My job as a server in the Dining Hall was demanding to say the least. 12-14 hour days spent in a building with no air-conditioning doing the most repetitive work can be absolutely grueling both mentally and physically. But, three times a day I got to serve 400 of God's precious campers! And that's worth every tired, sweaty, long second spent in the Dining Hall.
This month I:
- served over 1200 campers
- set 47,712 place settings (placemat, napkin, glass, plate, fork, knife, spoon)
- bused and reset 3,976 tables
- celebrated Christmas 4 times
- traveled back to the 1890s 4 times
- walked up (and down) at least 4,648 stairs (perks of your cabin being up a mountain)
- folded 1600 tent-shaped napkins
- folded 1600 pocket-shaped napkins
- ate 4 famous Big Cookies
- burned myself while serving a Big Cookie 12 times
- made 2800 turkey sandwiches
- prepared 1600 ice-cream sundaes
- shared my life story in front of complete strangers 4 times
- celebrated 9 birthdays
- saw a triple rainbow
- got to witness 28 amazing North Carolina sunsets
- dropped 0 trays of food(!!!!)
- became a mom to a table of teenagers
- zip-lined down a mountain into a lake
- worked the hardest I've ever worked in my entire life
- got to give over 1200 campers the best week of their life
- saw God transform broken people
- watched 382 teenagers stand up and profess their new-found faith in Christ
- how to live in a building with 40 other people
- exactly how much work goes into putting together a YoungLife camp
- how to lean on the Lord
- the lost art of hand-writing letters
- to take advantage of nap-times
- to not read a book by its cover
- how much I love Cheerwine
- to push myself through hard days
- what it means to have pure, genuine friendships
- that off-brand cereal is actually better than name-brand (Marshmallow Mateys, amirite?)
- that people will eat ranch with anything. ANYTHING!!
- that kitchens can reach over 90 degrees
- that kitchens have walk in refrigerators that are perfect for cooling down from 90 degrees
- how to have patience
- what it means to really be a fam
- that everything is funny when you're sleep deprived and delirious
- how to encourage others
- that Fight Night is a real thing- and its terrifying and hilarious
- what it means to lose yourself in the service of others
- the power of prayer
- Soak it all up. Take in every second of your time serving our amazing God!
- Want to remember something? Take a picture! And I promise- you will want to remember it all.
- Give yourself fully to God. He's the only one who can get you through it.
- Pray about everything. Annoying people, sore feet, that beautiful sunset, and the campers hearing the speaker's talks in the Club Room.
- Take advantage of any time you have to nap!! Sleep = valuable.
- Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Reach out to people- campers, leaders, fellow WC members, camp staff- you never know who you may end up connecting with!
- Take advantage of the fact that you're surrounded by such a diverse group of people. Learn from their struggles and hardships, and use them to figure out who you want to be.
- Keep your eyes open for "God-Sightings"- the little things throughout the day that you know God put there for you to see.
I am amazed, simply amazed, at the ways God used Windy Gap to transform my heart. The friendships and memories made this past month are ones that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It feels amazing to be a part of something that is so much bigger than myself.
xoxo,
Rachel
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." -1 Timothy 4:12
"I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:16-19
my boys<3
that triple rainbow tho
my sons<3
that sweet southern sunset :))))
late nights on the lake
spending an entire month in one building>>>
not goodbye, just a "see you soon"
"We are the Work Crew, we serve the Lord and You! Love it? You bet we do! We're telling you, HEY!"
