JH Hume/SD 2012 End Day 5, End of Camp

Thursday's are my favorite day of Hume/SD!

**Link to Photo Album at the bottom...you'll need to scroll to the end of the album for today's pics**

While the worship is always good from the very first chapel on, by Thursday, students usually have completely let down their "cool" guard, and worship is a whole new level.

After breakfast we went into the chapel for about 20 minutes of just great singing together. After that, instead of having a speaker, we went out for "church time", where we (the youth pastors) get to lead a personal time with just our youth groups. It was so sweet to hear from the students how God had worked in their lives this week! This was NOT just a generic, Sunday School answer, sharing time. This kids thought big, and outside the box. I challenge you to ask your student what God showed them this week, and for some of you, have a tissue handy :)

Rec today was "The Great Race"...a mad scramble, holding hands, running all over the campus, spam eating, hop-scotching, Egyptian posing good time...

Final scores saw our guys come in 6th place, and the ladies came in 3rd...bragging rights for a year to the ladies!

For free time, we took the entire group to Mission Beach, buy the big rollercoaster/carnival/store/shop area....spent a couple hours there just being in the midst of San Diego :)

After dinner it was time for the final chapel, where worship was seriously just awesome. Kids dancing for Christ, and singing loud! We even did Happy Day (the only time all week), a song that, (I'm being transparent here), I've kind of moved on from, lol...but, it was awesome! Really enjoyed it (once ;) )

The final challenge was from Adam, who picked up his theme from Moses, and challenged the campers not to forget...not to forget Elohim...not to forget what God has shown them this week...pretty cool stuff

After the final chapel, it was off to Victory Circle to officially close out camp...Students shared out loud in front of the whole camp what God had shown them this week. I always LOVE this time, as it's a blessing to know that young people are in fact listening! Yes, listening to the worship, listening to the speaker, listening to the missionaries, listening to their counselors, rec leaders, and youth pastors....but most importantly, it confirms they are listening to God! What a blessing!

So after Victory Circle, it was back to the dorms, to begin the packing process and get ready to check out and head home tomorrow.

It's been a truly great week. We had a total of 5 of our students (almost 50%!) stay behind after a meeting and document some sort of decision to strengthen their walk with Christ. But whether they filled out a card or not, after being around them, especially the last couple of days, I can say with confidence, I believe each and every one of the 11 Jr Highers we brought are much closer with God at this moment, than they were when we got here...and that goes for our 5 counselors too! :)

For tomorrow, we should be completely done w/ everything, packed, eaten breakfast, and finished with our special awards (ask your student!) by 9:30. We have a quick side trip to drop off someone at the airport, and then it's back to the AZ. We should be arriving right around 5:00pm. We will call from Gila Bend, from there it's always an hour...

I'm sure hoping parents will show up on time to pick up their kids from the church...(transparency again)...I'm leaving again very early Sunday morning, and I don't have much time to spend with my own family...I love their kids, but I love mine more :)

Prayers for a safe trip home would be appreciated!

God Rulz!

Pictures from the week JH HumeSD 2012

JH HUME/SD 2012 End Day 4

Got to bed late last night...so here's random thoughts from yesterday :)

Picture album updated...click below to see it...

JH HUME/SD 2012 End Day 4

Waking up by 7:00am in San Diego is still just as hard as it is in Arizona...

I'm now definitely "one of those guys" that times it pretty well so that I grab my breakfast at the last minute and eats it during the morning counselor meeting...

Had a neat one-on-one time with my dear friend Cliff Carey yesterday...spent about an hour together...it's so good to have a friend to share "life-stuff" with, and have the opportunity to be real...

What can YOU do with a blanket, a whiffle bat, and a giant bouncy ball? I don't know, but I doubt it will be as cool as the AWESOME REC they do here at Hume/SD...

Everyone from our group went to the beach for a couple hours yesterday...including 4 surfers...(bummed we didn't get any pics of the surfers, but I'm sure it made God smile :) )

Saw Jenn McClendon (class of 2010) and her family and boyfriend at the beach...they are doing the west coast vacation thingy...love that family...(and her parents, Paul and Carolyn reminded me what a consistent P90X commitment can do...they look great!)

The youth pastors were treated to a "thank you" dinner at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza for dinner...great time connecting with other guys who are "in the trenches" and can relate to the unique position we've been called to....topped off the dinner with a "Messy Sunday", SO GOOD!...I say THANKS to Jay, Andrew, and the rest of the HUME/SD staff for all YOU do that makes our job a lot easier!

With one day to go, our girls are in 4th place for rec, and the guys are in 3rd...a decent showing :) Today is "The Great Race", a giant relay race around pretty much the entire Pt. Loma Campus...

Loving the worship time at each meeting...so great to see young people letting their guard down a little more each day and coming into the presence of God...

Adam Weatherby continues to be used by God...our students are tracking really well with him, and he's making God's Word clear, understandable, and applicable. The cabin "So What" times are deeper each time...

Wednesday night is "Late Night Roberto's Run Night"...took orders from all the students/staff and picked up true SD/Mexican Fast Food at 11:00pm...16 people can order a lot of food...we have 67 people next week....

hope you enjoy the randomness...

God Rulz!