Hey people! So France is awesome! Today is the first full day with the French students and it is awesome! We broke up into small groups in the morning (which we will be doing every morning) and we are going through Corinthians! Then this afternoon we went down to Froge where we played ULTIMATE FRISBEE!! The hike down was pretty long and a little steep. It was more challenging coming back to camp on the way back. When we got down to the fields we were broken up into 10 teams and played about 5 games. It was really hot but very fun and pretty with the mountains near the soccer fields.
Please pray that we will be able to talk to the french about Christianity and that Christ would give us the words to say to the students and that they will be able to process what we are saying.
Thanks everyone for praying for us!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
getting used to camp life (Josh)
Hey everyone! So I have no idea what anyone else posted on this, so let's hope mine doesn't echo someone else's. Anyway, most of the kids are here now, that is to say all of them except I'm pretty sure 2 have yet to come. My roommates are J., B., and Y.; the latter two are okay at English but struggle, and J. is quite good. I've noticed the general trend seems to be that they can understand us (if we speak slowly ad use common words) fairly easily, but have great difficulty responding. It's fun, though, because I took 3 years of French and I can use some of it to help communicate! But a lot of times I accidentally use Spanish instead and it just confuses everybody. I'm still learning.
But yeah, camp is really fun and we're slowly getting to know the French campers! All of us Americans got to know each other pretty well in just the first day, which was really cool, so we're comfortable with anyone and we can work together really well, which is a great blessing. There are many more days to go though, as we have just begun! Pray that the hearts of the French are opened, and pray for less shyness. This is Josh, signing off.
But yeah, camp is really fun and we're slowly getting to know the French campers! All of us Americans got to know each other pretty well in just the first day, which was really cool, so we're comfortable with anyone and we can work together really well, which is a great blessing. There are many more days to go though, as we have just begun! Pray that the hearts of the French are opened, and pray for less shyness. This is Josh, signing off.
Friday, July 6, 2012
First day coming to a close (Jim)
Friday,
July 6 (evening)
The very critical first day has gone well.
The very critical first day has gone well.
Please
pray for the many French students that came today (it is really quite a day for
them as well ... being tossed into an English speaking environment) where they
don't know many ... and for God's blessing in allowing relationships to take
shape in a hurry.
Our students are proving that they got the message of all of our preparation ... and it applies to all our lives. Intentional service to God and others.
Also, please pray for these first few days. The French are not used to speaking English, so we are often left out of conversations at the meal table (do you know that we have a rule that only 2 of the Philly team are allowed at any one table?) or in the dorm room (each G3 High Schooler is in a room with 3 or 4 French campers ... actually Jeremy has a couple solid English speakers in his room). In the past, God has always been faithful that this naturally comes around, but it is always an awkward couple of days. There is also a joy in meeting new people and having such opportunity to serve.
Through your prayers and by God's grace we are working our way into the French teens lives, even at this early stage. Please continue to pray that hearts would be open and that the Holy Spirit would speak and work through us. First full day of camp tomorrow!
Bon Nuit, Jim
Our students are proving that they got the message of all of our preparation ... and it applies to all our lives. Intentional service to God and others.
Also, please pray for these first few days. The French are not used to speaking English, so we are often left out of conversations at the meal table (do you know that we have a rule that only 2 of the Philly team are allowed at any one table?) or in the dorm room (each G3 High Schooler is in a room with 3 or 4 French campers ... actually Jeremy has a couple solid English speakers in his room). In the past, God has always been faithful that this naturally comes around, but it is always an awkward couple of days. There is also a joy in meeting new people and having such opportunity to serve.
Through your prayers and by God's grace we are working our way into the French teens lives, even at this early stage. Please continue to pray that hearts would be open and that the Holy Spirit would speak and work through us. First full day of camp tomorrow!
