Hello everyone!
Sadly, the blog post that I wrote before was erased. I'll have to write a new one, I suppose.

Two weeks ago was the Senior High camp, which I counseled for. It was really challenging and really good.

The last night of camp we had a lot of campers who were really broken after the message. A lot of the girls were crying; walking through camp there was just sobbing everywhere. You wouldn't believe the sort of issues many of them are dealing with. One of the girls in our cabin decided to ask God to be her Savior, which was really exciting.

One thing to pray for though is the ministry for all the students after they leave camp. Juneau is pretty lacking in follow-up camp ministry, and really in all ministries.

I went into town last weekend and explored Juneau. It was great; we attended two different churches, and I learned a lot about Juneau culture. It's a little strange: the culture up here is way different from that in "the lower 48," even though it's still in the USA. Everything is very transient- people move around a lot, so they send all their mail to P.O. boxes. They typically often change churches, houses, and just don't commit to much for the long-term.

Anyway, last week I was on work-staff. I was "Laundry Queen," so I did almost every counselor's laundry. It was gross great. It was a small work-staff, so we were really busy. But, I still had time to learn to knit! And go on a great horse ride. (I'm knitting a pair of legwarmers. They're sweet.)

My mom also sent me an awesome package with Cheez-Its, Goldfish, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies! MMMMM. You're great, ma! And not just because you send me delicious food.

Oh! Also, there is a young grizzly bear in camp. We saw it run through a few days ago past the Trading Post. Later we saw it on the beach. A guy went out with his shotgun to either kill it or scare it, but it swam across the river before he could. So we're all kind of on tiptoe when we walk around, especially at night. There are bear poop and tracks everywhere.

This week is the second Maverick camp (that's 12-13 year olds). I'm counseling again. It was my favorite age group last time, so we'll see how my cabin goes this time!

Counselors start leaving this week, which is really sad. The rest of us leave in 16 days. I wish we could stay at camp forever. I miss you guys too though!

Love you all so much.
Lauren

Sunday, July 17

Hi guys! This one will be kinda short, I have campers coming in the morning!

The past week was the second Bronco camp (ages 10-11). It was a challenging week. Usually, I have one or two campers who are troublemakers; this week I think I had five or six. Some were falling asleep during our discussions, two wouldn’t stop goofing off (even during prayer), and another two we suspected of coming from backgrounds of either abuse or neglect (they made some phone calls).

My co-counselor’s name was Tracy. She was fantastic, and as far as we were concerned, I feel like the week went well. The new theme was and is still Holidays. So of course, we dressed up! One day I was a reindeer, another we painted our faces to look like Easter eggs. It was great.

I do have to tell you what occurred over this week. On Tuesday night, my cabin and I were outside around 10:30 when Michael and his cabin ran by and pegged us with water balloons. There were only two: one hit me at almost point blank range in the face, and the other one burst on the wall behind me. The one that hit my face didn’t explode, so ironically we didn’t even get wet. Michael and his cabin ran away really fast after throwing them, so they didn’t see anything after that. I was dazed for a minute because I hadn’t even seen it coming. Then when we realized it was Michael, I was mad. So of course, I did what any good Christian camp counselor would do- I faked an injury to get them back.

After speaking with the camp nurse, we pretended that I had scratched my eye because it was open when the water balloon hit. I showed up to breakfast the next morning with a huge bandaid over my eye. Michael and Tyler (his co-counselor) felt awful. They apologized at least 10 times and Tyler even prayed for my eye during our staff devotions (I felt kinda guilty about that one!). Michael told me, though, that even though he felt awful, if he had the chance he would totally do it again. That sealed the deal!

That night, after lots of careful planning, we gave Michael and Tyler fake mail. (Everyone who receives mail has to dance to a song called “Grey Squirrel” in front of the dining hall to actually get it.) At the end of their dance, Tracy and I pie-ed both of them in the face with mashed potato pies. Then I triumphantly ripped off the bandaid and informed him that the entire injury was fake. I thought I had won! (And really, I did win regardless of what happened next.)

For Bronco camp, each week there is a fake crime and we have “Kangaroo Court,” where after hilarious imitation court proceedings, a few counselors or staff members are declared guilty and sentenced. Since everyone saw me pie Michael in the face and announce my faked injury, the staff decided that I was to be determined guilty of their fake crime. (I possibly should have reconsidered the fact that my retaliation made me a shoe-in for the guilty verdict.)

Anyway, I was found guilty along with another counselor and a member of a short-term ministry team. Usually, the sentence is buckets of water poured on your head. Not the most desirable, in 65 degree weather, but bearable. This week, they decided to amp it up a bit. In the end (after trying to escape a couple of times) they poured bottles of pancake syrup on our heads and then poured sand over top of it.

Now, you must remember that I have very long and thick curly hair. That was AWFUL. It took a 45 minute shower to get the majority of it out of my hair, and I still think I will have sand in my scalp for about six months.

So the moral of this story is: if you’re retaliating for a prank, don’t do it on a Bronco camp week. They might get you back. (Although, in Michael’s defense, he didn’t have anything to do with the syrup/sand fiasco.)

