From the heart and voice of Carol Nagy

Today was our last day of camp, a day of many emotions.  We started off the day with a focus on finishing strong.  Many of you know -  that is a challenge with the schedule that we have.  Throw in some boisterous neighbors, and we have a tired crowd of leaders.  We have been blessed to have the Polish Team that is experienced and so devoted.  The camp dance and JUST DANCE!  was a big hit.  Funny how something so simple can make a group of people so happy.  It was the last day of English lessons, and it was so obvious that the students had soaked up much information.  The things that were difficult for them to conceptualize a week ago were easy, breezy sentences today.    The Polish students had a lot of fun trying to teach us a few things during their last lesson.  We had our last competition, and instead of colored teams, it was Poles versus Americans.  Yes, the Americans lost again.  Many of us were focused on trying to not slip and slide on the death trap soccer field, that’s our excuse and we are sticking with it.  At one point in time there were 5 people down on the field, Megan sustaining the worst injury.  After soccer we had our last group meeting and it was announced that the BLUE TEAM WON!   Our goodbye was the longest Minnesota goodbye ever.  The students were just wanting to hang out and be with us, collecting hugs, signatures, prizes, etc.  Ollie had the delight of exchanging e-mails with a young student- it was really cute.  We are still trying to comprehend the love and grace of God, yet not use a measuring stick.  We have been working and praying for God to open doors and give us tools for so long, and it is with mixed emotion that we can see where God is working.  We pray that God will continue to soften hearts.  There were many students that were obviously affected by the worship, the songs, the friendships, the Labyrinth and Gods mighty work in their heart.  We pray that we will see some of these students at church tomorrow.  We pray that these students will want to be involved in youth group, and that these young people will continue to move into leadership roles.  We acknowledge that this is a work that needs to continue to have momentum.  Tonight, The kids all went to stay in a host, Polish home tonight, and they are having a good time playing games and having a bonfire.  The leaders had the pleasure of eating out in a restaurant near the square- good food, great conversation, and again- a boisterous crowd nearby.  We look forward to church tomorrow.  It is a beautiful thing to worship in Polish and English, it gives you just a little glimpse of heaven.  God is good. 

Note from Abby ::

            Some of you have heard that Megan was brought to the hospital today as a result of the slippery soccer field and a hard fall to the hip. She is doing GREAT. She sustained a bad and painful sprain. We saw so many God moments in those 4 hours, including the fact that the sprain was the worst of it, that it is hard to share them all here- please praise God along side us for this! Megan was a trooper the whole way through. She is now resting soundly in bed.