CRC
– Staff Training Week
Sunday June 13-Friday June 18
Staff Training week was an absolutely wonderful experience. I have worked at a summer camp for the past three years so staff training and camp is not new for me. It was fun and interesting to experience a different camp.
It was an awesome week spent with 25 other counseling staff. I had prayed during the weeks leading up to staff training and asked God for good people to work with, people that sought God and sought to honor Him. He answered that prayer and blew me away with the people He had brought there.
The Program Director, Jeremy Wagner, is very good at what he does. All week long he taught us what we need to know and trained us to do what we will need to do. At the beginning of the week have gave us time to get to know each other, and towards the end of the week he gave us time to deepen those friendships.
On Wednesday we went out to CRC’s challenge course and split into two groups. Each group had one cabin of girls and one cabin of guys. Having done similar activities with groups before, I was supremely impressed with how well my group worked together.
The first challenge we did was the spider web, which consists of lifting each group member through a hole made by string webbed between two trees. If anyone touches the string the last person through has to go back to the other side, this can be a difficult aspect as multiple people, including myself, had to be lifted through multiple times. Despite this, no one complained.
When we completed the web we moved to the trust fall. One of the girls was at first adamant about not doing the trust fall again. She had done it before, but did not enjoy it at all because she was afraid of falling. Her decision to stand up to her fear of falling really spoke to me. If we would all stand up against our fears, we just might be better off.
After we caught everyone from the trust fall, we moved to the log ladder. The steps on the ladder were so wide that it is very difficult to get from one log to the next easily. However, the guys in our group knew what to do and how to help the ladies over the ladder. One of the girls in the group had trouble getting over, but the guys were very impressive and did everything they could to successfully get her over the ladder. While the guys were scattered over the ladder, ready to help the ladies through, the girls who were not going were under the ladder spotting the climbers. It was a very good experience to see how well everyone worked together and came up with ideas as we went.
We then did two smaller challenges, All Aboard and Rebirth. For All Aboard, everyone has to have at least one foot on the small wooden square. For Rebirth everyone is lifted through a large tire and must jump off on the other side. These were fun, easy activities.
The Wall was the last activity we did. Everyone is lifted up and must get over the wall onto the platform on the other side. I was the second person to go up and then I helped pull everyone else up. It was a great experience to be able to pull my fellow staff members and friends up to the top of the wall. I hope that the experience of pulling my fellow staff members up will continue through the summer so that I will be able to help support them as they are at camp.
On Wednesday night we had a Concert of Prayer followed by a Prayer Walk and then a campfire. For the Concert of Prayer I helped with worship and was blessed by being able to have my own time of worship even while helping lead. For the Prayer Walk we split into cabin groups and we had specific areas to pray for. My cabin first headed to the pavilion area. While we were sitting under the pavilion praying, it started to rain. When we finished praying all of us walked out into the rain and enjoyed the rain. As we continued on our prayer walk the sky was ever changing and mind-blowingly beautiful. At first one side was, as we girls determined, “macaroni and cheese” and the other was “periwinkle”. After two more prayers the colors had flipped and were on opposite sides of the sky. It was an amazing picture God painted for us. There were so many different aspects to the colors and shapes of clouds in the sky. God was most definitely displaying His majestic creativity that night.
I was blessed by so many people during the week. I learned a lot from many and was supported by many. I was also able to bless, teach, and support others. I had many deep conversations with some and thoroughly enjoyed challenging their thoughts, as well as having mine challenged. One of the girls told me after I had made a point that she had not thought of that, but was glad that I had brought it up.
We ended our week together with feet washing, communion and a spiritual car wash. Having participated in feet washing before I knew what to expect, but was yet again humbled by the simple serving act. It was great to be able to take communion with this group and together remember what Jesus did for us. In a spiritual car wash, one person sits on a chair in the middle of the circle, and they list some ways that the group can pray for them. Then everyone else gathers around, one person opens in prayer, then everyone prays at the same time, and then someone closes in prayer. It is truly an amazing thing on so many levels.
