Last Day of Camp :(

I am back to write the blog (Brooke), last night I had to finish an article that Ms. Kristen had asked me to write, so she wrote the blog for me. :)

The last day of camp went very well! It was definitely a chilly day for the pool, which is such a strange thing for being in Helena in July! Today we were riding around in the car with the heat on and we all laughed at how strange it was to be in Arkansas in July with the heat on. Nonetheless, we survived the cold and had a great last day of swim camp. Also it was cloudy all day long and we are happy that it didn't rain or thunderstorm, so we were able to complete the last day of camp. We did all of our celebrations with the kids in our class and let them do their favorite thing, jump of the diving board. It was a lot of fun! Tonight, we had the swim camp celebration in the community center with all the kids. The kids performed a dance they had learned at swim camp and then we had a good dinner. The whole time we were at the celebration, we were giving our hugs and remembering all the good times we had with the friends we had either just met or had known for a long time. We had our final goodbyes and big hugs until next year. We are all very sad that we have to leave, but we are glad to be going home.

Just to give you all a general idea of what the Blessings Group did this week because I realized I had mostly blogged about the swim camp and had not said much about the Blessings Ministry, which has had an amazing effect on just everyone: the swim camp, the local people, the community, and the volunteers.
The Blessings Group consisted of 4 HBBC members, Vivian Hughes, Linda Giles, and Bob and Carol Barksdale, and one person from a Birmingham church. They spent most of the morning preparing lunch for the preschool and swim camp. These lunches were hot dogs, ham sandwiches, bologna sandwiches, along with a fruit and carrots or celery with milk to drink. Once they made the lunches, they delivered and distribute them to the camp. They were very fortunate and happy that they were able to make those lunches but then eat lunch at Granny D's (one of the best restaurants in town).  In the afternoons they would do various activities around Helena. One day they went to visit Helena residents with whom previous relationships had been formed. Another day at a supermarket in Helena, Hays, they helped to provide information on how to make nutritional food choices. Our participants covered the stations for grains and protein. The last day they made cookies to thank locals who had supported Together for Hope and the swim camp. Among other things, they were a big help in camp registration and they organized t-shirts for distribution.

At our celebration we had the opportunity to see a scholarship given to two local youth as they head off to college.  Our church has been a part of helping fund these scholarships as 5 churches have come together to serve as a board who reads the applications, decides on the recipients,  and provides the funds for the scholarship.  It was a blessing to see that one of these youth came through swim camp and the other was a local that many of our team connected with last year and this year.  We love because He first loved us. . . thank you for being a congregation that gives!

Thank you all for reading the blog this year and for your support. We have had an amazing time and have felt truly blessed! God has been here this week and have felt his presence with us throughout the days. We will be happy to back in Raleigh and at HBBC soon! :)

Donna and Leah being recognized for their scholarship at the celebration tonight!

Yay for the Helena 2014 team!!

Wednesday. . . Day 3!

It is hard to believe that Wednesday has come and gone.  As we approached the third day, we did so a little more tired than we had started off the week, but we knew that God was with us.  Little God moments began the day as we shared in our devotional about seeing the potential in others that God sees.  It helped to frame the day as we met new people and worked with new faces in the pool and around town.  Other God moments continued as we were able to replace a sick swim instructor with an experienced local youth who was able to get off work.  The water truck broke down during its delivery time, but God provided the grandfather of some swimmers who was able to fix it rather quickly.  We have definitely seen God working out the little details.

Our blessings group became local experts at the grocery store as they shared their knowledge about grains and proteins with the community who received a ten dollar card for learning about healthy options.  Vivian was blessed when one of the younger listeners hugged her leg before she left with her mom.  Linda and Carol shared information about how to safe money and still eat healthy.  It was a good day although busy.  In between the grocery store, the group spent time preparing lunch for camp.  It was another red hot dog kind of day.

