Friends & Family Weekend

Jun 17, 2013 / Marriage, Northern Pines, Thankfulness

This weekend was another wild one. Every year, Westminster Woods hosts a friends and family day where the members of staff can invite their families out to camp to hang out and have dinner.

This was my 5th friends and family weekend (the first three I was a staff member) and it was just as refreshing as the last 4. My brother in law, Jake, is on staff this year and I still have lots of close friends who are a part of the staff. It is always so great to see them – and be reminded of the beautiful work they do out at this camp.

We made it a quick trip since we had to be back for church on Sunday, but it was definitely worth it.

After dinner we went over to the chapel to watch some staff videos and hear a summary of what they are teaching at camp this summer. They showed a video of the staff and the campers who had already come through. It’s hard to watch those videos and not become super nostalgic. Just two years ago I was a counselor – spending 6 weeks of my summer with little kids and acting like a crazy person to help get them excited about Jesus. I made some of my favorite memories and favorite friends out at Westminster Woods. It is so good for me to see another set of young adults doing the same thing.

The staff out at camp is on fire for the Lord and they are ready to scream it from the rooftops. Campers that go out to that camp will encounter the Lord in a very powerful way because his presence is tangible throughout the staff. It is so encouraging and gets me so excited for my husband and I’s ministry at Northern Pines.

I may have an accounting degree from of the University of Kansas with lots of knowledge in financial things and a serious business background, but camp is where my heart is. Ministry with little kids is where I thrive. I thought I had moved on from that, moved on to my “professional” career. But it turns out, you don’t move on. Thriving around little kids and screaming from the rooftops about how incredibly huge and powerful God’s love is isn’t something you can just move on from.

Now I am even more grateful that I married a youth pastor – who passionately lives out God’s love – with a childlike heart and personality. Our passion for youth ministry isn’t going anywhere – we won’t be moving on.

{Summer Staff 2009}
1. Band meeting
2. Cabin 1 girls. I was a lifeguard this summer but got
to join this cabin for a week.
3. If you look closely you can see my husband in the back. He was
an LDP – we hadn’t been introduced yet.
4. Another great pic of my husband before I knew him and the other LDPs
The bonfire pictures were taken at the Summer Retreat so the whole staff wasn’t there but still memorable. Also, theta sisters, counselor friends, and now sisters in-law with Betsy. So blessed.

{Summer Staff 2010}
1. Small group with the kittens
2. One of my all time favorite cabins
3. Dori & I after a basketball tournament
4. Samuel & Lauren “cleaning” the dining hall
5. I had been introduced to my husband at this point. We were dating
secretly so the campers wouldn’t know.
6. That time the boys pranked the girls with a goat and many other disgusting things
7. A few women of the woodz
8. Full Staf 2010