I could actually live here...

These were my thoughts the longer I stayed in Overland Park, Kansas, right smack on the edge of Kansas City. We pulled into Overland Park early evening 2 Saturdays ago. It was a nice drive, especially because I didnt have to drive the whole way annnnd I got to take a nap! I cannot tell you the last time I took a nap in the car. (While someone else was driving). That night we ate at Panera Bread with our fearless leader Kurt and our utility coach, the equally fearless Jacquie (fearless because she's had to live with us for the past two weeks! lol)

Our lodgings were wonderful. Our Camp Coordinator, Laura, said she wanted us to feel like we were in a hotel, so she had set up two rooms for us with beds and chairs and cute little side tables with snack baskets. The church was on beautiful grounds as well. Ive posted pictures of their gardens on my FaceBook page. I thought I would hate staying in a church, but it was actually quite enjoyable because we didnt have to worry about entertaining people or following a specific home's rules, we just came and went as we pleased and we even had a huge screen and couches in the youthroom where we were able to watch movies (and watch we did). I semi-watched 'Invictus' late one night, then 'When In Rome' the next day. 'Invictus' to me is worth a re-watch when Im not so tired (I feel asleep literally during the last 5 minutes of the movie and missed the ending). When in Rome was cute, but I don't think I'll ever feel the need to re-watch the parts I only half paid attention to. It did make me want to plan a trip to Rome though.

We had about 54 kids at our first week of camp and about 20 volunteer coaches. I loved this church - Christ Church Anglican- they had great energy and wonderful hearts for the Lord and for the kids. They jumped in from the first meeting and gave their all during silly dances, skits, main events and huddle time (where they interact with a small group of kids). My staff did great as well, especially for our first week. We had a couple kinks we had to work out and our emcee, Adam, was sick pretty much the whole week which made his voice go super low then higher, then even lower, which was pretty hilarious, but overall I would say our first week was a blessed success.

We did so well with loading and unloading that we only had to practice it about twice then Kurt allowed us to leave our stuff set up for the rest of camp. woot. We are doing a pretty good job staying healthy - I buy a lot of fruits/veggies at the store which most everyone is willing to eat. Although, Im not gonna lie, I feel like I have eaten more this summer than I have ever eaten in my life I think the last time I ate this much was when I was running track Freshman year of high school. One thing we love is cake. We had two birthday cakes last week and both were mint chocolate. One was for our Camp Coordinator Laura, and one was for one of our teamsters, Josh. We decided that someone should have a "birthday" every week so we have a reason for cake!

We got to eat at two pretty neat restaurants while in Kansas City. The first was Oklahoma Joes BBQ set in a Shamrock Gas Station. That place was packed out! So packed, I went back in to turn in my silverware (which was real) and got all claustrophobic and panicky because there were so many people blocking any way of getting out - bleh. I had the Smokey Joe sandwich which was recommended to us by the business men behind us in line. It was a blend of pork and beef and an amazing sauce. The fries were plentiful and to die for and now that I think of it, probably still sitting somewhere in the back of the Pilot, because I dont recall anyone bringing them in and eating them lol. Gross.

The second place we ate at was a Mongolian BBQ joint for Josh's birthday. It was expensive but pretty much you ate til you burst. I ate so much it was hard for me to breath. I think my stomach distended into my diaphragm or plural cavity lol. Gross again. Pretty much you take a bowl and fill it with pasta and then meat choices then veggie choices then sauce and spice choices. They cook it on this circular looking drum with drumstick like tongs. They then serve it at the table with different types of rice as well as tortillas. They also have a soup and salad bar. I managed a bowl of buttery clam chowder and two platefuls (well one and a half) of the good stuff before I thought I would have to be rolled out.

We also got the opportunity to visit the Tomahawk Ridge Aquatic Center where they had high dives and a couple of toboggan slides. I went down each slide one time and then laid out and sunned and read the rest of the time as the water was a mite cold for my taste.

The weather in Kansas made me extremely homesick for Florida. Heavy thunderstorms rolled in every afternoon and left about as quickly as they came and the weather was generally very hot and humid, also like Florida.

We did have two small "hiccups" on our trip, the fist being our car battery dying. No big deal though, our fearless leader jumped it with his car (Sweet Passion Mobile) and Wal Mart hooked us up with a battery. The second "hiccup" happened to the churches basement. It basically flooded from water pouring in from an unsealed window. I will post videos of this as it is hard to describe, but it very much reminded me of the story about the Little Dutch boy and the dam burst.

I have several favorite memories from last week. Probably my most favorite memory was the impromptu water fight (s) that happened in the church's kitchen. It started because we had extra water in our coolers and one of the sinks had a really long nozzle hose thingie that shot quite far. Needless to say, by the end of round two (yes we came back for more) myself, Josh, Kurt and Maggie were soaked and I went through two outfits. The funniest part was when we went to exit the kitchen, Jacquie had literally pulled up a chair to the doorway and was sitting there watching us like you would watch a movie. Im surprised she didnt have popcorn in her hand lol and she managed to stay dry.