Bon Nuit, Jim
French Culture (Graham)
A big part of our time at Champfleuri so far has been learning French customs and traditions. Surprisingly, it's not very straight forward. The discussion of the bisu (the French traditonal greeting of touching cheeks together and making kissing sounds then switching over to the other cheek to repeat) brought on a lively debate from the French counselors concerning which cheeks meet first and how many times it is done. Another big area of discussion is table etiquette, which yet again remains debateable. Rules we have learned:
1. Keep your hands above the table, not below.
2. Bread is put on the table, not on the plate.
3. When finished, utensils stay on the plate.
There are others but for the sake of time, I'll cut it off here. We have also learned a lot about French laws. The camp is required to serve different types of meals everyday that meet all the food groups (sadly for us, we can't eat pasta everyday). They are required to serve several dairy products a day (and milk does not count). They have to let French students smoke, if they do (the smoking age limit here is 16) but they can dictate where. We are also required to turn over our cellphones and any equipment that can connect to the internet. The reason being, Champfleuri collects the French students cellphones when they arrive to push them to participate in the daily activities. The French people believe strongly in equality and justice though, so if their technology is taken then ours needs to be as well to avoid conflict.
In the end though all 21 American campers aren't concerned with having to pick up these new social norms and rules, we're just happy to be here. We have one of the most stunning views I have seen in my life from our quad (pictures to come) and amazing people around us. I hope everyone is doing well at home and finds themselves a little less busy with 1 or 2 teenagers out of the house.
This is Graham Davis signing off.
1. Keep your hands above the table, not below.
2. Bread is put on the table, not on the plate.
3. When finished, utensils stay on the plate.
There are others but for the sake of time, I'll cut it off here. We have also learned a lot about French laws. The camp is required to serve different types of meals everyday that meet all the food groups (sadly for us, we can't eat pasta everyday). They are required to serve several dairy products a day (and milk does not count). They have to let French students smoke, if they do (the smoking age limit here is 16) but they can dictate where. We are also required to turn over our cellphones and any equipment that can connect to the internet. The reason being, Champfleuri collects the French students cellphones when they arrive to push them to participate in the daily activities. The French people believe strongly in equality and justice though, so if their technology is taken then ours needs to be as well to avoid conflict.
In the end though all 21 American campers aren't concerned with having to pick up these new social norms and rules, we're just happy to be here. We have one of the most stunning views I have seen in my life from our quad (pictures to come) and amazing people around us. I hope everyone is doing well at home and finds themselves a little less busy with 1 or 2 teenagers out of the house.
This is Graham Davis signing off.
The French are Coming, Les Francais viennent!!! (Jeremy, AP, Nate)
7/6/12
French Kids are about to show up!!! The cabins are clean, the volleyball net is set up now we just need people to fill the cabins and use the volleyball net (which will happen plenty!). We already popped two soccer balls and one volleyball and the French aren't even here yet. Have no fear we have taken out the great bush of death that had 6 inch long thorns. Everybody's excited, yet tired, but we're ready to get to know the French kids (and their names). It still hasn't totally hit us that we are in France. Happy Belated America ('Mer'ca) Day to all. We represented proudly in the UK on 20 minutes of sleep. Hope everyone is doing ok at home. Shout out to Mamma Shack (my mom) at home ... and Mamma Pete and Mamma Holl as their children are here with me. We're all healthy, thanks for the prayers. This is Jeremy H., AP, and Nate signing off.
French Kids are about to show up!!! The cabins are clean, the volleyball net is set up now we just need people to fill the cabins and use the volleyball net (which will happen plenty!). We already popped two soccer balls and one volleyball and the French aren't even here yet. Have no fear we have taken out the great bush of death that had 6 inch long thorns. Everybody's excited, yet tired, but we're ready to get to know the French kids (and their names). It still hasn't totally hit us that we are in France. Happy Belated America ('Mer'ca) Day to all. We represented proudly in the UK on 20 minutes of sleep. Hope everyone is doing ok at home. Shout out to Mamma Shack (my mom) at home ... and Mamma Pete and Mamma Holl as their children are here with me. We're all healthy, thanks for the prayers. This is Jeremy H., AP, and Nate signing off.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Thursday wrap up ... Here goes! (Jim)
Hello Home Team! -
Liz was right ... we have experienced a bit of fatigue (not unexpected and not different than other years ... but always unique, particularly to first-timers)
Commercial break ... Elodie and Cecile want me to pause and say 'Hello' and ... 'you are all amazing!' (special 'hi' to Mama Shack ... some of you know Elodie from her visits to a few of us in the States ... and her time as a fellow attendee (and counselor) at previous years of TED. Some of you know Cecile as a camper in previous years at TED and a family visit to the States ... they both are our guardian angels over here!)
