This isn’t going to be one of my most aesthetically pleasing post you have seen on my blog but it will be one of my most heartfelt post I will ever post on here. Almost two weeks ago I got back from what I consider my second home, a Young Life camp in Virginia called Rockbridge . Two years ago I did Work Crew at the same camp and that was awesome amazing but that’s a story for another time. 

The wonderful thing about Rockbridge during the session that I attended is you get to experience campers from three different ministries within Young Life. The first week was regular High School Younglife. The second week was Younglives, which is for Teen Moms and their beautiful babies. This week is complete chaos but in the best was possible, there is babies running around everywhere, and dinners in the kitchen are just a tad bit more hectic with the weird request. The week you really get to see girls hearts soften and start to trust not only their leaders but really trust what God has planned for them! Guys’ it is such a wonderful weekend and just reinforces that we are are still Gods CHILDREN.  One of the main reasons I decided to be on Summer Staff  Third Session was for the simple fact that Younglives was the same time. When I went through leader training in the spring I had the hardest time deciding if I wanted to lead regular high school young life or if I wanted to do Younglives. The decision still is to be made and God is pushing me more and more towards Younglives, but WE WILL SEE. The last two weeks were for the Younglife ministry Capernaum, which is for kids with disabilities. Something that stuck out to me that one of the members of assignment team said was “these kids are treated like twos, threes, and fours at home and at camp they are treated like Jacks, Queens, and Kings. They are loved fully and are showed the love that God gives them. It was so beautiful seeing how the buddies worked with their friends and pretty much did whatever they wanted to do, even if that meant sitting in the rocking chairs for two hours. I also loved the two weeks of Caperneum because us kitchen folk finally got to interact with campers, shout out to the coolest camper ever COOPER for telling us he thought our food was the best.

Guys this post is really all over the place, but that’s how my camp experience was. I made some great friendships but I think what God was trying to show me what he wants me to do for my career and that is to go on Young life Staff. It’s honestly something I have always thought would be an awesome job but I never thought I would be the right fit. Just being able to talk to some of the other women who were on staff and on my assignment gave me clarity and vision of the next few years.  

Thank you to my PM cook kitchen crew for showing me love on my crazy days, for screaming with me in the kitchen, for making fun of sam with me, and for always welcoming maddie back. Thank you rockbridge for big cookie, bunk beds, cracker barrel rocking chairs, and all of the lovley staff.

THANKS to the ministry of Younglife for showing me the Gospel in a way I could understand it. The rest is still unwritten….

LOVE YOU ALL,

xoxo Alyssa

 

 

Picture Credit: TO the Lovely BRETTTTTT