Adventures in Latvia: Aizpute Camp!

When i came to Latvia last year we did a camp in Aizpute and part of my heart was left there with kids and has been there ever since. So this year i had the opportunity to go back and do another camp in Aizpute and I couldn't say yes fast enough. I was so excited to be able to get to go back and continue the relationships that i had made last year and also build new ones. This time was a little different for me than i was expecting, because i came into this camp as kind of a third party. I came in at kind of the last minute and they didn't really have a specific job for me. This was frustrating for me at first, but as I kind of took a step back i realized that God had me there for a different purpose than i had originally thought. I took a step back and watched the RMCC high school team lead and this was such a cool thing to witness. I did not know any of the high schoolers very well going into camp. But serving along side them for a week was truly amazing to be able to witness each and everyone show in many ways that they had such a passion and heart to serve these kids. They put everything they had into making this camp an amazing experience for the kids. Just being able to see all of them hang out, love and build relationships with kids that stole my heart last year was amazing and I cant put into words how awesome that was for me.

Alot of the kids from last years camp came back again this year and that was awesome but what was truly amazing was that many of the kids who were there last year brought one or two of there friends along with them this year! When i went to introduce myself to some new kids i asked them how they heard about this camp and most of them said that all they heard about last year was this camp and so this year they wanted to see what all the talk was about. That was awesome to hear that the kids really enjoyed and got something out of the camp last year than my crappy English lessons. Near the end of camp i asked some of the kids which camp they liked better between this years and last years and it was pretty unanimous in saying that this year was so much better :) It was cool to just be able to spend time with with these kids whether that was walking to the store with them five times a day, playing volleyball, killing them in mafia or just sit and talk. I thank God for getting me there for that one week and I'm going to miss them all like crazy!!

A rather unexpected thing happened during this week. I came to camp expecting to room with my friend Endija but when we got there, there was a change in plans and we were put in different rooms. But i know this was truly all God's doing because he put me in a room with Jenny Briney, who is truly an amazing woman of Christ. Every night we would stay up and talk about everything and anything and I'm sure the two girls in our room were so annoyed with us by the end of camp cause we weren't exactly quiet. It was cool to learn about her story and to hear that she is the only christian in her family and how strong she is in her faith without really having any support from her family. After camp was over Jenny made a decision to get baptized while she was here in Latvia. I admired her strength in that decision cause i know that was hard for her knowing how her family would react. It made me realize how blessed i am to have a loving christian home and how so easily i can take it for granted. This friendship was unexpected for me and its just another reminder that God knows what he is doing and that i need to trust that he knows what is best for my life.