Back to it ... We arrived safely yesterday afternoon with smooth sailing ... all bodies and luggage arriving on time and intact! Philly to London to Lyon to Grenoble to Champfleuri. Today we were far more awake, and had a fine day. In fact, I would say that today established the best coordination with the other American Campers of any year I've been. Our students polished their workshops with each other, had a volleyball tournament (ended in a tie!) amongst themselves (hybrid teams, of course), and came out with a great start toward the morrow, when our focus shifts. The team from St. Louis consists of 3 female campers and two female leaders (all of whom were here last year ... and have many solid memories). The team from Dillon, Colorado consists of one male leader, two female leaders, 4 female campers, and 3 male campers. Great groups both ... and it has been a team-growing day.
Tomorrow (Friday), the French campers arrive, starting around noon. This is a significant day, for it is probably the day when all campers work through a few awkward moments (even the greeting can be awkward ... we were figuring that out with some French counselors over dinner tonight. Do we 'bisous' (touching cheek to cheek) or simply shake hands? We are entering the culture of these French youth, so we'll be sensitive to cultural fineries (girls will be more involved (with French gals)with their greeting than the guys (must be a personal space thing!). I digress ... tomorrow is an important day, and we would appreciate your prayer for these first couple days ... very important that relationships are established effectively. Think about it ... just as Jesus faced many awkward moments (and plenty worse) for our benefit, so we are called to 'put ourselves out there' to be a blessing to others. Great opportunity here!
I am always struck by the incredible diversity of the leadership team. Check this out:
1. Damien. Camp director, and overall top dog (and Texan of all things), along with ...
2. Allan (Camp TED worship leader, Allan was with us for a Champfleuri TED many years ago, but we had missed him in recent years. I'm really glad to be back in touch with him. Jon Steel will get plenty of time with Allan, as he is going to join the worship team as the lead electric guitar.
3. Buan (pronounced Boone). Buan is a Wheaton undergrad and grad student from a few years ago. He spent some of his youth in France, and has always had a hankering to return as a missionary. He met Theresa while at Wheaton, and they formed their plan to be involved with youth camping ministries in France, so I'd say Champfleuri is a direct hit. Buan brings all kinds of things to the table (outdoor specialist, capable of music leadership, very relational, small group leader, etc.). These three make up the prime leadership of camp, and they simply do a great job of learning from past history, bringing effective changes to camp, while maintaining the baseline of quality and grace.
4. Thomas ... recently married to Carine. Thomas is responsible for the upkeep of the facilities, and Carine now runs the kitchen and facility staff. Both are entirely capable of helping with language translation and small group leading. Seems like a great pairing to me.
6. Tom, Ann, Cindy ... leadership team for the Dillon, CO group. Tom is the youth leader at the church, and Cindy and Mom are moms of students on their team.
7. Janet and Sarah ... leadership team for the St. Louis group ... Janet is also the Mom of one student on their team. These 3 moms form a very effective team of many behind-the-scenes activities ... Damien's right hand team!
8. Steph!! What a great blessing this young lady is, as she fits perfectly the model of being intentional with her life for God’s glory … and loving our kids and the French kids. She is leading a small group, and constantly on the move.
9. Add a support staff that hails people from northern Ireland, Switzerland, UK, Chicago, and France (etc.), and this becomes one of the finest melting pots I've ever interacted with! Just a taste of the diversity God designs into his kingdom, now and into eternity. He is the common bond to bring together a team that loves the Lord, and shows love to a variety of kids that may or may not have heard the gospel message before.
OK, a good start to the blog ... and a good preparation day ... and I'm going to try and have our students blogging regularly, although they will be very busy starting tomorrow!
Appreciative of our home team!
