"Live to feed the hungry, stand beside the broken, we must go, stepping forward, keep us from just singing, move us into action, WE MUST GO."

My summer in Dallas has ended. I'm currently sitting on my bed at home in Northville, Michigan. As much as I love my family, my friends, and my school, I left a large part of my heart in Texas. And I can't wait to go and fill it up again next summer!

I had the opportunity to spend the last week in Bridgeport, Texas at Urban Camp with the 6th - 9th graders, and the highschool L.I.T.E.s (Leader In Training Experience). Since I never went to an overnight camp like this as a kid, I really had no idea what to expect. Turns out, this was my favorite week of the summer, by far. Each different site of kids was assigned a color to represent them, and throughout the week, the kids wore their respective colors and there was a sense of competition in the air between the colors. As competitive as some did get, the kids were still so open to making friends from other churches and creating lifelong bonds. 


A daily routine for me at Urban Camp would look a little something like this; wake up at 7:00, shower, wake the 20 other girls in my cabin up at 7:20, everyone would get dressed and ready for the day, make their beds and clean up their rooms. At 8:00 we would clean the cabin as a whole, sweeping each room, making sure it looked tidy for the Cabin Checkers (the team with the cleanest cabin got an award each day!). At 8:25 we'd walk over to the main dining hall where we'd line up outside of the doors in single file lines. As PT staff would come outside to greet us all, everyone in line (interns and campers) would be completely silent, because if we were making noise as we entered the building, everyone was forced to go back outside and start the process from the beginning! After we'd all successfully made it into the dining area, we'd stand behind our chairs (which we'd sit in the same seat everyday), and start drinking our glass of water. Every camper and intern had to drink two glasses of water before allowed to get in line for food. The rough part of this was that once you drank your first glass of water that was cold, you'd have to pour your second out of a pitcher on the table, and that water....was uncomfortably warm. After everyone at your table had finished their share of water, held their cup in the air, or held it on top of their head, and was totally silent, we waited until we were called on to get in line for food.


Once you were in line, you were golden. And the food....beyond delicious! It was bottomless...so you could get as much as you wanted but the rule was, "Take what you want, eat what you take." 


After breakfast, we'd head back to our cabin for morning devotional. Then we'd head to the flagpole at the top of the hill and all of the teams would meet up for "role call." Attendance was taken via song/dance! Each team would have a different song each morning. Most teams would take popular songs and change the lyrics to revolve around their color. From the flagpole time, we'd all split up and go to our designated "activity." The kids chose from a bunch of cool stuff like soccer, horseback riding, volleyball, mountain biking, swimming, art, football, cooking, archery, fishing, newspaper, basketball, dance and singing. They got to spend an hour doing four of these things each. There would be two rotations, then lunch, then two more rotations, then free time until dinner.


Before dinner and lunch, we'd go through the exact same steps as we did at breakfast. After dinner, everyone would head over straight to worship...EVERY NIGHT. I absolutely loved having a worship service every night. I wish my real life was like this! After worship, there would be a special social event for the kids each night. The first night was a luau which consisted of dancing, ice cream sandwiches, and playing in the pool. The second night was a movie night. There was a huge tarp set up on a small hill and we watched Despicable Me on the side of a building. Thursday night was the final night, and the final event was the talent show...which went from 8 until 11! But let me tell you...there were some beyond talented youth. All of their passion  was overwhelming to me. 


On Friday, the final morning, we packed our bags, went to breakfast, and then straight to worship which happened to be outside since the heat was tolerable so early in the morning. From there, we hugged our kids goodbye, cried our eyes out, and watched them board the busses, to leave us.....some until next summer....some forever. 

This summer has changed my life. I know that I feel a need to serve kids in inner-city areas. I know I have a passion for bringing Christ into relationships. I have learned where my strengths lie, and where my faults are flaunted. Although I can't live in the Project Transformation environment for my life, I've realized that I can bring it with me wherever I go...and I fully intend on it. 

PS Is it weird that my computer won't adjust back to Michigan time? It's permanently set on Dallas. Coincidence? Fate? :)

Thank you for all of your support this summer. Thank you for following me on my journey. Thank you for any donations to this absolutely amazing organization you may have made. Thank you for praying, for believing, for understanding, for caring. God is such a powerful influence for me right now and all I can do is be grateful for the experiences I've had this summer. 

Until next summer, Project Transformation! :)

Listen to this --> God of Justice by Tim Hughes :)