Most years we are complaining about the heat, but this year a cold front has moved in and today was COLD!  Those not serving in blessings are all swim leaders or at the pool and we definitely were wishing we were group leaders at the park this week.  Even though it is cold, the children are still excited to work on their swimming skills.  They have come such a long way in just a few short days.  Those that wouldn't put their face in the water are kicking and blowing bubbles.  Tomorrow we will take time to celebrate their accomplishments.  They will get to "show off" their work and many will jump in the deep end or off the diving board for the first time.

One of my greatest joys has been watching my daughter plug into swim camp, make new friends, and really bond with "Joshy, one of the local youth.  Once we arrive each morning she is ready to go to camp.  The sheer joy of her experience conveys even more "we love because He first loved us."  How blessed today has been as God's love has gone full circle!

Written by Kristen (since the intern had other writing responsibilities this evening -- catch them in the upcoming FaithPoints)

Day 2!

Day two is now complete! We are all getting more adjusted to the routine of things whether that is getting to know the kids better, or getting used to making lunches and then going to see friends! Swim camp ran smoothly again today! The kids are learning and achieving so much! It is so great to see how they get more confident with each swim lesson we have. We get to see 3 different groups twice a day, so they get to learn something in the morning and practice it more in the afternoon! I know it has been really exciting in my class to have a couple of them even starting to swim the freestyle, which is quite an accomplishment for a kid who could only put their head under the water yesterday! It is just a blessing to see these kids grow and know that you helped them get there. Another blessing that I have seen personally is at the end of each class, we have a prayer, and I ask my group who wants to pray and some of the little girls want to pray. That just touches my heart because most kids I know are scared to pray, but they love it, and the prayers are always so sweet. For example, one girl was like "God loves us, God loves you, God loves us, Amen!". Pretty good for a 6 year old, I'd say! The blessings ministry started out the day with preparing our wonderful lunch that consisted of a ham sandwich, celery with ranch, and an apple! Then they delivered those lunches to the camp! After that they visited friends that they've known since around 2004, Nora and Curly Moton. They love getting see their old friends! Last year when Bob, Carol, Vivian, and Linda didn't go, the team went to visit Nora and Curly and send them greetings from our blessings ministry, because the relationship they have with these people is so strong and important! The blessings ministry team really does an outstanding job, because they provide so many people in the community with blessings they don't normally get. They also went to visit an old friend who was just a sweet old lady, sweet as can be. Unfortunately, they found out she had passed away. This can also show how meaningful the work the blessings ministry is because they feel what the community feels in the good and the bad times. After completing our tasks for today, we had some free time. Some rested, some took a trip to Wal-Mart. The blessings ministry had a meeting in the afternoon to prepare for a task they have tomorrow, and we will report more about that in the blog tomorrow night! At 5:00 we had an awesome dinner prepared for us at New Light Baptist Church so that we could make adult swimming at 6. We had many adults come out to learn how to swim. Kristen, Kate, and I taught while Anna watched all the kids who came with their parents! After that, we did water aerobics with Ms. Tina, a woman from Helena. She comes with her sound speakers and plays hip hop Christian gospel music and does an awesome job at teaching water aerobics. She gives us a good work out but also puts some fun dance moves in there, so it is super entertaining! Personally, one of my favorite things in Helena, and I am sure the others will agree! After water aerobics, we went back to the Edwardian and had our group meeting where we all share some cool things that happened during the day. Now it is time for bed and get rested for our next day of camp!

Also thank you for your prayers, Bobby has been able to take over his position as admiral at the pool! He is feeling much better! But we do have some other prayer requests! Please pray for Ernest, the pool manager, he is also sick! Also please pray for the teens in the area who are too old for swim camp but not old enough to be a leader. They are all so eager to help out, but not yet mature enough to be put in a leadership position yet, so prayers for how we can get them involved would be great! Prayers for the adults who came to swim tonight, that they will keep working on what they learned tonight! Also pray for those who have been sunburnt!! And then lastly, please pray for all the unspoken prayers not mentioned either in our minds or hearts as we head into the last half of the week!

Here are some awesome pictures from today!!

 Preschool camp! 

 Rylee rocking swim camp!

Visiting Nora and Curly!

 Preparing our wonderful ham sandwiches!

 The pool admiral's first day on the job! 

 Anna helping a child learn to kick! 

Day One Complete!

