Week 2! (Monday June 22nd)

Eric Humes (My Staffer) and Justin Bailey (or Joel Houston? Don't know, you decide)
SUCCESSssssssssss
SUDOKU?????


This morning we all went to "The Pancake Pantry" for breakfast! WOO HOO! Today was the first time we got to be part of Staff meeting, WOO HOO! Man oh man I was stuffed after breakfast! After breakfast we had to get camp ready for campers! Eric and I jump to work! We got these FUGE/mFUGE signs and went to the edge of the Belmont campus, by the road and put them up all down the road. It looked so good! A staffer named Justin did this same job with Eric every week. The three of us would sit on "The corner of 15th and Wedgewood" is what we liked to call it. Our job was to wait 'til we saw Campers coming and we would get their attention and tell them to turn down the street, we would then proceed to get them excited about camp. It was awesome to get to pray blessings over the kids,  just that God would do awesome things in their life this week! All this happened between 1 and 4:30. It was fun, we definitely got a relaxing job where we could sit and get to know each other a little better. Here are some pictures of the fun we had, simply with sidewalk chalk! After this we all grabbed dinner, and proceeded on with the regular schedule, that being dinner and Opening Show. The only thing really different about this weeks schedule is that we had to go to all the staff meetings, which was great! After Opening Show we got the "PIRANHAS" group together. We had I think 31, ALOT OF PEOPLE. So we continued on to our tiny little bible study room and learned each others names. The night went great and smooth I was so excited about this week, but praying that I would have alot of energy!

STAFFER?! (Sunday June 21st)

Dancing late into the night, with joy about our STAFFERS
Oh Courtney!

The SLA-ers just hanging
Bubba (STAFFER) and Drew (SLA-er)

In the afternoon we got back to the dorm, and finally got to just REST. The SLA and I were all talking later in the afternoon about who we thought our STAFFERS were going to be! (The STAFFER that we would be following all next week) We were all super excited, who wouldn't be?! Once it was time for dinner Cassie picked us up again to take us over to get some TACOS! Now I must warn you, this next part of the story could get a tad confusing so you are warned!

We got in the car and Cassie pulled up to the parking garage, strange? I thought so too. "We are going to get some food and meet up with Martha there." Suddenly she burst out screaming, " BUT FIRST YOU HAVE TO FIND OUT WHO YOUR STAFFER IS!! WOO, HURRY GET OUT, MARTHA IS ON THE TOP FLOOR OF THE GARAGE WAITING TO TELL YOU WHO YOUR STAFFER IS!!!" HA YES! EXCITEMENT! We all burst out of the crowded van screaming. After a long, exhausting run we finally got to the top where Martha awaited our arrival :) Long story short she told us all to line up, hold our hands out as she handed us each a personalized from our "UNKNOWN" STAFFER :) She told us to sing "Jesus Loves Me" as fast as we could, and then we all rushed to open our letters.....................BAH I GOT ERIC HUMES! YESSSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Canoeing! BAH SO TIRED! (Sunday June 21st)

This morning Cassie picked us up to go to church. We went to church at a place called "Mosaic" It was a really unique church. Once we arrived there we saw a few other staffers there. I really enjoyed the service. Apparently they are known for their coffee there at the church. I don't know maybe it was just me, but the coffee seemed to be a big hit. The church was very welcoming. The pastor did a very good job at being personable and speaking directly to you. After the service we all RUSHED to get lunch. The reason we were so "HASTY" is because ALOT of us were going canoeing after church, and we had a time to meet up. So we grabbed lunch and changed into some swimming clothes and went to meet up with the fellow staffers that were going. I was very surprised that all of the SLA were up for going! There was alot going so it was going to be fun. Everybody paired up into groups of three and jumped in their canoes. Brandy and Cassie asked me to be in their canoe so it was fun getting to know them. And yes you actually got to know other people in different boats surprisingly! Occasionally Brandy and I would act like Pocahontas, standing up in our canoe and singing "Just Around the Riverbend". Cassie would scream thinking that we would tip the canoe, but she couldn't resist, by the end of the ride she was singing along. It was a really fun day just hanging out with each other and playing games and joking around, ya know all that AWESOME stuff. That night we all went to the office and set up a projector to watch a movie! :) It was so much fun. Had to go to bed early though cause camp was starting back TOMORROW!!! WEEK 2 HERE WE COME! 

