Today was the first day of camp! It was an exciting day in this beautiful place.

We spent the morning finishing up training and final preparations before the campers arrived this afternoon. We are divided into two groups–cabin leaders and service staff. Most of us are on service staff where we complete three jobs each day — cleaning the bathrooms, meal prep and clean up, and cleaning the dishes and kitchen. Along with service staff, we are also in charge of activities, which will start tomorrow. The activities include games, crafts, kayaking, climbing wall, soccer and swimming lessons. Pray for us as we seek to build intentional relationships with the kids through these activities.

Three people from our team, Sam, Avi and Rachel, are cabin leaders this week. They each have a group of children between 8 and 12 years old that they will pour into while at camp. The camp is mostly in Greek with Greek-speaking counselors, but the two groups they are a part of speak English. Pray for Sam, Avi and Rachel as they lead and guide the kids in this specific way.

As we’ve been training and preparing over the last two days, Alexander has continued to remind us that we are here to represent Christ while we serve. This is demonstrated so well in Philippians 2:2-3 where Paul reminds us to have the same mind as Christ, doing nothing from selfish ambition, but counting others more significant than ourselves. This is our goal as we serve. There have already been times when we’ve been tired, felt faint or drained by the heat, but God has given us energy and joy to work hard for His glory. Pray for us to represent Christ well and continue to serve with humility and joy.

We are excited for all that tomorrow will bring as we experience our first full day of camp! Thank you for your prayers and support!

Kristin