PBA Work Camp

This year i went to a summer camp called PBA Work Camp (PBA stands for peninsula baptist association).

This is my second year going and each year it just gets better and better! The camp is at a small church in Poquoson Virginia (near williamsburg). You go to the camp with your church youth group. There were 113 kids in the camp this year and about 13 churches! The cool thing about this camp is its a work camp, as in they make you do work! Every one is separated from their youth group (with the exception of having one person from your youth group be your camp buddy) into teams and each team has a work site, where we go out and work on peoples houses!

A couple months before the camp starts Social Services gives the camp a list of houses that are not really safe for the owners to live in or could be in better condition and somebody from the camp staff will visit all the houses to see which are safe for us to work in. Then when its time for camp to start each team will get a house and a list of things that need to be done or fixed inside or outside their house! Sometimes your just painting rooms or power washing the side of the house! Other times your putting in a new roof, installing new floors or building a shed outside for the family! Its hard to believe that we are blessed with so much and these people so little! Some of the people who's houses we work on are not Christians. It makes you feel sad that they don't know your god and share you're beliefs but you get a chance to minister to them and tell them about your god! Its a lot of fun to work on these houses especially with teens who share my beliefs!

 The meals are amazing and all homemade (they have the best apple sauce). We eat breakfast and dinner at the church and then there is a packed lunch for us at our work site! The worship service each night is very uplifting and fun! Its so amazing to see all these teens worshiping the same god and raising there hands in glory to him! The best part? the sermon is geared toward us! THE TEENS! Sometimes while I'm in church I'm always wondering how can i apply the sermon to my life. It seems its just for the adults. This camp always gives me a new outlook on things!

The camp is not just work though we still have fun activities! On Wednesday we only work on our site for a couple hours then we go back to the church for lunch and we all go to water country USA together! one night the entire camp goes bowling! There is a game night and a night were we get to play paint-less paint ball!

Most people who go to the camp stay at the church (a.k.a. they bring sleeping bags and air mattress). The boys sleep in the gym and the girls sleep in the Sunday school rooms upstairs! We stay at our youth leaders friends house a few miles from the church! Its not that we have anything against the church its just that there are only 2 showers there. One in the girls bathroom and one in the boys. with only 2 hours in between getting back from your work site and dinner not every one got a shower especially the girls! ;)!!!!!

While at camp i was so busy i forgot to take a lot of pictures! (*sad face) but here are some i took from my trip! 

I'm the one with the light brown hair!

each year we get a t-shirt with the camp theme and verse. this year we got to tie-dye our shirts then they sent them to the t-shirt printing place....

these next photo's are reflections.....

this is denis or his reflection in my window.... (we called him santa : D)

me in the reflection of my friend's sunglasses!

a friend from my youth group wanted to try it!

ok that was the end of the reflections! this is a picture of a flower pot we signed for the house owner!

blessing and have a happy summer!

P.S. I would love to hear about your summer camp!