Race For Jesus

Well it has been a while since i posted and that is partially to do with slackness and also to do with how busy i have been with camps around here. This last week has been Race for Jesus and it is a go-karting camp. We had our own dirt track in the woods of camp with 2 go-karts which was pretty cool albeit for mechanical problems.

During the week besides karting we had Morgan Shephard come in who is a nascar driver and he talk about racing and his faith, he was pretty cool. The next night we went to the speedway and if you disregard the dust it was pretty cool. At the speedway we got to go into the pits and talk to drivers and jump in some cars, and then we knew some people to barrick for in the races.

Although the camp had its highlights i was completely out of it mentally for the whole week and so i need to be relaxing today, catching up on rest.

And in case your not aware, West Coast ‘kicks yo ass!’ (my favourite american phrase)

Finally, good camps

Finally after so long i have actually had some camps which have been worthwhile and Decision Hills is less of a pain in my backside. Last week with ECHO camp was a really good time of putting in some hard yards during the day with service projects and then playing basketball and poker with my campers at night and by the end of it i could barely walk i was so tired. Despite all this i greatly enjoyed having my own campers and in the setting of a service camp and for the first time in a while we had some real good spiritual stuff at camp. Although the devotions i did were not sensational i actually felt like the Holy Spirit was working and i was extremely happy to get that feeling.

This current week has also been a great camp and we are really connecting as a group over the last 24 hours that i have been really pleased with how everything is going. I have been pushed more this week by one of the leaders from the church these campers are from and that has really helped me in having leadership around me, something i feel is lacking usually. So yes i am happier here at the moment and i hope it continues over the weeks to come.

Micheal Gardiner, why oh why do we bother.

Teddy Bears and ECHOS

Well the last week has probably been the best week of camp, or atleast the second best. Last week i went to another camp called Camp Koronis about 20 minutes away. I had 4 boys about 8 years old who were my dorm and we has some fun, although the age group is not my idea. I bought Camp Koronis boxer shorts as well, they feel so good.

This week however we have ECHO camp, which is Each Christian Helping Others, and it is for high schoolers so that should be good, more my age group and it is similar to BWO for those who know except the kids stay with you at night.

Go Lynch, Go Lynch.

Independence Day

Well today is july the 4th, the day of American independence, and it has been a good day so far, had the day off work and went swimming and enjoyed tubing and blobbing. Blobbing is something i will try and get a photo or video of soon, it is a big blue and yellow balloon which is about 10 metres long and 3 wide which you jump on from a tower to make someone shoot up into the air. Today i experimented with a new technique to ‘blob’ someone and got them to fly about 4 metres into the air before falling 6 metres into the water, she was sore afterwards but laughing so hard, i will video it sometime soon.

Anyway today i have some whopping big fireworks which are ready to be lit and enjoyed as soon as it gets dark. I will sleep in tomorrow to celebrate July 5th, a very significant date, my morning off.

Ready to boogie

Ready to boggie

Originally uploaded by beardabroad.

Initially i wasn’t too keen on actually dancing, more just checking out what the dance was like, so we got dressed up a bit. We borrowed some of Sarah’s hair gell, or all of it and had some fun. The experiment of gell in beard is a no go.

Eventually i got into the groove after some easy stuff like the Macarena and had a good time that night. another one is on this week but i don’t know if i can be bothered.

Oh and by the way, Italy, YOU SUCK.

Day Camp and More Photos

Well I have been away from Decision HIlls for the last 5 days and will return tomorrow afternoon. WE have been at Prior Lake, a suburb of Minneapolis running a day camp for 6-11 year olds. It has been pretty fun and exhausting all in one. I have stayed with a family of 7 and there is always someone around which is both good and bad, i am pretty tired tonight and just need some time to myself so i am finishing my book and putting up photos and will get to bed early. Don't worry Di, Mum, Dad and Fleur, i will try call you all tomorrow night. 

Anyway some stuff about Day Camp, we have about 25 kids and each day we organize activities for them and i am in charge of games among other things such as lifeguarding (boring as hell (hell is a bad word here (both as a swear word and as a theological word according to some (do you like the brackets?)))) and a small group. Yesterday i had a messy games day and i never had so much fun with 8 liters of jelly and 4 liters of whipped cream, it was messy. After all was done the kid's voted for which leader got the left over jelly tipped on them, i am so glad it wasn't me, i already had too much dried in my beard.

So day camp was fun and now on my Flickr account you will see a photo of the camp group along with some photos from various things, including a photos from 20 minutes ago showing my beard and hair in their current state, enjoy. 

Off and Away

In two hours i will be departing for my first Day Camp, Priory Lake Day Camp is just outside Minneapolis and 3 of us are running the camp from monday to friday. I am definately looking forward to getting to do stuff with the campers after last weeks camp i was on got cancelled as of sunday afternoon. It has been a long week of wondering what the point of being here was this week without any campers to work with.

Also for fans of soccer, you will be jealous that i just finished watching the Brazil – Australia game live at noon over here, no 1am start or anything. It was a shame Brazil scored their second goal of the game but atleast Croatia's draw with Japan puts Australia only needing a draw with Croatia to progress to the second round. Yay for us.

I took more awesome photos of sunsets last night but will try and get more variety in photos before putting more on the net.

Decision Hills Sunset

Decision_Hills_Sunset

Originally uploaded by beardabroad.

Well i have finally got a photo album for people to see stuff from the trip. I haven’t put many photos on there yet, will try to shortly. This photo is from the beach at my camp, Decision Hills. The sunsets are generally of a high standard most nights and i was pretty happy with this shot.

James ‘crazy’ Blunt

So this is the first post i have made which is genuinely into my posts of old. James Blunt is a crazy man, i was listening to You're Beautiful for the first time properly the other day and realised he doesn't even know the girl. Read some of the lyrics:

I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan….

I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you….

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was, Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end….

There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you….

Well yes, you saw a girl in a subway who was will another guy, you never spoke to her and you think she was an angel and that you shared a moment that will last for all eternity. Hmm, the song might sound good but the lyrics are definately a bit lame and Day dreamy for my liking.

Staff Training

Well so far at camp i have no idea what a camper looks like, after 5 days i am getting a little less interested in the staff training that i wasn't that interested in in the first place, some of it is interesting but some of it is just stuff i have heard a hundred times before, but what can you do, everyone needs to know it. So yes, camp is cool in general, the site is awesome and we went canoeing yesterday for a while which i will be doing regularly over the summer.

The leaders for this camp are all staying in a seperate cabin and so when there are camps we will still have like a 'staff house' which is pretty cool. It is great to be able to get away from camp a bit and just chill out in the cabin, we have a TV, kitchen and dinning area so i like it.

Got to go, breakfast.