I spent a week up in New York with my youth group on a mission trip.
Oh my. I wish I could go back and stay forever
I miss it up there so much
Most of the week, we stayed at Camp Shiloh
Camp Shiloh is a christian camp for inner city kids
They have different sessions throughout the whole summer
I was assigned to Cabin E, which means I was the helper to that cabin's counselors
Rodjaney and Alyssa were the counselors in that particular cabin, and they were amazing
I think I miss them the most
So, for the first 5 days, we were like CITs (counselors in training)
We just hung out with the kids and ate with them and helped them clean and get ready for bed
We went to all the activities with them and kind of gave the counselors a break
We arrived on Friday, which was the beginning of what they call weekend games
That was hectic
We just had to jump right in, literally ;)
Our first activity was swim time which is the kids' favorite
We got split into teams for our games, 1 girl cabin and 1 guy cabin per team
That was not a good idea
The girls and boys were constantly bickering and fighting
It was trouble
Finally, after three days of weekend games, we got into the normal week schedule
Breakfast, class, worship, activity, lunch, rest, swim, snack, activity, dinner
Easy.
No fighting, no worries, just fun
I enjoyed it so much
I got so close to my girls and the counselors
Also, each night, we would have a special activity.
They. Were. Awesome.
We had wilderness night (campfire for dinner), ManHunt (ulitmate hide-n-seek!), Shiloh Bingo (normal bingo with goodies and DANCE BREAKS!), and then, the Talent Show
Nights packed with fun.
If the girls did good each day, they were awarded points and the points turned into fun night activities
So, on the last night, our girls got to have night swim and a party
It was so much fun. I am so glad we got to join them
Then our time at Camp Shiloh had to come to an end.
We woke up, had breakfast, and packed up
We had one final worship session (and we blew the roof off)
Afterwards, the kids loaded up the buses and we traveled to drop them off in the Bronx for one last goodbye
I was crying, the kids were crying, the counselors were crying, everyone was crying.
We had all grown so close in that one week it was hard to part.
We left once all the kids had found their parents and we headed off to the church that we were staying at that night
After we unpacked the bus, our group split up to explore New York City
My group went to the MET, Chelsea Market, the High Line, and Times Square on Thursday evening
I found out that there's no way I could live in New York, but visiting is fun (I'm not a big city girl)
On Friday morning, I went with my youth minister and a few other people to Tom's Restaurant a.k.a. the restaurant from Seinfeld. btw, I did not order Tuna on toast with coleslaw and a cup of coffee; however, I did order coffee :)
Then, we went to Central Park for a devo before we had to catch our plane home
It was certainly a jam packed week and my legs need a rest
I really do miss that place, and I can't wait for next year when my best friend will come with me!
Who knows, we could make it a special birthday and stay a few days by ourselves ;)
I wish I could describe every amazing thing that happened to me that week in one blog post..
But there's just no way.
So I guess this is it.
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| a group of us on the High Line - Rodjaney & me Me - Me, Laura, Alex, Delaney, Millie, Savanna, & Lindsay - Me - Me & Alex Isyss & me - Me & Alex - Me - Me & Kaylin masked kid, Rodjaney, me, Kaylin, & Milkah Me & Brianna - sign - Me & Destiny - Me & Maricruz - Alyssa, Kaylin, Destiny, Isyss, Maricruz, me, Brianna, & Rodjaney |
Live
Laugh
Love
~Laurel <3
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