Oh, and I crocheted mittens! They’re kind of pot-holder-esque, but still. I learned to knit too, but crocheting is more fun.

In other news, I am counseling this week for senior high. My co-counselor’s name is Brittany. Please be in prayer for us this week. Senior High is kind of the the climax of the summer. It is a six-day camp so the kids will be here until Saturday. It’s always stressful for the program staff, but really great. (This is our second Senior High camp, and I did counsel for the last one too.)

Love you guys!

Lauren

PS: My mom is great! Love you mom! :o)

Sunday, July 10

Hello everyone! It’s been a nice week on work-staff for me; hope your holiday went well!
Last Sunday morning I played back-up guitar for chapel. It actually went really well, considering that except for the past couple weeks, I haven’t played guitar in a few years.

The parade on Monday morning was great. It was actually really cool, because we got to see how many people the camp has impacted. We had a little “float,” a trailer with a miniature cabin on it. All the counselors walked around it, sang camp songs, and handed out candy. Every so often, someone would get on the microphone and shout, “Who here has been to Echo Ranch?” It was really cool to see all the hands go up: adults, teenagers, kids. Sometimes you would have parents who had gone a long time ago who send their kids now. Even the Starbucks barista has gone. It’s awesome to know that I’m a part of the ministry that ensures that the greater part of Juneau has heard the gospel.

This week on work-staff was nice. It was a soccer camp, so there were only 40 campers. There were a lot of people not counseling which means a bigger work-staff, so we all had less stuff individually to do. We’ve been painting over the graffiti-covered bunks in the cabins. First we taped and primed each bunk, and then we’ve been painting them a dark reddish brown. I learned to drive the small tractor this week! It’s really fun; I love it. Our tractor is a stick-shift (I guess they all are?), and I’ve mastered everything except the fine art of reversing. I almost ran over my trailer while attempting to back up yesterday.

Also, possibly one of the best parts about camp, we went strawberry picking! There are strawberry plants that grow like weeds here, everywhere. The berries are finally ripe! They’re really small, not usually much bigger than a dime. Not all of the berries are red either; they’re usually a pinkish-red, but the white ones are still fine to eat. I have to tell you, I have never had better strawberries in my entire life. They are so sweet! Even the white ones are amazing. It’s so rewarding to crawl on your hands and knees to find berries growing near the ground, pick one, and then eat it! I got a Ziploc bag full of them. They usually grow most abundantly near piles of horse poo. We try not to think about that while eating them.

On Friday night, we went into town to see a Christian illusionist called “The MAZE.” It was really good. He’s got a great testimony, and he did some tricks that were amazing. It was really fun because we got to see some of our campers too.

Last night we went out to the wilderness camp to hang out around a campfire. Kern (my cousin) and some of the other guys fished at the river, and we watched them fillet the fish, and then cook them in the fire. I ate a piece of salmon that just hours before had been swimming happily in the river. (A little strange to think about that!) We also had s’mores and peanut butter.

After that we went star-tipping. It was so much fun. I’ll have to tell you about it (and how to do it) when I get home.

Today is a rest day, and then we start the second Bronco camp tomorrow! I am counseling for it, with a girl named Tracy. Broncos are 10-12 year olds.

Only one month and one week left before I come home. Not looking forward to school when I get back, but I miss you guys dearly so that will make up for it. Love you all!

In Christ,
Lauren

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well. I would love to hear from you about what's going on at home. I can't believe that it's already July. It feels like I just got here, and at the same time it feels like I've been here forever.

We are going into town this weekend for July 4 to see fireworks and participate in the parade! We will leave tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon and take a boat (and later a bus) to Juneau. It's still so light here that they can't do fireworks until around midnight, so the fireworks are always technically at 12:01am on July 4. Before the midnight firework show tomorrow, we'll split up into two groups. One will hike a nearby glacier, and another group will go shopping in downtown Juneau.

On Monday we will be in the parade through downtown Juneau, and then head back to camp. There are no main summer camps this week, although there is a soccer camp, a horse camp, and a few wilderness camps. I don't think I'll be counseling for anything this week, so it will be a nice break.

The past week has been really good. It was Maverick camp, which is 12-13 year olds. I like the age group a lot: the campers are old enough to understand the deep stuff and still young enough that they listen to us and look up to us.

My cabin (Discovery again) had 8 girls, plus my co-counselor Laurie and I. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of things that were similar to the Senior High camp. Our girls had a lot of fun with us, and more than one started crying on Friday when it was time to leave. It's been hard to send them back. I know that none of them this time have Christian households to return to. While I might shoot something if they stayed any longer, I still wish that I didn't have to let them leave.

There weren't any breakthroughs or really amazing things that happened, but I know camp still provided a safe place for these girls from rough homes to come hear about God and have fun. I hope that some seeds were planted that will sprout in the future!

