretty tired at this point so we got some fast food and headed to Camp Piankatank where we would be staying for the next three nights.
Tuesday
Our first full day at Camp Piankatank was action packed. Kelley, Moses, Lane and I (all interns) bunked with 14 of our camp boys. We anticipated a rough morning of waking up the kids for breakfast. We were right about a rough morning just wrong about the details. Instead of having to wake the kids up, they woke us up blasting music on their phones at 6 am. The kids wouldn't go back to sleep, they were so excited about the day. After a long morning we had breakfast and listened to a sermon from Albert. The theme of the week was identity and Albert started the week off by preaching to the kids about their worth in God no matter what they have been through in the past. After breakfast was free time which I spent playing basketball with a few of the guys. After lunch we split up into two groups and my group were sent on a team building low ropes course. The kids were able to get to know eachother better and learn to trust in one another. After the low ropes course we were able to take Kayaks and Canoes out into the lake. There we all boated out to an island where there was dunking and splashing, basically euphoria. Upon our kayaking back to shore we dried off and had dinner. Lastly we spent the end of the day into the night by a camp fire talking about our identity in Christ as well as sharing scary stories.
Wednesday
Garrett started Wednesday off with a great sermon encouraging the kids to find their identity in the right things. Not their friends or what people tell them they can't be but in Jesus. Then we went to a nearby beach and spent the day playing in the water along with a big soccer game. The beach tuckered us all out but there was still more fun to be had. When we got back to our camp site my group was able to go on the V-Swing. A huge swing that brings you up 40 feet in the air to launch you forwards. All of our kids went on even Delila who was extremely nervous as soon as we got there. Once the V-swing concluded we all came together for dinner and a last camp fire session. Garrett presented a hard hitting message to the kids that they all seemed to be entranced with. Albert finished the night with a story about the pig face killer- who escaped from a mental institution on an island near our camp. The kids were really scared but we assured the younger kids that it was just a made up story.
Thursday
We traveled to Williamsburg to our hotel. At this point Lane and I were battling with the Camp Grace boys, mostly because we had spent so much time together. Garrett our director graciously allowed Lane and I to hang out in the hotel room while the kids were playing in the pool. We definately needed a break. When playing at the pool came to a close the kids came back up to the room and started getting ready to go out to dinner. Dinner was fantastic. Garrett and Albert decided on a Hibachi restaruant; most of the kids have never been to that kind of place. It was a really fancy place and the kids left with full bellies and big smiles. We concluded the night at a go karting place where we rode the go karts, played mini golf and played on the bumper boats.
Friday
BUSCH GARDENS, was awesome. I spent some quality time with my favorite camp Kid John Pina. As well as hung out with other camp kids who I became closer to throughout the trip. We went on all the rides and waited in all the rides. We left Busch Gardens and headed back to Camden, New Jersey.
End of the Year
My internship is sadly coming to an end. But not without good news for the future. In Late June, early July I will be headed down to Miami to work at Camp Courage- and up and comming UrbanPromise summer camp. It is an adventure that I am very excited about seeing what God will teach me this summer. In September I will be coming back to UrbanPromise for a second year internship. In my second year I will be working with the H.R. department, working with other interns and street leaders on spiritual development. and assisting in the speakers beruea who go out to churches and help raise money for UrbanPromise. This probably won't be the last time you hear from me at UrbanPromise. Thanks for checking out my blog.
Jonathan "Kyle" Bahm