Camp Day 1 from Kristine Kottke!

DAY 1 English Camp

Dobry wieczor or good evening from Poland!  It is late and we are settling down after a busy first day of English Camp in Skoczow.  My day started with a run through Skoczow to revisit my routine from last year and spend a few moments of quiet before jumping headfirst into camp.  We had our usual breakfast together at Hotel Karat of eggs, various sausages, cheese and yogurt.  The coffee is strong and hot every day which is a blessing as we are still adjusting to the time difference! 

This morning we met as an American team at the church to pray for our efforts before making the short walk to school.  Almost immediately thereafter, eager campers began arriving.  They registered, were assigned color teams for the week and began testing for placement in the proper English classroom.  Domi (our Polish Abby) always says this time is chaos but I find it to be exciting and fun.  We got our first glimpse of the new students and were able to re-connect with some who have been coming year after year.  After a time of Just Dance, a few Name-Games and coming up with team chants and names, we moved into our first English class.  We have two beginner classes taught by myself and Noah and Kon and Deb, two intermediate classes taught by Pete and Lilli and Carl and Emily and one advanced class taught by Paulette with approximately 50 students total.  The English skill level is incredibly varied so we are still working that all out.  Pray for patience and guidance for us teachers!  Noah and I also taught the camp dance to the entire crew this afternoon and that was AMAZING!  After about two hours of jumping up and down and sweating, the dance was learned and it looks pretty excellent if I do say so myself….and maybe a bit silly. J 

Our evening program started with a few more games, more camp dance, an excellent presentation of team scores by Paulette (please ask one of us out these presentations!), a time of worship through music, a faith story by one of our Polish counterparts and an inspired talk from Abby.  The evening program is so important as it sets the stage for small group discussions within the Polish campers and youth leaders.  Up to this point in our day, while all our actions are motivated by Jesus’ love and with his power, there isn’t as much sharing of faith or discussion of stories taken directly from the Bible.  The talk is given by Abby, translated by Domi and many of the campers seemed to be open to the message.  At the end of the talk, Abby encouraged us all to examine our view of who Jesus is and be willing to take a second look so that more of who Jesus is and his message might be revealed.  What an important message for not just the campers! 

After small group time, we cleaned up the school and headed back to the church for a delicious dinner of Pigs in a Blanket, prepared by a family within the congregation we partner with.  I swear Noah had about 9 full-sized pigs!  He’s a good eater as I like to say J  We debriefed our day with the Polish team and it is now nearing 11 p.m.  We have long days but I am thankful each moment is intentional and designed to give glory to the God who allowed us to be here.  What a gift.  I must sign off….hello to Timberwood and our families.  We miss you all!