I also have more Alaskan information for you, this time about plants! There is no poison ivy or poison oak here (at least, not that anyone knows about.) There are however two plants from which we keep our distance. The first is called Devil's Club (with good reason.) This particular plant grows all over the place, unfortunately. Most are 4 to 5 feet tall and grow on a thick stalk with huge leaves. The stalk and the bottom of the leaf are covered in thorns that break off on skin contact (and don't come out in the wash if they happen to attach themselves to your clothing.) Devil's Club gets its name because when hiking through the forest, if you step down on some or pull some back out of the way, it snaps back and can quite literally club the person behind you. The thorns are hard to get out, and most people are forced to just let them slowly work their way out over time. Sounds terrible right? Yeah, it is. I haven't gotten attacked by any yet (and I won't ever, hopefully.) I have seen bunches of the stuff though; it grows like a weed, everywhere it can.

The other plant that we avoid is not nearly as bad. It's called Indian Rhubarb. It isn't prickly or anything. The problem occurs if its stalk is broken open and some of the sap or juice gets on you. When that stuff is on your skin, it reacts to sunlight and causes pretty bad blisters for two or three weeks. The upside is that if you realize you got it, you can easily cover the area from the sun and go wash it off. If you do that, you'll be fine. This one also grows pretty tall, on a thickish stalk. It has a pretty white flower cluster at the top that looks a little like Baby's Breath, the tiny white stuff.

So, if you ever come to Alaska, get someone to point those two plants out to you and avoid them! Fortunately, they are easy to spot.

Miss you guys a lot! I'll be in town Sunday afternoon to Monday night, so if you want to call I would love it! Maybe I'll be able to answer. Keep in mind that I am 4 hours behind you.

Enjoy your holiday weekend! I hope that I'll get to talk to you all soon. Stay safe!

In Christ,
Lauren

One other thing:

Just wanted to let you know that while I'll keep updating this blog, I have another one with the exact same posts on it in a more streamlined format on leculp.tumblr.com if you would like to check it out. It's easier to read and easier for me to work with. It's just a different website, but all the same posts and updates. (The new blog also has pictures! I can't upload pictures to this one for some reason.)

Thanks for still reading all this stuff!

Saturday, June 25

Right now I’m sitting in the Counselor Loft watching The Fellowship of the Ring! But since I’ve seen it a hundred times or more, I thought I would update you all on what’s going on.
 
For the past week, I’ve been on “work-staff,” which basically comprises all the necessary behind-the-scenes tasks. We have helped prepare the meals and clean up pretty much everything. It was tiring, but definitely necessary. It was also a much-needed break from the campers. Counseling is pretty much a 24/7 thing, but work-staff is over after dinner clean-up.

Next week, though, I’m counseling middle school girls at the Maverick camp! That’s exciting because it’s right up my alley. I have a lot of experience with that age group. That camp is similar to the Senior High one, but one day shorter. That means more weekend time!

The Colt campers (7-9 years old) left on Thursday afternoon, so we had a three day break this week! It’s been great so far. Yesterday we took a canoe/kayak trip over to a creek where we climbed up to a waterfall. It was great. Then we started back, decided the water was too rough (it was crazy), struggled back to shore, and called the bigger boat “Blondina” to come pick us up. Canoeing is a work-out though, against tide and current the whole way. I’m sore now! (We had another swing dance party last night, which also contributes to my soreness.)

Today we just chilled out, watched some movies and played card games. There was an Ultimate Frisbee game too. It has been great to just chill.

Oh, I also learned to crochet! I learned on Friday night and made a hat in about two hours on Saturday morning. My hat is pretty awesome. When we go into town next weekend for Independence Day, I’ll get some yarn and crochet some of you guys hats if you want them! They look legit!

Otherwise, not much else is new. Work-staff was pretty laid back, so I had an uneventful week. They caught crab and salmon, which I declined to eat.

I’ve also recently picked the guitar back up. Although I’m not very good, it’s a lot of fun. I learned a great new song here called Micah 7:7. Unfortunately, it’s not on YouTube or iTunes, I don’t think. When I get back I’ll play it for you though.

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD.
I wait for God my Savior. My God will hear me.
And we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever.
We will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever and ever.

Love you guys all a lot! I wish I had a camera so I could take lots of great pictures for you. I’ll have to content myself with borrowing other people’s pictures.

Much love,
Lauren

Saturday, June 18

(Reposted this from my other blog at leculp.tumblr.com, so it's about a week late.)


Hey everyone! (Hi Granddad! And Grandmom! You guys are Grand.)

I have a few new bits of Alaska information for you! Apparently, we are in a temperate rainforest. In Alaska. I guess we just get so much rain that it’s categorized as a rainforest.

The rain up here is different than rain in North Carolina for the most part. It never really storms hard, there is just a continual drizzle. It’s nice, because life can still go on through the rain. There is no thunder, no lightning, no torrential downpours. (Which, to be honest, I kind of miss. I always liked thunderstorms.)

People in Alaska also don’t use umbrellas. Ever. Using an umbrella in downtown Juneau is labeling yourself a tourist and practically shouting that you would like to be pickpocketed. All the counselors are warned not to use umbrellas for that reason.