Staff Training week was an absolutely wonderful experience. I have worked at a summer camp for the past three years so staff training and camp is not new for me. It was fun and interesting to experience a different camp.
It was an awesome week spent with 25 other counseling staff. I had prayed during the weeks leading up to staff training and asked God for good people to work with, people that sought God and sought to honor Him. He answered that prayer and blew me away with the people He had brought there.
The Program Director, Jeremy Wagner, is very good at what he does. All week long he taught us what we need to know and trained us to do what we will need to do. At the beginning of the week have gave us time to get to know each other, and towards the end of the week he gave us time to deepen those friendships.
On Wednesday we went out to CRC’s challenge course and split into two groups. Each group had one cabin of girls and one cabin of guys. Having done similar activities with groups before, I was supremely impressed with how well my group worked together.
The first challenge we did was the spider web, which consists of lifting each group member through a hole made by string webbed between two trees. If anyone touches the string the last person through has to go back to the other side, this can be a difficult aspect as multiple people, including myself, had to be lifted through multiple times. Despite this, no one complained.
When we completed the web we moved to the trust fall. One of the girls was at first adamant about not doing the trust fall again. She had done it before, but did not enjoy it at all because she was afraid of falling. Her decision to stand up to her fear of falling really spoke to me. If we would all stand up against our fears, we just might be better off.
After we caught everyone from the trust fall, we moved to the log ladder. The steps on the ladder were so wide that it is very difficult to get from one log to the next easily. However, the guys in our group knew what to do and how to help the ladies over the ladder. One of the girls in the group had trouble getting over, but the guys were very impressive and did everything they could to successfully get her over the ladder. While the guys were scattered over the ladder, ready to help the ladies through, the girls who were not going were under the ladder spotting the climbers. It was a very good experience to see how well everyone worked together and came up with ideas as we went.
We then did two smaller challenges, All Aboard and Rebirth. For All Aboard, everyone has to have at least one foot on the small wooden square. For Rebirth everyone is lifted through a large tire and must jump off on the other side. These were fun, easy activities.
The Wall was the last activity we did. Everyone is lifted up and must get over the wall onto the platform on the other side. I was the second person to go up and then I helped pull everyone else up. It was a great experience to be able to pull my fellow staff members and friends up to the top of the wall. I hope that the experience of pulling my fellow staff members up will continue through the summer so that I will be able to help support them as they are at camp.
On Wednesday night we had a Concert of Prayer followed by a Prayer Walk and then a campfire. For the Concert of Prayer I helped with worship and was blessed by being able to have my own time of worship even while helping lead. For the Prayer Walk we split into cabin groups and we had specific areas to pray for. My cabin first headed to the pavilion area. While we were sitting under the pavilion praying, it started to rain. When we finished praying all of us walked out into the rain and enjoyed the rain. As we continued on our prayer walk the sky was ever changing and mind-blowingly beautiful. At first one side was, as we girls determined, “macaroni and cheese” and the other was “periwinkle”. After two more prayers the colors had flipped and were on opposite sides of the sky. It was an amazing picture God painted for us. There were so many different aspects to the colors and shapes of clouds in the sky. God was most definitely displaying His majestic creativity that night.
I was blessed by so many people during the week. I learned a lot from many and was supported by many. I was also able to bless, teach, and support others. I had many deep conversations with some and thoroughly enjoyed challenging their thoughts, as well as having mine challenged. One of the girls told me after I had made a point that she had not thought of that, but was glad that I had brought it up.
We ended our week together with feet washing, communion and a spiritual car wash. Having participated in feet washing before I knew what to expect, but was yet again humbled by the simple serving act. It was great to be able to take communion with this group and together remember what Jesus did for us. In a spiritual car wash, one person sits on a chair in the middle of the circle, and they list some ways that the group can pray for them. Then everyone else gathers around, one person opens in prayer, then everyone prays at the same time, and then someone closes in prayer. It is truly an amazing thing on so many levels.
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