The Camp Victory Chronicles: Servant Leadership

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 

~Mark 10:45~

This post marks the end of my first week at Camp Victory! What a week it has been. Lifeguard training ended Thursday. I am now officially a certified lifeguard (for the third time haha). On Friday, the rest of the counselor staff arrived. It was great to meet the rest of my team. I really enjoyed meeting everyone. To top it off, Jenna and Anthony arrived. It fills my heart with joy to have them here with me this summer. Most of the time that I have traveled, it has been by myself, or in the company of unbelievers. That has always been the thorn in my international traveling experiences. I tend to shrivel up on the inside without frequent, Christ-centered fellowship. Knowing that I'll still be able to to talk to someone about CV when I get back to Tampa is such a nice feeling. Someone who understands all the inside jokes and crazy memories that only make sense if you were there.

Yesterday and today were spent in counselor orientation. One of the big topics that has really been emphasized is servant leadership. I've been so impressed with and convicted by the servant's heart that the people here display. Everyone pitches in to help, without complaining and no one thinks they are too good to clean toilets. It's very humbling to realize just how selfish I still am.

There are certain advantages to being a single adult. More freedom for ministry and more personal discretion with your time. However, an unfortunate side effect is a tendency to become unintentionally very self-focused. I spend about 90% of my time doing things that directly benefit myself; I go to school so I can get the degree that I want, I work to pay my bills, I only cook and clean for myself typically etc. Granted, some of this is just a product of the season of life I am in. I don't have a family to take care of and if the Lord has called me to serve Him as a nurse, that requires a degree, which in turn requires a lot of commitment and time. However, CV is serving as a great reminder that the world does not in fact, revolve around me and my plans for the future (how surprising...haha)

Needless to say, I am hoping that this summer I will grow a lot in this area. In the providence of God my church has been studying the book of Philippians in our college and women's ministries the past few months. By the Grace of God I hope to apply this passage to my time here at camp:

^"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

~Philippians 2:3-8~

All in all, I feel so blessed to be able to a part of this ministry. It is so encouraging to be in a place where The Lord's name is proclaimed constantly. It is so clear to me that everything that we do is to point people to Christ. It's so refreshing to be in this environment after so many years at USF. I really hope that the Lord allows me to serve Him in full time ministry one day. 

The Camp Victory Chronicles: Strength in Weakness

"And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10~

It was my intention to come to Camp Victory in peak spiritual condition. Doctrinally fit and prepared to answer all my campers difficult questions about God. I wanted to be the absolute best counselor I could be. I wanted to have all my ducks neatly in a row, ready to be everything my campers needed me to be. I was going to be in superior shape with my sanctification and closer to God then I'd ever been. I was going to be Sarah Jo, the super counselor!

Well, no surprise to anyone who knows me, and yet still a great surprise to me; I once again don't really have it all the way together. I feel so incredibly weak right now. It seems like everything that could go wrong these past month, did; every mistake I could make, I did make. And on top of that, I feel like all my spiritual short comings, temptations and bad habits have all manifested themselves simultaneously at full strength. I remember laying on my couch last week, after having cried my eyes out. Wondering 'Why is this all happening now? I have to go camp! I need to have it together! I've got stuff to do, this is not the time for things to be unraveling!'

The biggest temptation I face at times like these is to start to think in my heart that God doesn't care about the hurt I am experiencing. This leads me to shy away from prayer, which only makes me feel even more distant from God. It's a terrible downward spiral. It's time like this that I am so grateful for the Bible knowledge and doctrinal training that I've received at my church, Grace Bible. There is a rock of truth planted way down in my soul and I have built my house on that rock, and though the storms of life may howl, my house still stands.

No one said that life was supposed to be easy, or comfortable. In fact the Bible promises us that "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"(2 Timothy 3:12). And Jesus himself said that “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." (Luke 9:23)

I forget these verses so easily. I get so attached to my worldly comforts, that when the Lord sovereignly removes them, I think that He is being unfair. When in reality, every good thing comes from the Lord, and no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly (James 1:17, Psalm 84:11). I don't deserve anything from God except damnation, so anything I have is a grace gift, to be given and taken away at the Lord's good pleasure.

On an entirely different note, if there's one things I've noticed about myself in the few short days I've been here, it is this: I am THE MOST selfish person to have walked the earth. Seriously, how did I become so self-centered? All I think about is my wants, my comforts, my desires. my, my my. It's enough to make you sick. In fact, I am sick, of myself. So please pray that this summer, I will die to myself and put others before myself.

"You don't know Jesus is all you need, till Jesus is all you have."

The Camp Victory Chronicles

Hello from Alabama! 

In case you haven't heard, I have decided to spend my summer serving the Lord at Camp Victory in Samson, Alabama.  I will be here until August. The camp serves children from grades 3-12 in different weeks throughout the summer. I'm really excited so see how God is going to grow my relationship with Him this summer. I'm also really looking forward to sharing the gospel with all my campers. 

Please pray for my campers. Please pray that I communicate the gospel clearly and effectively. Please pray that I lay down my life everyday for my girls and show them the love of Christ. 

Here are some preliminary photos I took in my free time today. The camp ground is really beautiful and I love being in the middle of nowhere. Being in nature makes me really happy. I'm excited to explore more of the grounds. Tomorrow starts lifeguard training. I think it's going to be a blast.

If you want to be awesome and write to me my address is:

363 Victory Circle Samson, Al 36477