i got back from our high school italy outreach camp on thurs. it was super tiring but good.
i had three freshman and a junior (soon to be sophomores/senior) in my group. these girls literally had no background in the church at all, for example, they had never heard the story of adam and eve and didnt know about the apple or the serpent and that its how sin entered the world. they were pretty disinterested in the spiritual aspects of the trip which although we had fun made it one of the most challenging (spiritually) trips ive ever been on. although none of the girls came to know Christ at camp they did make significant steps towards on him. on the last day they were given 15 minutes of silence on the beach to talk to God and to think about what the speaker had been saying. when we met up as a group to talk about their 15 minutes i asked them how it went and what they were thinking about. one of the girls said "it just doesnt make sense apart from God, like even if we came from plants how did the first one get there." although they didnt walk away knowing Christ i feel like God was doing something significant in their hearts and that this was a huge step for them.
i leave tomorrow for middle school camp and if i'm being honest and a little vulnerable, i'm nervous. last week was so tiring spiritually and physically that i dont know if i'm ready to do it all again. and on top of that i will have six girls this time in my group most of which we've never met and have never done anything with club before. so pray for relationships to develop quickly and deeply, pray for fun, pray that God gives me supernatural energy. and pray that God would be moving and working in the hearts of the 20 (maybe 19 or 21) middle schoolers coming with us this week.

and a few pictures from last week:






(the last one is in switzerland, not italy, dont be confused...we stopped on the way back at this gorgeous rest stop in the alps)