Bon Nuit, Jim
Liz was right ... we have experienced a bit of fatigue (not unexpected and not different than other years ... but always unique, particularly to first-timers)
Commercial break ... Elodie and Cecile want me to pause and say 'Hello' and ... 'you are all amazing!' (special 'hi' to Mama Shack ... some of you know Elodie from her visits to a few of us in the States ... and her time as a fellow attendee (and counselor) at previous years of TED. Some of you know Cecile as a camper in previous years at TED and a family visit to the States ... they both are our guardian angels over here!)
Back to it ... We arrived safely yesterday afternoon with smooth sailing ... all bodies and luggage arriving on time and intact! Philly to London to Lyon to Grenoble to Champfleuri. Today we were far more awake, and had a fine day. In fact, I would say that today established the best coordination with the other American Campers of any year I've been. Our students polished their workshops with each other, had a volleyball tournament (ended in a tie!) amongst themselves (hybrid teams, of course), and came out with a great start toward the morrow, when our focus shifts. The team from St. Louis consists of 3 female campers and two female leaders (all of whom were here last year ... and have many solid memories). The team from Dillon, Colorado consists of one male leader, two female leaders, 4 female campers, and 3 male campers. Great groups both ... and it has been a team-growing day.
Tomorrow (Friday), the French campers arrive, starting around noon. This is a significant day, for it is probably the day when all campers work through a few awkward moments (even the greeting can be awkward ... we were figuring that out with some French counselors over dinner tonight. Do we 'bisous' (touching cheek to cheek) or simply shake hands? We are entering the culture of these French youth, so we'll be sensitive to cultural fineries (girls will be more involved (with French gals)with their greeting than the guys (must be a personal space thing!). I digress ... tomorrow is an important day, and we would appreciate your prayer for these first couple days ... very important that relationships are established effectively. Think about it ... just as Jesus faced many awkward moments (and plenty worse) for our benefit, so we are called to 'put ourselves out there' to be a blessing to others. Great opportunity here!
I am always struck by the incredible diversity of the leadership team. Check this out:
1. Damien. Camp director, and overall top dog (and Texan of all things), along with ...
2. Allan (Camp TED worship leader, Allan was with us for a Champfleuri TED many years ago, but we had missed him in recent years. I'm really glad to be back in touch with him. Jon Steel will get plenty of time with Allan, as he is going to join the worship team as the lead electric guitar.
3. Buan (pronounced Boone). Buan is a Wheaton undergrad and grad student from a few years ago. He spent some of his youth in France, and has always had a hankering to return as a missionary. He met Theresa while at Wheaton, and they formed their plan to be involved with youth camping ministries in France, so I'd say Champfleuri is a direct hit. Buan brings all kinds of things to the table (outdoor specialist, capable of music leadership, very relational, small group leader, etc.). These three make up the prime leadership of camp, and they simply do a great job of learning from past history, bringing effective changes to camp, while maintaining the baseline of quality and grace.
4. Thomas ... recently married to Carine. Thomas is responsible for the upkeep of the facilities, and Carine now runs the kitchen and facility staff. Both are entirely capable of helping with language translation and small group leading. Seems like a great pairing to me.
6. Tom, Ann, Cindy ... leadership team for the Dillon, CO group. Tom is the youth leader at the church, and Cindy and Mom are moms of students on their team.
7. Janet and Sarah ... leadership team for the St. Louis group ... Janet is also the Mom of one student on their team. These 3 moms form a very effective team of many behind-the-scenes activities ... Damien's right hand team!
8. Steph!! What a great blessing this young lady is, as she fits perfectly the model of being intentional with her life for God’s glory … and loving our kids and the French kids. She is leading a small group, and constantly on the move.
9. Add a support staff that hails people from northern Ireland, Switzerland, UK, Chicago, and France (etc.), and this becomes one of the finest melting pots I've ever interacted with! Just a taste of the diversity God designs into his kingdom, now and into eternity. He is the common bond to bring together a team that loves the Lord, and shows love to a variety of kids that may or may not have heard the gospel message before.