My second favorite memory earned Kurt the title "King of Africa". Unbeknownst to myself, Kurt is a spider whisperer. I had an ugly brown spider crawling around in my clothes the night before we left. Uusally, this is not a biggy and I'll just catch the spider in a cup and let it go, but all bets are off when it is crawling around in my clothes. I called Kurt on the phone and told him I needed him to come get a spider to which he gallantly replied "I'll be right there". I appreciated him not laughing at me while he was on the phone lol. He comes in and I expect him to kill the spider or catch and release it in something, but what does the King of Africa do? (Kurt grew up in Africa until he was 10 so that must be where he learned his spider whispering skills) he lets the spider crawl on his hand and up his arm and is as gentle as can be with it all the while I am squealing and screaming bloody murder and doing the spider dance because I cant believe he's letting it crawl all over him and he simply and quietly (after he pretends he let it go in my hair) brings it outside. King.Of.Africa.

I will make a small admission that we visited a Barnes and Noble and I bought 4 books. My family will laugh at this because they know books are my drug of choice. Im like a crack addict in a bookstore. All the books were under 6 dollars though so at least I know how to get a bargain. I enjoyed a rapturous 30 minutes outside B&N by a fountain reading my newfound treasures.

This week we are in Lincoln, Nebraska. Please pray that our time here is a blessing to those we serve and that we will leave here changed.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Remember to live each day to the fullest for that is the joie de vivre!

In Him,

Shannon

Bruises, Food, Learning and Laughter

The first question that comes to my mind as I process the craziness that has been the past week and few days is, "Why haven't I dont this sooner?!". I absolutely loooove what I am doing....Yes, its stressful, yes, sleep is at a premium, yes, I have more bruises on my head (ran into a doorframe last night), shins, kness, than a pack of boyscouts, but it's alll worth it to me.

So, you might ask, why the heck haven't we heard from you? At least I know that's what my mom called and asked (on my voicemail I might add.) The answer is because I'm training how to love Jesus. Well, sort of anyways. ..

I pulled into a hotel late Saturday night which was the best idea Ive ever had. It was a cheap price for a nice room. Refreshed, I headed to RAMP which is what our training is called, and chilled around until the evening started. Little did I know that was one of my last chill times lol.

In a nutshell, a very, very, large nutshell, RAMP was an INTENSE learning experience. Most days my alarm went off at 630 and breakfast started around 715. I was in training or meeting most night until around 1100 (Central time). So pretty much when my day was done I couldn't make any phone calls to all of my east coast loves because they were snuggled up in bed, so generally I got on my phone, computer, prepared for the next day or hung out with the late nighters until I felt like I was ready to crash. Most days I wanted to go to bed right away, but I was always way over stimulated to hit the sheets after our meeting. Most of the time it was hilarious to look around the room at the other teams and watch people (myself definitely included) fight to stay awake during long talks or videos.

Most of RAMP was us (5 teams of 4 people each plus 2 area director, plus 2 utility staff, plus 2 trainers) getting to act like campers while learning all of the programming for the 5 camp days. Let me tel you - I have never moved so much in my life, not even in P.E. class. There was so much up-ing and down-ing that by the end all of us 20 somethings had bruises all over our kegs and were moving at a much slower pace than the beginning of the week.
I absolutely fell in love with all of the SLC staff. By name (so you can pray for them by name) they are Team 1 : Area Director Anna Utility Coach:Ethan Camp Director Klamesha Coaches Jamie, Ben and Peter Team 2: Camp Director Lance Coaches: Megan, Lindsey and Dan Team 3: Camp Director Kortney Coaches: Jessica, Chris and Chris Team 4: Area Director: Kurt Utility Coach Jacquie Camp Director:Me Coaches: Maggie, Josh and Adam Team 5:Camp Director:Michael Coaches Dan, Brogan and Rachel and the two that help run everything, Ben and Erin

Like I said, I absolutely fell in love with all of these people. Some, like the Camp Director and my team, I had either talked to on the phone, seen in person, or friended on Facebook. The others, well, it was love at first sight lol. We bruised together, crawled on the floor together, laughed sooo much and sooooo hard, worshiped together, ate together and learned how to back up a trailer (scary) together. But, what I remember most, is the laughter. I cannot remember when I have felt such joy and laughed so much - it must have been years and it felt so good and I remember why I am a believer and why it's so important to seek out other believers to share in that joy.

We had a foot washing/prayer ceremony the last night which was awesome. The main directors washed the area directors feet, who washed the camp directors feet, and we got to wash our teams feet. Very humbling and moving experience to be intimate like that as Jesus was with his disciples.

If you have not already seen the crazy pictures on my Facebook, they are under the Summer 2010 album. It is impossible to put all of these experiences day to day in words, but I think the pictures help. Please be in prayer for all of the teams as we spread the excitement of loving Jesus to kids and communities all over the U.S. and thank you for taking the time to share in this walk with us. Missing you and loving Jesus more everyday....

In Him,
Shannon