For those of you haven't heard yet, I will be spending 11 weeks of my summer three hours north of here at Camp Barakel in Fairview, MI.
Here's what Barakel counselors get to look forward to....
Lyrics:
Lookin’ towards summer: can’t find work,
Found a Barakel flier in the back of the church.
It said, “You can come be a counselor for a summer job.”
I thought, “I like the sound of this:
Play some games; live with kids.
Go from a hard-working college kid to being 'Dad' or 'Mom'"
Well! Clothes disapear in a Barakel dryer
Inspection scores gotta go one point higher
Romans 12 for the eighth time
Breakfast 8:30, tribe talks nine
There's a homesick camper who won’t calm down
And another one throwing up all over the ground
Been crazy all week long, and we’ve only hit Wednesday in this song!
Ok, totally joking...well, kinda. :p Most of that's true for counselors, but counseling is so much fun, (along with being challenging and a real 'faith growth' opportunity) it's impossible to describe. I think my feelings toward counseling can actually better be explained in the following song I wrote after I came home last fall and was really missing camp:
Lyrics:
Tribe talks in morning and chapels in evening,
Overnights, one-on-ones, talks in the lobby,
Wecandoits, Couns'lor Hunt, and singing--
These are a few of my favorite camp things!
Missionary stories and campers with questions,
Missing flip flops, head counts, and charcoal faces.
Action huddles and thumb circles to pray-
These are a few of my favorite camp things!
Paddleboats, slushies, and fun in Lake Linsley;
Sister counselors, laundry day, and riflery;
Barakel's Got Talent, Firebowl, Musicale,--
These are my favorite parts of Camp Barakel!
Homesick camper, nosebleeds everywhere, fire won't start AGAIN!
Just circle up, pray, and smile as you say,
“We've got beef stew; it's ok!”.
I've served on Barakel summer staff for two summers as both a YAP and counselor, so I can definitely give a ton of reasons why I want to serve on summer staff again. Being on summer staff means great fellowship and amazing friendships formed with other college-age Christians, daily encouraging chapel messages and chances to hear and teach the Bible, getting a chance to serve God in a very hands on and practical way, and SO MANY laughs and funny inside jokes.
But I also must admit (as you saw in those songs) that serving on summer staff isn’t always easy or fun. Being on summer staff provides many opportunities for me to be stretched and grown as a Christian and learn what it means to really depend on God to give me strength as I’m used by Him in the lives of so many girls.
One of my favorite camp stories from this last summer illustrates this so well. Every week, junior highers have the opportunity to spend a night in the woods, sleeping under the stars. I never could sleep well at ALL on overnights, and my first week counseling a junior high tribe this last summer, I especially couldn't because one of my girls was cold because her sleeping bag was too thin, so she had to wake me up and tell me....every half hour. Then she was deathly afraid of sleeping in the dark, wild animals, and bugs crawling into her mouth while sleeping, so she woke me up three times to tell me each of those. Then she decided she needed to go to the bathroom twice in the middle of the night (and once, we got lost trying to find our campsite…loooong story!) and wouldn't go ANYWHERE without me by her side. Then she needed Kleenexes, and after that just wanted to talk because she was bored and not tired. I got hardly any sleep that night, but I learned a lot about patience!
The next night I was exhausted. I made it through our tribe talk, though, and prayed with each of the girls in their bunks, then stepped out into the lobby to look over my devotional for the next morning. I was so exhausted and I remember thinking, "I have nothing left in me to give my campers. Watch and see. Tonight will be the night one of my campers wants to talk more about what we learned in chapel." I think maybe God had a little sense of humor, and when I said that, he decided this was a really good time to teach me that His grace is sufficient and that his power is made perfect in weakness, because as soon as I opened the door to step back into the room and into my nice, warm, comfortable bunk, I heard, "Hannah?" I almost didn't answer. I started screaming at God, "NO! I have no energy! I can't even think straight! Didn't you hear me? NOT TONIGHT!" But instead I found myself walking over to her bunk, and eventually stepping out into the lobby to sit with her as she sobbed then explained all the doubts and questions she'd had about God, the Bible, and who Jesus was and what he'd done for her. I had nothing left in my own strength to give her, and I couldn't even think straight, but I found myself answering her questions with answers I didn't remember I knew, and explaining the gospel to her and what Christ had done for her on the cross.
After camp, I received a letter from her in the mail. In it she said, "The first thing I did when I got home was write down all the things I felt that night-how I felt joy and peace just wash over me. That night changed my life forever!"
I’m so excited to get to serve God this summer and make a difference in the lives of girls again at camp! Please pray for me as I seek to serve God in this way. I definitely have seen the difference prayer can make on the week, and I CANNOT make it through the summer on my own strength. The hours are too long, the activities are too physically draining, the sleep is too short, the girls are too challenging, and the emotional journey is too long for me to take on my own. But I know that God’s grace is sufficient for me for His power IS made perfect in weakness.
I leave for Barakel the end of May, and I would really appreciate your prayers! Here are a few ways you can pray for me each week:
1- That God would fill me with His love for all of my campers.
2- That God would give me wisdom of speech and action-not only in tribe talks (devotions) or discipline, but also in the way I act as a Christian role model for my girls all week.
3- That God would give me a deep love and enthusiasm for His Word that my campers would see and want.
4- That God would fill me with energy, enthusiasm, creativity, health, and strength to keep up with my girls.
5- That my girls and I would have open hearts to hear God’s Word and allow ourselves to be changed by it.
I would also really appreciate mail. It's always so great to hear from home when you're gone so long! You can send me an email through camp's website www.campbarakel.org or through the mail by sending it to:
Camp Barakel
Hannah Banura
PO Box 159
Fairview, MI 48621
Thank you so much!
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