Day one of swim camp and blessings ministry is now complete! We all had a fun and exciting first day! Kristen, Anna, and I were swim instructors, while Linda, Bob, Carol, and Vivian were in the blessings ministry! Normally Kate would have been running swim camp, and Bobby would be the pool admiral, but he finally went to see a doctor today and is feeling a lot better thankfully!! He may make a come back tomorrow and take over his position, which is a blessing for sure! We are thankful that Kristen, Cat (one of the girls who helps lead this ministry all throughout the year in Helena), and Karna (a woman who came from a few hours away) were able to fill in and get the kids who showed up this morning without a being placed in a color group yet in the right place! They really kicked into gear to help out when Kate had to take Bobby to the doctor! With them running things smoothly behind the scenes, Anna and I were both in different swim classes and we both had a lot of fun getting to know our young ones! While all that was going on, the blessings team was helping with registration down at the camp site and then they headed to pack lunches for all the campers and the camp staff! We had wonderful hot dogs, carrots, and oranges for lunch! Next we had our second half of the day where the same kids came back, so we were all a little more familiar with each other and started making the deeper connections with the kids! The blessings ministry team was able to visit some old friends in the afternoon, and that is always a nice reunion and definitely a blessing to the people they visit! After camp was over, we headed to Elaine, Arkansas, about 30 minutes or so away, to support the town and some people who are affiliated with the leaders of the camp! It was definitely an interesting experience! We were told we were going to see 400 bird houses, but we really saw a small gift shop of bird houses and their facility that they are turning into a place where people can come stay for free when they help out with camp! So that was a little different than expected, but yet it was great to see how they are trying to get people to visit Elaine and we were their first group to come, so we were glad we could help make them feel special! On the way back from Elaine, we stopped at the fan favorite, the Burger Shack and got dinner right before adult swim! Unfortunately we were only able to get in the water for adult swim for like 5 minutes because a storm came and we had to get out of the water, so that cancelled our plans for the night! Sadly, we had to head back to the Edwardian and our day had concluded! All in all, it was an awesome day and we all are looking forward to day 2!!! :)

Here are some pictures from our adventures today!

 Swim camp registration!

2 pictures for kicking off swim camp!!! 

Getting lunch prepared for camp!!

Visiting old friends!!

Please pray for some good weather tomorrow and lots of smiles!!! :)

'Twas the Night Before Camp

The Night Before Camp (Based off of "The Night Before Christmas")
By: Brooke Johnston

'Twas the night before camp when all through the house

Not a child was stirring, not even a mouse;

The kids were placed in their color groups with care,

In hopes that Swim Camp soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of water bombs and noodles danced in their heads;

And the swim instructors in swim suits, and I in my swim cap,

We are all now ready for a fun week to unwrap.



Today was a great day! We have so much to be thankful for! First, our group went to worship services in the morning. Kate, Bobby, Anna, and I went to New Hope Baptist Church to hear Ernest Womack preach because he is the pool manager who lets ACC swim camp use the pool. Bob, Carol, Vivian, Linda, Kristen, and Rylee went to New Light, which is one of their favorite places to go! They even saw someone join the church, which is very special! Next we all had lunch at the country club and that was definitely a hit! We all had a good time sharing a meal all together! After that we all had team meetings for the week ahead so Bob, Carol, Vivian, and Linda met with the rest of the Blessings Ministry participants, while Kate led the meeting for the swim instructors with Kristen, and Anna. I stayed behind to put the information in the computer for the kids who were placed in color groups the night before and this morning, and to also keep a watch on Bobby who is still feeling sick. Bobby and I were in for a treat because we got to watch some of the World Cup championship and report the score to the rest of the team. Once everyone got back we finished placing all the kids in the right color group and swim class, and that is such a blessing!! Normally every year Kate and whoever is there to help normally stays up until 1 AM doing that job, but we got it done by 5:30 this year!! How awesome is that!!! It was just in time for dinner! So we left and went to New Light with the rest of the churches participating this week and had a nice meal that was prepared for us! After that we went back to the Edwardian to check over the placements we had done earlier that day! Once it hit 8:00 it was time to take the usual trip to Wal-Mart and Sonic for half-priced milkshakes! We had a fun time together! Now that it is getting later, we are all starting to wind down! We need some extra rest because we need to be at the pool at 8:00 tomorrow morning, and we need all the energy we can get for the first day of camp!!

