Falcon Camp: Girls, Gifts and God's presence.

SO I HAVE JUST GOT BACK FROM ONE OF THE MOST WORTHWHILE WEEKS OF MY LIFE. FALCON CAMP. IN SIMPLE WORDS THIS IS 7 DAYS WITH 19 CHILDREN DOING ACTIVITIES SUCH AS GOING TO THE ZOO, CINEMA, SWIMMING AND CRAFTS.

I could say that between trying to pull a girl from whacking her head on a radiator at night or pulling apart a fight; being told you suck at pretty much everything or that you should invest in some make up; trying to survive on 5 hours sleep or trying to do synchronised swimming/piggy in the middle/teaching a girl to swim at the same time, would make it one of the worst and most tiring weeks ever. But that would be a total lie.

Yes it was one of the most tiring weeks of my life, but it was also one of the best. The same girl that was whacking her head, also confided a lot in me. She got so much out of her system. The girl who got in the fight came back to God that week. The girl who told me to invest in make-up, hugged and thanked me two days later. The boy who told me I sucked at everything told me also informed me that I was a lot of fun at the end of the week. These kids were actually incredible and really deserving of every ounce of attention they got.

You also learnt so much about the different skills God has blessed us with. Take the children. One didn’t know how to swim but was willing to try and got it so quickly. Another was so brave and had the best laugh I have ever heard. Another girl was so caring, a boy would smile at anything, and another was a great cricketer.

Then take the leaders. You have those amazing at sport. Those good at drama. Those willing to really make an absolute idiot of themselves. Those who are the nicest people you will ever meet, then again that was everyone.

So what I am trying to say is that God blessed me last week with reminding me how amazing he is. What an incredible creator he is.

But most of all he blessed me by being there. If God hadn’t decided to give me patience or the imagination to come up with the most random bedtime stories each night I would have been totally screwed. If he hadn’t given me the right words to say to crying teenage girls then I would have been totally useless. If he hadn’t given me the endurance to go from one child’s problem to the next then I would have felt like I was failing both the children and him. Instead God stood by me through every moment and was there to comfort me at the end of the day. Most of all he blessed me with an incredible fellow team – leaders who could give advice and most of all leaders who could give me a hug.

So next year find a camp near you, because even when you get beaten in an arm wrestle by a 12 year old, their smile and sense of self-achievement makes it worth it. 

Realising the Big G is everywhere.

Do you ever feel like you have found something perfect? Somewhere perfect, even.

Somewhere where you fit in. Somewhere where people listen to your view. Somewhere where you make friends for life within just a few months. Somewhere you couldn’t imagine leaving.

This was Kingsgate for me. To date it must be my favourite church I have ever stepped into. It is fun. It is lively. It is ambitious. Three things you want to see in a church.

This is not to say that I have not been blessed with a lot of amazing churches. St Marys in Leamington was the church I was born into. It was an incredible place to spend my six youngest years. I then moved to St Marks which I finally felt part of when I reached thirteen. It was somewhere to escape to and somewhere which allowed me to push the boundaries of my faith. When I moved to Cambridge, HT became the church I could most call home. Their womens afternoons were amazing. The student workers were incredible, not to mention the students. The students were there for me when during second year life got really tough. They were there so much that it really touched me.

But it was only when I got to Kingsgate I felt like I had found home. Partly I think it was because it was so much smaller. It was easy to get stuck in. It was easy to do things. It was easy to dream. But most of all I think it was because God was so alive. People spoke in tongues, people were healed, people had prophecies. These were things which hadn’t seemed possible before but at Kingsgate they were open to all.

The point of this column is not I LOVE KINGSGATE, but how we can start to rely on a certain place. I had started to rely on Kingsgate to make me feel alive. You couldn’t help but want more. You couldn’t help but be inspired.

It was two weeks ago that I realised this. I was at a planning meeting for Falcon camp and I could just feel God there. It was like he was watching over us and saying YEHHHHH BUDDY. That night I was at St Marks and suddenly thought YES. The feeling was back.

While we can feel like we can only get this incredible feeling from being with a certain group of people, a certain place – that isn’t true. Yes people can inspire you, people can challenge you, but that feeling – or that power – that is God.

God is everywhere and if like me you are currently moving home or moving town – I think that is something very important to hold on to.

So to all the people I have come across over the years – at Kingsgate, at HT, at St Marys, at St Marks – THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU ALL. Not as much as the Big G but you know what I mean ;)