There is a type of (ugly) rain boot that everyone here has, called an XtraTuff. Imagine this rubbery tree-bark-brown boot that goes almost up to the knee. It has trim the color of butterscotch (which clashes with the brown) and a logo on the top that proudly displays “XtraTuff.” Wearing XtraTuffs in downtown Juneau is labeling yourself an Alaska resident and displaying your cool Alaska-ness. A lot of the counselors get a pair of these $90 boots. They are comfortable, waterproof, and pretty durable. You can hike in them, wade in water in them, and even sport them with a dress (which people have done.) Google it and see!

One girl, Alison, has a pair. She said that when she was on the east coast she wore them to walk through the city on a rainy day and a man stopped her and asked if she was from southeast Alaska. Pretty much everyone here, and no one else anywhere, owns a pair.

Last night, we had a swing dance party. One of the counselors named Tess is into swing dancing, and she taught us all how to do it. Michael was her dancing partner, because he apparently has swing-danced before. They’re pretty good together, and kinda cute. We also got him to dance in his style (what is it called, popping?) for us. He also did some tutting, and moonwalking. Everyone was very amazed, and he showed them how to do it.

So this past week was the first senior high camp. It was a lot different than the camp of 10 year olds the previous week. I actually liked it a lot better; the whole atmosphere was deeper and a lot more fun.

Of course, I got the homeschool cabin! Melissa, my co-counselor, and I had 9 girls; all are saved, go to the same youth group, and have been here numerous times before. This week was hard for us. The girls didn’t like following the rules, and they wanted to go do stuff on their own (a.k.a. without the counselors) all the time. That made it kind of hard to connect with them, but I think that’s a common issue for this age group. Overall, the week was good. I would like to try senior high again. I feel like I just got the hang of it and then the week ended.

There were a couple of interesting things that happened for the senior high camp. We had the annual Crud War. It was actually pretty disgusting. We played a musical chairs variation. The girls stood in a line and the guys ran around and tried to find a place to sit on the ground in front of them. When the music stopped, if a guy found a seat he was pelted by the girls with all manner of leftover food: oatmeal, applesauce, spaghetti, refried beans, chocolate syrup, ketchup and the like. If he didn’t find a seat, he had to slide down a slip-n-slide sort of tarp covered in applesauce and ketchup. Gross either way. Then the girls and guys switched and it started all over. After that, we threw flour at each other, and then shaving cream. As a bonus, it was raining and the temperature was a balmy 60 degrees. After that, everyone got hosed off or jumped in the ocean and took quick showers. I think I still have oatmeal in my hair. Crud war was interesting (read: traumatic). Not sure I’ll ever look at applesauce the same!

We also played Mission Impossible. This is senior high camp tradition. Around 11:30pm (so that it’s actually dark) we start as a cabin and run around trying to avoid getting caught by guards while completing tasks before any other cabin. All the kids dress in all black and get really stealthy. It’s pretty fun! The night ended around 1:30am with Rice Krispy treats!

For this upcoming week, there is a Colt camp (ages 7-9). I won’t be counseling; instead, I’ll be on work-staff. That means I’ll be a part of the meal prep, serving and clean-up, and bathhouse, outhouse, and dorm cleaning. This is my first week on work-staff… I’ll let you know how it goes! I’m excited to sleep in the dorms for the week. I’ve slept mostly on foam “matresses” for the past two weeks in cabins with wood stoves. It will be nice not to have to spend 20 minutes making a fire to stay warm for the first several hours of the night.

Speaking of night, June 21 is the summer solstice I believe. That’s the longest day of the year. Here in Alaska, the sun won’t truly ever set around the solstice. It gets dusky around midnight and then starts getting light again around 3am. It’s crazy! and I love it. I love light! I can be outside at all hours of the night and still do stuff and see things…it’s so exciting.

I also got to drive a golf cart around today. We explored a cave and it was cool! Tonight I’m going into town with a few other counselors. We’ll go to Walmart and McDonalds, and then sleep in the dorms in town. Tomorrow I’ll help with registration, and then hike back in.

Praying for you guys! Love you all.
Lauren

Today is Saturday. The first set of Bronco (10-11 year old) campers left yesterday afternoon. We love them, but we were also secretly cheering when they all rode away on the tractor. It's been a hard week for some of the counselors, but overall the camp went really well. At this age, the boys are usually more problematic than the girls, so we didn't have as many issues as the guys did.

My cabin (previously "Bear", renamed "Discovery" for our High Seas theme) was pretty well behaved, for the most part. There were ten girls in our cabin, plus the two counselors (myself, and another girl named Allana). I got to know Allana pretty well, and we work great together; we've become really good friends.
A lot went on at the Bronco camp. We had chapel twice a day, cabin devotions, free time, Sky Trolley (the zip line), canoeing, archery, mini-golf, BB guns, horseback trail rides, and cabin clean-up. During cabin clean-up, the staff had devotions while the campers cleaned the cabins. Afterward, judges walked around and rated each cabin. It was pretty funny actually, because the girls had cute (and a few crazy) ideas about cleaning. They would run around and get flowers to decorate everything, write stuff on the porch in pinecones, and put leaves in patterns on the steps (all the while neglecting the simple stuff like sweeping). Once, they thought the cabin smelled bad, so they rubbed deodorant on the bunks and their sleeping bags. Oh, ten year old girls!