Thank you all for your prayers! We have really had a fun time and are anxious to get camp started! Please pray especially that as we start embark on this journey together that we are open to all that God has in store for us! As we see old friends and meet new friends, that we get out of our comfort zones and help kids be able to swim but also to grow closer to God. Also, please keep Bobby in your prayers and hopefully recovers soon!!

God has already been made present here because our team was quick and eager to help out Ms. Kate when she needed it! There they were all gathered around working hard!! This is foreshadowing a great, hardworking, and successful week!! 

We are so excited to start Day One tomorrow!!! Woohooo!!

 

A Few Hiccups But We Held Our Breath!

Ms. Kate and I woke up this morning and got straight to work with more swim testing today! We also were able to clean out the storage room in the pool house that holds all of our equipment! By the time we got lunch and cleaned up, the rest of our group was here! But they had some bumps/hiccups in the road. First, on their flight from RDU to Atlanta, there was a piece of the door that fell off before they took off, so they sat on the run way for a while. Luckily the mechanic got the door fixed and soon after that, they were on their way and still had enough time to make their next flight to Memphis. However, that flight was also delayed!! Unlucky! Apparently, the crew on the flight had to fill out some paper work before they left! Once that "super important" paper work was filled out, they were off for their final flight. Once they got off the plane, they headed to the car rental, Avis. Although Kristen had reserved the cars on the phone with a woman from Avis, the woman from Avis thought Kristen could drive both cars at the same time. So they had to call Avis headquarters to get Bob Barksdale approved to drive the other car. After a lot of time and confusion had passed, the team was finally on the road headed from Memphis to Helena! They were able to join us in Helena after an hour and 30 minutes! We all had some down time to relax after traveling and working, which was much needed! We had the opportunity to go to downtown Helena for "Second Saturday". It is a street festival on the main street in downtown Helena. It was very fun! They had a dog fashion show, so there were many dogs in shorts and swimsuits showing off their abilities! It was super entertaining to see all the dogs dressed up! Next, we went to a favorite Mexican restaurant downtown called Rio Lindo! The group loved it! Then, there was more time for some relaxation while Kate, Kristen, and I went to the leaders meeting! It was great to meet the rest of the leaders of all the groups that are here and get ready for the week together. After that meeting, our HBBC group met for a group meeting to talk about tomorrow and the rest of the week, and just had some time to talk to one another before we all split up in the week ahead! The last task of the night was to put some kids in their color groups for the week and after about an hour we have finally had enough and it is time for bed!!! 

Prayer requests: 

-Bobby Hall is sick with a cold so please pray that he recovers over the next few days so that he can help out as the pool admiral during swim camp.

-That we all get some good rest after a tiring day of traveling! 

-That we are open to all the great things that God has in store for us this next week. 

A few pictures!

 This is a girl who is attending preschool camp who received a swim suit today! She looks extra happy! Cheesin'!

 A few pictures of the dog show! The last dog even has a squirt gun on his Batman swim trunks! 

It Has Begun..!

Kate and I (Brooke Johnston) arrived in Helena, Arkansas today around 3:30! That gave us just enough time to get settled in our room and then leave right away to be at the pool for swim testing! Mollie says that they already have around 100 kids pre-registered, which is awesome!!! However, it means a lot of kids need to be tested and placed into their swim level based on their swimming abilities! So it has already been a busy day for sure! After swim testing, we took the annual trip to Wal-Mart to get the essentials: a wall clock for the pool (because it never fails to get lost or broken every summer), towels, water, snacks, etc.! Now we are finally back to the Edwardian and are ready for bed! We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow with some more swim tests and then the rest of the group arrives, and we are so looking forward to that!! We can't wait to see the rest of the group coming!!! Alright, it is time to close out the day! Thanks for checking this blog, we appreciate your support!! :)