CAMP!

This week's photo of the week is, yeah...(sorry, not sorry) a little late.
BUT this was my weekend in one photo:

I spent 72 hours at Youth Haven Ranch in Rives Junction, MI. The ministry that they run from there is incredible and it was a really growing experience for me...

They take kids by referral from the foster care system, teachers, guidance counselors, and other people who work with kids and send them to camp for free. These kids, outside of Youth Haven, would have zero chance to get a 'camp' experience, and they were a handful to say the least.
I worked with a group of 11 to 13 year olds... and man oh mister, I got a whole lot of sass.
I learned a whole bunch of new insults, I found a lot of people who enjoyed telling me that I'm not their dad, got educated on popular vines, broke up a couple almost-fights, tried to downplay some pretty inappropriate jokes, and I even had some girlies super mad at me because they weren't real big on following directions...
Honestly, it was really good for me. Every five minutes I had to take a mental time out to think, "Julia, you're doing this for the kids" in order to keep my introvert tucked away.

Three of the younger kids asked Christ into their hearts for the first time this weekend.
30-some kids got taken out of rough situations and were given the chance to let their guards down for a couple of days.
I watched so many of the kids get pumped up learning worship songs as they were exposed to Christianity for the first time.
I spent time with people I can now call 'friends' from school that I otherwise wouldn't have connected with.
I lived out of a suitcase and smelled super gross at the end of the weekend.
I pushed myself and it was so, so wonderful.