The very first night, we talked to them and asked them about their lives. I was pretty shocked (and kind of excited at the challenge) to learn that only three of them went to church and that most of the rest hadn't heard of Jesus. That meant that our presentation of the gospel was the very first that some of them had ever heard, which was pretty amazing. The opportunity is almost incomparable: to share the Good News with someone who has never heard it before and has no preconceived ideas about it.

So we shared the gospel with them in our cabin. They had a lot of questions; some were really deep and some were a little out there. They asked if God was a male, where He came from, about Jesus, Cain and Abel, the garden of Eden... pretty much every question that flitted about in their heads, they asked us. We answered what we could, pointed them to God, and even had to run and get a second opinion for a few things.

The mind of a child is a wonderful thing though. It was really enlightening to see the way that some of them processed and perceived things. We asked them on the second night who they thought God was. One sweet girl answered with profound insight that I almost didn't know what to say. I wish I had her answer word for word, but I'll just have to summarize. She said, "God is everything that is good. He's the mountains, the ocean, and the stars, He's the flowers, the horses, and everything else beautiful and wonderful."

Simple, and maybe not quite theologically correct, but the sentiment is right. God is the author of all good things. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows," as James said. I love that answer.

As far as accepting Jesus goes, we want them to do everything by themselves. There is no altar call, no sample prayer, no "repeat after me" confession. If a camper wants to accept Jesus, we want him to do it because he understands what he is doing and really wants to.

In our cabin we did have one girl who decided that she wanted to accept Jesus. Allana and I sat out with her on the porch of our cabin and just talked for a little while. We asked what she believed about Jesus, and answered her questions. She decided that she for sure did want to accept Jesus, so we told her how some people go about it and the sorts of things that they pray. Then we sat there with her on June 8, 2011 while this girl asked Jesus to forgive her and be in her life. Just existence of a new life in Christ, the one person who is so especially loved by God turning to Him... it gave me and continues to give me so much joy. I really am so blessed... and so I wish you were here that you could share in the joys.

There have been struggles too, though. One girl was in foster care. Another was only here to "learn about other people's religions." A handful of kids in other cabins had lost a father or mother. Many were in divorced households. Some were the children of drug addicts. A surprising number had been exposed to drugs already. There are so many hurt and broken people, but God's love heals!

I know I'm in the right place.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. I am praying for you all too! You have enabled me to come here, serve God, and fight for the people who don't even know how lost they are. A thousand times thank you.

Blessings,
Lauren
PS: I have a lot more stories and funny happenings that I just didn't have time to write about. Hopefully I'll post those soon!

Today is still Saturday here in Alaska. Our daylight now lasts until about 11pm, and the sun gets back up around 4am. In about a month, I'm told we won't have any true darkness at all. Even around 1am, it's still not pitch black like you would expect in a place with no light pollution.

Our Internet access is limited to between 9:30 and midnight on every day except Sunday (when we can use it anytime after noon.)

I compiled a list of all the unique wildlife that I have seen so far. Here you go:
-bear
-bald eagles (a LOT of them; they're everywhere.)
-whales
-sea lions
-seals
-sea anenomes
-porpoises
-marmot (it was really CUTE!)
-lunes (so Michael thinks)
-killer mosquitoes
-noseeums

The last two on the list are really awful. The mosquitoes don't actually kill you, but they are HUGE. I have 17 mosquito bites right now just on my arms from the elbow down. It's terrible! But actually, I have gotten quite adept at grabbing them out of the air with one hand. My goal by the end of the summer is to be able to pinch them out of the air between two fingers. (That would be pretty ninja, you have to admit).

I haven't actually gotten bitten by a noseeum yet. They are called that because you "no-see-um." Apparently they all hatched and will come out next week. They are pretty nasty. A noseeum is a tiny little bug that actually eats your flesh. It is hard to see them because they are so tiny, but when they bite you, you'll know it. It leaves a nice welt on your skin. Pretty painful. Worse than mosquitoes, because at least you can see the mosquitoes to kill and or swat them away. Not looking forward to noseeums!

As I'm writing this, I don't have Internet yet (it's about 8pm here) and so I can't see what I wrote last time. So if I repeat something, I'm sorry!

We hiked to Camper's Cove on Monday, the same day that my cousin Kern arrived! It was a two hour-ish hike. Overall it wasn't too strenous, but my hiking boots still gave me blisters. I think I need new ones. However, I DID NOT get sunburned, which was really exciting for me.

On Tuesday night I told my testimony (and I cried, of course). Half of the other counselors also told their testimonies, the other half told them on Friday night. It was all really good; learning where people came from helps all of us to really understand who we all are and get a lot closer.

