Pippa Grace in Memphis
Hello all!
Camp Good News was awesome. Very like CEF Good News Camps at home only less technology! I was properly stuck in the woods for 2 weeks. There’s so much to tell you I don’t know where to begin! The Campers at the first week I was there were from a real mix of backgrounds. There were a lot of Afro-American kids there brought by a church bus. My cabin consisted of 3 seperate races between 8 girls. This is a big deal for Memphis. During Week 2 we had a lot more church kids, but these kids didn’t come without their own problems. The second week of camp had an older average of age among the campers as well. We had the same schedule every day pretty much, with kids getting up at 7am, breakfast, cleaning cabin for the “white glove” to come and inspect. Staff meeting, Bible class, team sports, lunch, “rest time” (my favourite part of the day) swim time, in the very dirty lake, but it was still a welcome rest from the heat. free time, dinner, evening worship.
God really moved throughout the two weeks of camp with 6 children receiving Christ in the first week and 12 in the second. I was privileged to lead 5 girls to Christ over the 2 weeks. I am so humbled that God would choose to use me in this way. There was a fantastic staff each week of camp and everyone was there for the same goal, to teach young boys and girls the Good News about Jesus Christ.
This week I’m doing 5 Day Clubs in Memphis, back to civilisation! I’ve done 2 out of the 5 days so far and it’s a lot less tiring than camp! I am being a club supervisor, and so I’m leading a team of teenagers as they take the club, helping out and advising them and keeping them within our time limits etc. We are doing 3 clubs a day, and so there’s a lot of travelling involved. This is part of the CYIA program run by CEF, so if you have ever been involved in that, those of you from N. Ireland, you’ll know what I’m talking about! I’m going into inner city “ghetto/hood” areas. However churches have generally setup a work there and are supporting us in this ministry. This week needs a lot of prayer as a lot of the children, and sadly some of the adults who we come across are quite apathetic and so we need to really keep their attention without compromising our message.
Please pray for the three areas I’ll be working in : Institute for Success, Greenbriars Estate, Orange Mound.
Please pray for travel this week as there have already been some car issues with a different team
Pray that there would be good listening in the clubs and minimal distractions
Pray for me as I prepare to go home on saturday, pray for safe flights, for there to be no delays and I’ll not be too sad to leave the wonderful people I’ve met here. I really will miss some of them.
Praise God for the children who have been saved, and please pray for them by name, even just by picking a different child each day.
Thank you for all your prayers so far, I have definitely felt God’s presense amongst all that’s gone on. Even the bug bites! In all seriousness, I wouldn’t be here and children wouldn’t be hearing the Gospel if it wasn’t for God and the prayer warriors He calls into service. Thank you for being those prayer warriors.
So the past two weeks have been so busy with Day Camp through the day and Catherine and Amy showing me the sites at night! I’ve been eaten alive by Mosquitos, and got what apparently was a Spider bite of some sort that caused my big toe to swell rather badly (but it’s doing a lot better now). The kids at Day Camp were so fun to be with, and so hard to leave. Some parts of Day Camp were frustrating as there was a lack of organisation and lack of help. There were about 125 kids there ranging from 5-17 years old and about 10 staff/volunteers. The Ohio team were just there for the one week and so we missed the man-power when they left. I taught the memory verse Romans 6v23 on Wednesday. I found it so difficult as the kids just werent in the habit of listening when someone at the front speaking, or in the habit of learning a Bible verse. There seemed to be a lack of regular structure to the day at Day camp. Every day was so different. The people working for NCC have such a clear heart for the community they are in. They have so many projects going on from that centre. Wednesday was my last day at day camp. Thursday I was helping Amy with the Water Day she had organised for Phonics Camp. This was a camp also run by NCC but at a different location, and focused on helping kids with their reading.
On Sunday morning I head off to Camp Good News to work with CEF as a Camp Counsellor. This means I’ll be in charge of a cabin full of girls aged 8-12, and I’ll be responsible for leading devotions at night with them among other things. I’ve been a leader at Good News Camp at home in N. Ireland, so I’m really looking forward to this, but anxious as well. I don’t know anyone else who will be there, and I’ve felt really settled here with Catherine and Amy, they’ve been so good to me, part of me doesn’t want to leave! It’ll also be 100 degree heat with no air conditioning which could be tough to deal with. I’m going to be away for 2 weeks, so two different lots of campers. There will be lots of early mornings and late nights. (I’ve actually been having rather earlymornings so far while I’ve been here, and coped surprisingly well…if you know me well you’ll realise how impressive this is!) I don’t think I’ll have any internet until I get back so you’ll probably not hear from me again until I get back.
Tomorrow Catherine and Amy are taking me to St Louis, just for the experience of being in another big city close by. They have been such a blessing to me here, really looked out for me. We went to a baseball game tonight, which is a rather civilised affair, unlike a lot of other sporting events, and the Memphis Redbirds won! Catherine leads a ladies’ Bible Study on a Thursday night which I’ve been going along to, and it has been such good teaching and fellowship.
-Praise God for His amazing blessings so far, that so many kids have been coming to day camp, that so many kids are booked in for CEF camp, that He has kept me safe so far, and helped me adjust to the culture.
– Praise God for answer to prayer regarding my exam results
Thank you so much for all your prayers, they are so important. I couldn’t be here without prayer support. Please keep praying, and I’ll be in touch again before I head back to the UK. Sorry I can’t send any photos yet, but I don’t have my camera cable so I’ll send some once I’m home.
Pippa Grace
xx