OK, a good start to the blog ... and a good preparation day ... and I'm going to try and have our students blogging regularly, although they will be very busy starting tomorrow!
Appreciative of our home team!
Bon Nuit, Jim
Update (Liz, Corey, Steph)
Howdy y'all (Corey's words)! We made it to France alive! We arrived at 2pm (France time) yesterday, and faced a little bit of jet lag, but as of 8:15pm tonight we are all a little bit more awake! We spent all day playing volleyball and soccer, getting to know the other American teams from Summit County, CO and Saint Louis, MO. Tomorrow afternoon the campers arrive and we are suuuuperrrr (Steph's words) excited! Steph and Mr. Shack spent all day in counselor meetings preparing for the twelve days of camp. We are looking foward to seeing how God is going to work during TED! Please keep us in your prayers as we head into a very full twelve days of building relationships and sharing God's light with the campers.
Liz
Liz
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
A new feature has been added to the Blog.
You can receive email notifications when new posts are made.
To set it up type your email address into the box under
FOLLOW BY EMAIL in the upper left hand section of the screen and click submit.
You will be prompted to check an incoming email to complete the set up.
This sets up DAILY (not immediate) email notification.
You can receive email notifications when new posts are made.
To set it up type your email address into the box under
FOLLOW BY EMAIL in the upper left hand section of the screen and click submit.
You will be prompted to check an incoming email to complete the set up.
This sets up DAILY (not immediate) email notification.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Leaving today (July 2, Nate)
Tuesday July 3rd
We are leaving today from the church at 2 pm. Our flight leaves from Philly to London at 6:20. We will stop in London then get a connecting flight to Lyon. Then bus from Lyon to Grenoble and then be picked up from there and brought to the camp by van. Please be praying for all of us as we embark on this amazing experience God has called us all to.
Nate
We are leaving today from the church at 2 pm. Our flight leaves from Philly to London at 6:20. We will stop in London then get a connecting flight to Lyon. Then bus from Lyon to Grenoble and then be picked up from there and brought to the camp by van. Please be praying for all of us as we embark on this amazing experience God has called us all to.
Nate
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Prayer Requests...
That we would have the time to prepare for this trip in the midst of our crazy daily lives
… from getting to the work days to thoroughly going through the short-term missions
workbook so that Christ can teach what he wants for us to know on this trip and in our
daily lives.
When we are with the students we would not be fearful of talking to them about our
faith but stepping out of our comfort zones to serve Christ in the ways he wants us to.
Growth in being apprentices for Jesus Christ … for both the students joining
Champfleuri TED from G3 and those French students that already know Him.
New believers!
Patience with the language barrier and that I would not give up on those who don't
speak English very well.
For God to give me the strength to share my relationship with God to others and not be
afraid of doing it.
Safe travels, and willingness to interact with new people, out of our comfort zone, just
as Christ did.
That God would work on the hearts of the French campers before we arrive, that they
would be receptive to hearing our testimonies and the Gospel.
For the overall safety and health of our team and the French campers who are
travelling.
A cool, calm, and loving mind.
That we would trust that God will put us in places where he can use us to do the exact
sharing He has in mind.
Time management. Time zone changes along with early morning wake-ups can be
pretty exhausting. Please pray for us to be able to function on whatever level of sleep
we get.
That we would be ‘intentional’ … stepping out of our comfort zone to get to know the
kids who may not speak English well or are not very outgoing.
That God would give us hearts of worship so that we may help lead more effectively
and not be caught up in the details of worship.
That God would give me a servant's heart so that I would go to serve as Jesus did …
and not to ‘be served.
That the Holy Spirit would be preparing our hearts and the hearts of the French kids.
That we may have the mind of a servant as we prepare and when we go over help us
all to be humble and remember we are not better than the French kids.
That He provides everything that we need. That we rely on Him and trust Him with this.
That God uses us, gives us confidence, boldness, clarity, discernment … that we are
honorable stewards of the Gospel.
That French (and American) campers know God for real: intimately, personally, deeply.
That their relationship with the Lord continues after Champfleuri is over, and that He
provides them with support when they get home.
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