We went through the Colt and Bronco camps on Wednesday and then through the Maverick and Senior High camps on Thursday. Some of the younger kids really like puppets, so we do shows for them. Several groups of us practiced with the puppets, singing to corny Christian remakes of old songs.

Unfortunately, Thursday night while we were doing an obstacle course, one of the counselors fell and broke her ankle in two places. She had to be sent to the ER in Juneau. She will have surgery later in the week. Please pray for her healing and that her mom can come up here to be with her while she recovers. She came back, and is still living here until the surgery. After that I think she will continue to stay up here, so please be praying for her! She's been a trooper.

The next day we learned the "Sky Trolley" stations. That's our zip line thing. I got certified to harness, send, hook, and catch people who ride it. Today we also got First Aid/CPR certified.

Everything is all about preparing for the campers! Sometimes it seems like it would be great to just continue the Orientation week all summer, and not have campers. But that's why we're here... to tell the kids of southeast Alaska about the love of God. So while this week has been great, I think everyone is excited for our first week of Bronco camp.

Still unsure if I will be counseling or just on "work staff" (the behind the scenes support work we do when we're not counseling) next week. There is a good chance that I will be counseling though. It would be great if you would please be in prayer for the campers and counselors next week. We'd all appreciate it (we need as much prayer as we can get.)

Thank you for everything.

Blessings,
Lauren

PS: Mom, I miss you! :)

Echo Ranch

Hello everyone! This is the end of Day 2 at Echo Ranch, and it already feels like home.

There is so much to tell you guys. I can’t possibly type it all now. This is just a little bit of it.

My flight from Charlotte to Seattle was almost six hours total, which is insanely long when you’re sitting in one place the entire time. We all finally got boarded and sat down with our carry-ons, then waited 30 minutes and found out that our plane had mechanical issues (better then than when we were actually in the air, I guess.) So we all had to wait more, get off the plane, wait more, get back on a new plane, wait more, and then finally start flying.

When I got to Seattle, Michael Reaser was already there. (He is at Echo Ranch too!) I called him, and he found me, so I had someone to talk to in the airport. We got on our Seattle-Juneau flight a few hours later. I was pretty jet lagged by the time we arrived. We got there around 9pm Alaska time, which was 1am North Carolina time. I had gotten up at 6:30am that morning to go to the airport, so I was exhausted. Luckily, the tide was in so instead of having to hike out to camp, we got to ride the boat (the “Blondina”) instead.

We finally got there pretty late. (Because it’s Alaska time, though, it was still light even as late as 11pm.) All fourteen of the female counselors are staying in one dorm room together. There are bunk beds in the room, 2 showers, 2 toilets, and 3 sinks in the attached bathroom. It’s probably a good thing that no one told me about that ahead of time, because nothing about a dorm room really appeals to me. In reality though, it’s really not that bad. I got used to it really fast, and it’s all simple but clean. The dorms are below the dining hall, and the entire building actually has electricity. Most of the buildings here do, except for the cabins. I think there are 8 girls and 8 guys cabins, and they have wood stoves instead. We haven’t stayed in one of those yet.

I have to tell you, it is absolutely beautiful. The mountains, the bay, the sky… it just feels so much like home. No mountains that I have ever seen have anything on the mountains here. There is a panoramic view from the beach on the bay with snowcapped mountains all around it. They are so big that you have to tilt your head upward to see the top. It’s light most of the day, but so far it has been overcast. That made it a sort of glowy light from early in the morning until late at night.

Today part of our orientation was learning canoe safety. Michael and I were partners. We learned to paddle around, pivot the boat, forward and backward strokes, and how to rescue people if the canoe dumps over. The water here is a lot of glacier water, and what isn’t from glaciers is pretty cold anyway. Even in the middle of the summer, if you fall into the water, there is a 50% chance of getting hypothermia. That’s how cold the water is!

Regardless, canoeing was really fun. There were sea lions that we could see jumping around in the bay a little bit past us. Michael also pointed out a bald eagle nest in a nearby tree. Apparently there are a lot of bald eagles here. And nothing compares to paddling around in the stunning bay surrounded by the hugely glorious mountains. 

I am really really excited to be here. It’s great not having to juggle things and multitask work + school + homework + money + church + ministry + friends. Everything is in one place and I can just LIVE without having to worry about anything. It is so peaceful; I love it.

I could use a little more sun though. It is pretty cold most of the time. We all usually wear sweatpants or jeans and a jacket. Yesterday, though, we played a beach volleyball game and were all in shorts while we were moving.

Overall, it’s only the second day and the counselors already start to feel like family. (No campers yet, and my cousin Kern isn’t here yet either.) The landscape is the best thing I’ve ever seen; it tops every mountain on the East Coast. God’s imagination amazes me. 

We have all been hanging out all night in the Loft (the counselor hang-out sort of room.) But the best part of it all is how God-focused it is. We have had solid quiet time with God a lot, heard testimonies, and figured out our mission here.

We won’t have Internet all the time. I’m borrowing a friend’s computer tonight. Guess I should have taken mine! I’ll keep sporadically updating. Once the campers arrive, I’ll have much less time to write.

