my new home

okay, so i am probably breaking some rules of etiquette about how long a post can be. . . but i wanted to show where i live and work. if my blog is taking a long time to load just open it in one window while you are doing something else - it might take a minute since i like pictures so much. :-)

welcome to camp beechpoint! this is going to be our new dining hall. our current dining hall seats 100 and we have at least 150 each week. so lots of us eat outside which is tricky for the kitchen staff and when it rains. this new building will seat 350 and will also allow camp to host bigger retreats - which is one way we fund camper scholarships.

this is one of our firesides. it's next to the lake and one of my favorite places at camp because God's work is very visible in this context.
this is the waterfront. we have paddle boats, canoes, a pontoon, a speed boat for tubing, fishing, and swimming. definitely the best place to be cuz there's a breeze most days and you can get a tan! :-)

this was all the stuff that i moved across the country in my car. God totally went a head of my in this move and has provided furniture here that is more than sufficient. I was gratefully storing my boxes in my friend's garage when they LOST THEIR TARANTULA!!!!! i was not trying to unpack that in my new apt. so . . someone had told me that moth balls kept away spiders. it's not true, because at the end of the summer my stuff smelled like moth balls and had spider webs on it. (GOOD NEWS: they found the tarantula before i moved!)

this is my new roommate, elizabeth. we've worked together at camp for the last 5 summers. i have 2 other roommates from moody bible institute, so there are four of us.

welcome to my new home! look, i have curtains! they are my favorite part of my new home, actually, because they make it feel homey.

this is our kitchen. the bamboo is someone elses but when they take it back i am going to get us some of our own because i think it's a plant i could actually grow.
for now i work from home, so here's my office space. it' in the kitchen . . :-)

this is mine and elizabeth's room. we both like to "nest" so we had fun moving in. the bathroom was too small to take a picture of - but we have "getting ready spaces" in our rooms so it's all good.

settling in is going well, everything is still new. driving here is tricky cuz people are crazy and neighborhood streets are narrow. i went to a target where you put your cart on the escalator to go to the second floor. my neighborhood is very diverse. i learned how to get around on the bus and the train. i haven't gotten lost yet. i live next to a great park! i've been here for a full week and a day. i'm still busy with relocating details and am working at getting into my year-round role of connecting campers to churches and churches to camp. pray for open doors!

End of Summer 2008

Okay, so as we all know by now . . . I'm not very good at blogging! Don't write me off yet, though - I am determined to become more consistent!

This summer finished up GREAT! God is so good and faithful to teach me so much! We had almost 800 campers this summer! 90 kids made first-time decsions to trust Christ and 65 made recommitments! I'm so priveleged to be a part of this seed-planting at Beechpoint!

Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:
This is Me and Jabri - you might recognize her from my prayer card. I've known Jabri for 4 years now! She attends a church that I will be connecting with Chicago and God has already used her family to be a blessing to me! I'm excited to continue to get to know then through their church. I will be mentoring Jabri in our Partners in Discipleship program. This means I will meet with her once a week throughout the year. Together we will complete a Bible study developed by camp to grow kids in their walk with Christ.
This is my friend Tara. We met at camp last summer when she came to be a volunteer. Tara worked at camp for 10 years! Tara also attends the church that I go to while I am at camp. It's been so wonderful to know someone at church (cuz you all know how I need hugs!) and to have yet another connection here! Even though I won't see her a lot through the year, her friendship stands as a reminder that God is faithful and He will develop a support system for me here.
One of the favorite free time activities at camp . . .
This is Daveonce. BIG personality. He taught me all the words to "Never Could Have Made It".

This picture is funny to me! This is Franesha . . . she mostly likes fishing! I love that she has her fist balled up to hit this fish! Ha! It actually is a little dangerous to be an animal at camp. Last summer one of my kids slapped the cow because "he was lookin' at me".