Hey everyone, OC here, writing to you from Budapest, Hungary! I thankfully got much better sleep than the past few days but I can’t say the same for Peter and David who woke me up at 4 am. But after a brief breakfast, the team was fully awake and prepared to go to camp. Today was our first full day of camp and had such a blast. Over 90 students registered for camp this year and it’s such a blessing to teach English as well as just spend time with these kids.

After playing “the Yelling game” as an icebreaker, the name really speaks for itself; we were off to teach English. After that there was a snack and then onto another English session followed by worship, a Bible lesson, then lunch. After eating pizza with corn, ham, and pineapple, we went to play 3 hours of games outside and inside. When this all finished up we said goodbye to the kids with many high fives and went to the mall for a revitalizing dinner.

There are numerous stories I could tell you of camp today but I’d really like to share about the experience that I got from just the first day of camp. Going into today I wasn’t too worried about teaching per say but rather the issue of interacting with kids from another country. What was I supposed to say? Would I say something wrong? These are all thoughts that had been racing through my head prior to today. But as the day progressed I found my worries lifted, and realized it really wasn’t as hard as I thought. These kids are just like us; they love to laugh, learn, and most importantly, have fun. I couldn’t say there has been a time where I’ve smiled more; being at the camp and just talking to everyone really made me feel joy.

I learned a lot today about the idea of joy itself. I feel happy a lot (like whenever I eat a Chipotle burrito) but do I actually feel pure joy? Joy isn’t something that is easily experienced. You can have a good time with friends but knowing that you’re at your happiest is something else. Job 8:19 says, “Behold, this is the joy of the way, and out of the soil others with follow.” With the joy we have in Christ we are able to spread that love to others. While there is a language barrier, I hope the kids are able to see the happiness He gives and how we are separated from the world because of that.\

Tomorrow is Day Two and I’m even more excited to go to camp than before. If you could all pray for the team’s health and energy that would be great considering I’m writing this next to a sleeping David Andrew, Peter Cho, and Brad Wetherell. I hope that all is well in the US of A and we’re off to eat more Gelato! Szia!