Anyway, love you all! Feel free to send me messages. I can’t guarantee that I’ll write back immediately, but I love hearing from you guys. Thank you again! I’m praying for you all. 

In Christ,

Lauren

Thursday

Preparations are underway for my trip to Alaska! The reality hasn't sunk in that I will be leaving my home, friends, family and everything I've ever known. I'm sure it will sink in really well when I'm looking out the window at 20,000 feet. My excitement is pretty indescribable, though.

So my flight leaves Charlotte at 9:35. It will arrive around 12:30 in Seattle. I'll then have a lovely 7 hour layover to eat lunch and navigate my way through the Seattle airport. (I'm bad with directions, so I might need that long.) After a long day of travel, the other counselors and I should all arrive in Juneau by 9:40. Next, a long drive and then a two mile hike out to the camp. That's what my Thursday will look like!

Internet will be spotty, since it's satellite-based, and we're in the middle of nowhere. I'll update you as frequently as I can!

Again, thank you so much for the prayers and the support! Everyone has blessed me far beyond what I expected. I am so grateful that God has put you in my life. Love you all!

In Him,
Lauren

Provision.

I have received all of the support funding required to journey to Alaska this summer to minister the love of God to the kids at Echo Ranch Bible Camp!

Now I need prayer, and a lot of it! Thank you for your generosity and continued support!

I leave on May 26, a mere 20 days away! I'll keep you updated, thanks again!

Realize.

I have come to two hard-learned conclusions as of late. So I thought I would share. No story, just the lesson:

1. There are always two (or more) sides to every situation.
2. Never assume someone is okay.

Update:

I now have 50% of the required $1000 for Alaska this summer! Thank you to my generous donors, and my amazing Yahweh.

Journey.

Echo Ranch Bible Camp! I continue to thank God for your prayers and support. He is faithful!

ALASKA.

"For our God needs no less of a cathedral."

I am excited to inform you that I am going to... Alaska! Forty miles outside of Juneau is a wonderful place called Echo Ranch Bible Camp. I have been given the opportunity to go and be a camp counselor here for the duration of the summer. (I am so excited! I can't stop saying how excited I am!) During the week, I will be working with the kids, a new cabin each week. Ages range from 7 to 18. There are hiking trails, horseback riding, mountains, a bay, sports, games, and chapel. Most importantly, Echo Ranch exists to bring children closer to Christ.

I leave May 26 and return August 16. The only thing left to do is raise the support. (Click here to see a copy of my support letter for more information!) Since the camp is a non-profit, the staff has to raise support. The combined cost for room and board, and transportation is $1000, needed by the end of May at the latest. Please pray that God provides everything I need, and everything that Echo Ranch needs, and that the wonderful kids we go to minister to would come to know their Savior! God is always faithful!

If you would like to donate, send checks (with my name in the memo line) made out to
Avant Ministries
10,000 North Oak Trafficway
Kansas City, Missouri 64155
(Or if it's easier, you could just give me the check and I'll send it for you. All donations are tax-deductible.)

Even if you cannot financially support me, please be in prayer! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Splendor.

And around and around, and around and around,
and around we'll go. –"Into the Sky," Jason Upton

I haven't written in a while, so I have decided to post something new!

There aren't any specific things that I'm focusing on right now. My head is a jumbled mess of doubts and hopes and regrets and dreams. I am thinking a million miles an hour and I'm going nowhere fast.

But God is faithful. God is faithful. I repeat that to myself over and over, a reminder of the everlasting truth. He is a mighty warrior. He is a gentle lover. He is everything we need, and He's all I want. He is all our longings fulfilled, all our dreams come true. More than a story, better than a fairy tale. Not a happy ending: a happy living for there will be no ending to our romance. He is Love, not a feeling or an emotion, but alive. A Living Love. My Savior and Healer. My Truth. My All in All. My Love.

In the light of His reality, everything else fades away in a shadow. For a time it still exists, but becomes dim in comparison to His splendor.

Oh Lover of My Soul, shine your Light in me. Show me your face, it's Your heart I want to know, to have. Reveal to me the deepest parts of Your heart, and make them mine. Lift up my head, place flowers in my hair. And we will dance and sing, for the King has won and His Bride is alive.

Debts.

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free,
and discover that the prisoner was you."

Forgiveness has been on my mind and heart a lot lately. Mostly, I think, because God has shown me what a problem I have in that area.

It's so easy to not forgive someone without even realizing it. You might forget about it, push it to the back of your mind, avoid the offender, or justify your bitterness. Maybe do you realize that you haven't forgiven, but just can't bring yourself to. I'm guilty of both.

The thing is, neither approach is right. It's still unforgiveness, and it's still going to eat you up inside. You can never be whole until you have forgiven others their debts to you. Not until you reach the point where you are done with bitterness and ready to completely and honestly forgive. Then you will allow God to work in your heart, rebuild what was destroyed, and make you new again.

