House of Rous

Well, here I am, safely returned from a week with 41 7-12 year olds at Broomlee Outdoor centre in West Linton, Nr Edinburgh.  And let me say right away - if anyone says "I told you so" they'll get told! You will know from the last blog post that I wasn't really comfortable with the week at Junior Camp. The 7-12's are not really my age group of choice so it was with real trepidation that I joined the staff team.  But, yes, I did enjoy the week. And as one friend said, yes, I was pleasantly surprised. So here's my brief diary of the week:

Sunday

Most of the staff team met at the venue to start setting up resources and bedding. I was mainly involved in helping to put up the techy stuff and other items needed in the main hall.  It was the first chance for me to see the venue and get a bit of a feel for it.  Seemed ok but I was still quite nervous. We got through stuff quite quick though so headed home via Pizza Hut and tried to get some rest.

Monday

After getting a few final bits, I headed to Glenrothes SA hall with the minibus to collect the kids. We were to drive to Edinburgh Gorgie SA to meet up with all the other children, then all head through to the camp together.  Bit of waiting around etc but all seemed ok. We then set off for the camp and the rain started and got heavier and heavier etc etc. By the time we were on the winding roads to West Linton, the roads were turning into rivers and any fears I had for camp were overshadowed by trying to get us there in one piece!  Anyway, we arrived and proceeded to unpack the coach and minibus - Wet, Wet, Wet!!!

And so to the welcome meeting; chance to meet the "team" I would be co-leading; food; then part one of holiday club.  Holiday club basic plan was this: Intro-warm up game-songs-video. Then in groups: Craft-games-activity-mystery(teaching). Then back together for testimony-thought-song. All seemed to go well. At the end of the night, we eventually got the kids settled, and after a brief staff meeting, headed to bed. Day one - survived!

Tuesday

Cereal and a bacon and egg roll for breakfast - you can't argue with that!  And into day two we went.  During this morning's Holiday Club Session, it was my turn to give my testimony under the heading "speak of a time when you listened to God". There were many times I could have spoken about, but I referred to my last blog post and how I had to listen and trust in God in order to actually join the staff team at this camp. Seemed to go down well.  Felt good being open and honest with the kids.  After a lovely lunch (soup and main), the kids in their groups went off to do some outdoor activities with the centre staff. I was released from that to go and gather wood for the campfire in the evening that I was co-leading. Had a great time walking around the woods (even though my feet were getting soaked due to leaking cheap trainers!) and gathered plenty of wood for the campfire. Spent good time on my own building the fire up and dealing with my thoughts. Felt nice and relaxed as I went for another good meal (main and pudding this time!).  And so it was campfire time. Thankfully the rain held off for the whole time and it was a lovely evening. Really enjoyed the time with the kids (in 2 groups) as we played games, sang songs, and toasted marshmallows. Forgotten how calming sitting round a campfire can be. A very special evening indeed.  Day two - feeling settled.

Wednesday

Morning was pretty much the same as yesterday.  All went well and the weather was even starting to improve.  After lunch it was time to take everyone to a local swimming pool!! Yes, all of them! Would have been great if the staff there hadn't confused the swimming pool with a concentration camp! Our senior leaders were not impressed. Most of the kids seemed to be unaware of the problems and enjoyed their time swimming so that was fine. After tea, it was time to settle back for film night - Madagascar 2. Prayers, kids to bed, staff meeting, bed. Feeling a headache coming on. Day three - good relaxed day.

Thursday

Disaster. I wake up with a thumping headache. Comment to my staff member room mate that whilst its bad, at least I haven't got wavy lines on my eyes. Spoke to soon - 15 mins later and the lines began. Really gutted especially as this was the morning chosen to get the boys up early to wake the girls up with a song!! They still did it with my colleague male staff leading them on! I heard them singing nice and loud but sadly from the relative comfort of my bed. Missed breakfast and morning prayers. After a long shower, I forced myself outside - too stubborn to be knocked down by a mini-migraine. What a day for the weather to improve - the sun was quite bright and it hurt my head! It was my turn to lead the warm up game this morning. A colleague could have covered but I wanted to be there. Got plenty of sympathy though!! A laid back morning followed. Still a bit rough at lunch so forwent the food and prepared to accompany my group as they did more outdoor activities in the afternoon. Fresh air seemed to do the trick and thankfully, by tea time, I started to feel better and even felt like eating some food.  So I did! And because I couldn't decide, i took the kill or cure method and had 2 puddings!!  This evening was party night followed by a water fight. I ducked out of the latter and helped start the big clear up including pulling down some of the decorations in the main hall to save time on the last day.

Friday

We woke to the best day of the week. Clear blue sky. A really beautiful morning. And because I'd had so many painkillers the day before, I was a tad hyper this morning! Our final trip through the holiday club was great and ended with a short response time. (I've heard since that one of the 13 kids we took from Glenrothes is seriously considering giving his life to Christ - fantastic!)  Then our last lunch and time to pack the cars, minibus and coach. Somehow we got everything in, although if the minibus had been stopped i think we may have been in trouble!  But the journey home was good and we reunited our charges with their family and unpacked the resources we'd taken.

So there you have it. Its taken 3 evenings to type this report as my brain was so mushed! I was physically and emotionally drained by this week. But I am so glad I went. Yes it was a steep learning curve, but a good one.  Thanks to the rest of the staff team and all the kids for making this such a great and memorable week.

Here's some pictures - see more on our Flickr page (not all are public-if you want to see them all you'll need to request Flickr friendship!)