Jesus taught on unforgiveness. He used the parable of the unmerciful servant. The king was settling all his accounts, and a servant was brought before him who owed him a huge debt of 10,000 talents (millions of dollars). The servant begged to be shown mercy, and the king forgave him his debt and released him. Later, the servant went and demanded another man repay him a hundred denarii (only a few dollars in today's money). The man did not have the money, so the servant had him thrown in jail.

When the king learned what the servant had done, he was very angry. The king had forgiven the servant millions of dollars, but the servant condemned a man with a very minor debt to him. So the king had the servant thown in jail and tortured until he could repay his million-dollar debt (Matthew 18:22-34 [NIV]).

At the end of that passage, Jesus says, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart" (Matthew 18:35 [NIV]). Oh dear heart, you and I have been forgiven over and over for the things that we have done. For everything we have done. How is it that we think that we can refuse to forgive the debts of those who have done a few things against us?

Maybe the debts are major things; maybe they're not. But any debt pales in comparison to the great ones we owe our King, who so graciously forgave us all.

Sometimes we don't even realize that there is unforgiveness or bitterness in our hearts. The offense may have occurred a long time ago; the offender may not still be near us. David prayed, "Forgive me my hidden faults" (Psalm 19:12b [NIV]). Just as David did, ask Him to reveal any hidden unforgiveness.

You and I have to be the ones to commit the act of instant forgiveness. It's not a process. Paul wrote, "Forgive, as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:13 [NIV]). Our Lord forgave us instantaneously, without any reluctance or delay. Can you imagine Jesus sitting in heaven saying, "You know, you just really hurt me when you sinned. I'm not really ready to forgive you yet. I need some time, try again in a few years."

Of course He wouldn't do that! So why do we?

Take a few moments to go before your gracious King. Let Him make you whole again.

Beth Moore said this: "God did not insist on my forgiving for the sake of my perpetrator, but for the sake of peace in my life." Dear heart, let His peace reign in your life!

Abide.

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference.

Sometimes we try so hard to make something great by ourselves. We might work on it for hours, plan it all out, and micromanage every last detail, but still touch no one.

Then there are the times nothing seems to go right, when everything gets thrown together, and it actually impacts way more people than the other.

It's humbling, really. For all our trying, it's God who changes lives and hearts, not us. It's humbling, but at the same time, freeing. The burden is gone. It's not up to us to figure out the hows and the whats. We don't have to determine the best way to impact the world. All we have to do is be willing and say "yes."

God will do the rest. He always does.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5 [NIV]).

Offerings.

"Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." -Matthew 5:23-24 [NIV]

So often we offer our gifts to the LORD without reconciling with others first. I know this really convicted me.

What does it mean when it says "your brother has something against you?" The translation in the Message Bible reads "... if you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you..." Synonyms (according to Thesaurus.com) include bitterness, grievance, and resentment. Hopefully as a follower of Christ, not too many of our brothers have "a bone to pick" with us. But we're people, and we're certainly not perfect.

A key thing to remember here is that Jesus in this passage said "brother." Our brothers are the body of Christ. Earlier in Matthew 5:11, Jesus had said "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." So in this passage, Jesus isn't talking about offending the world (or evoking animosity from someone by proclaiming His name), but our brothers.

Something else I find interesting is that we should be concerned about our brothers' issues with us, even if we don't have anything against them in return. Jesus didn't say, "If you remember that you have something against your brother..." Quite the opposite, He said, "If you...remember that your brother has something against you..." We should be concerned when members of the body of Christ are offended by us as a good friend recently reminded me.

The key issue here is the very act of going to your brother to make things right. I pray that God will teach us be humble enough to do so. Pride is our downfall, every time.

For years, I figured that if a Christian had an issue with me, it was his problem. But Paul advised, "...Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:17b-18 [NIV]).

Jesus wanted us even from the very altar to stop and go to our brother for reconciliation. Yes, it must be that important. Today, we don't give lambs and cows. Instead, we are to "offer [our] bodies as living sacrifices-- holy and pleasing to God" (Romans 12:1 [NIV]).

How can I ever expect to offer my life to God if I haven't first made peace with others? I do want my sacrifice to be "holy and pleasing to God." Peace and reconciliation definitely please God. With this in mind, we should go to our brothers (and sisters) in Christ, if they have something against us, and make things right.

What do you think?

Alaska

This summer I might have the opportunity to go be a camp counselor at Echo Ranch Bible Camp outside of Juneau, Alaska. I'm anxiously awaiting the final acceptance notice. It's quite a process to get accepted; there are reference forms, background checks, medical history forms, etc.

Pray that I get accepted -- quickly!

Want to come?

Airborne.

"I don't want to crawl if I have the ability to fly." -Francis Chan

How ridiculous would it be for a butterfly to still inch along the ground, as if it had never gained wings? Never flying, simply crawling? And yet, spiritually, how many of us who have become "new creations" still expect to and do live the way we did before?

We can be airborne, and we're not alone. Only because of our awesome God can we ever expect to reach the heights and the far off places, to see the world as it really is instead of our own backyard. The best part of it is, we don't have to decide the logistics of how to really change the world; God already knows. And we're not alone.