Laundry Day! (Saturday June 20th)

At dinner we went to the restaurant "Rotier's". I sat with Aaron, Scott and Chelsi. It Was HYSTERICAL Just like I thought it would be.



Today was our FIRST-LAST day of camp! WOOHOO!! It was fun, we all partied up front at closing celebration with the fellow SLA-ers. Today was the other SLA's last day of camp, so you want to make it fun for them. It was hard to think that we all would be in their shoes in a week! So we were all partying and having fun. After closing show, we all said our goodbyes and gave each other our love. Little did we know, that our work was about to start that second! Right after closing show my fellow SLA-ers and I were thrown into doing inventory at the FUGE store! We all jumped to it, afterwards we started to head over for lunch, but suddenly driving down the road I happened to look up. I SAW JONATHAN NELMS (my boss) AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY WALKING DOWN THE ROAD! You should have seen my car. They were all startled with my scream. "Jonathan??........JONATHAN!!!" Ha ha it was hilarious. The rest of that story is for another time and another place. So, we headed off to lunch, ate then headed back to Belmont. Martha dropped us off and we picked up our clothes and did our laundry over at the girl's dorm. It was a blast because NO ONE WAS IN THERE! So we ran around and played tag, not really, but it would have been fun. So that was a blast. We basically just hung out the rest of the afternoon and finally got to relax. 

Mega Relay pt1 (Friday June 19th)

OMG Mega Relay is coming up though! Of course something has to come up though to change things up right? Yes, of course, everything has to be crazy at camp! We were informed today that the rec. field where Mega was to take place cannot be used... For the rest of the SUMMER! LAME! So we re-evaluate the situation and set up in front of the girl dorm. 

The time had come! MEGA WAS HERE! We were all pumped and ready! I had never run Mega at night before! I was SOOOOooOOoo excited!  It was really cool, they told us that SLA was going to run MEGA against the STAFF as the example for the campers! WOO-HOO! I was so pumped, I wanted to take the STAFF DOWN! haha but we lost, BIG TIME! I will spare you the time of going into to much detail :), Oh well, next week maybe we will do better!

Today we go Clairmont Apartments! And also we have our first Mega Relay! Anyway, this morning we went to the Clairmont apartments, where they have alot of children. We come with all our games and rec. material! :) We arrived there around 11:30, and let me tell you, it was HOT! Thank goodness they had an air conditioned room where we could do face paint. We had a great amount of kids though! We had the big colorful parachute, and WATER BALLOONS! Praise the LORD for water balloons! We would save the water balloons as a reward for the kids, no joke, it was that hot. we played with the kids for almost 4 hours that morning, well it turned to be the afternoon later! Today was the most tiring for me! We headed back home and went into the FUGE store where every Friday they have a camper come and play music. So this week they had a younger boy play the guitar and sing some praise and worship songs. It was a very relaxing afternoon, for sure.

Nashville Cares (Thursday June 18th)

That night we got to go out to eat for a nice meal, Ha I forget that they had not really been to Nashville before. So they were all a little excited!

Today we went to "Nashville Cares" an HIV/AIDS care center. We arrived there and us three boys, my roommates and I (Drew and Aaron), were volunteered for a quick favor of moving a desk upstairs to another office. It is so funny how God can put you in those simple situations of showing some care! You may wonder why exactly we were at an HIV/AIDS care center, but it will all make sense at the end I promise. We all shuffled into a conference room, and were informed in detail about HIV/AIDS and the effects it has on someone's life. Afterwards, we went to visit an actual "Nashville Cares" patient's house. There we help them with whatever they need, usually that being garden work or yard work, which is exactly what we did! I was very impressed with how much our group got done, no complaining, just a servant heart. I was able to have valuable conversation time with fellow SLA and Martha, our leader. It is amazing at the perseverance, and energy that the LORD gives you after working so hard!

"FRISKY Wednesday's" (Wednesday June 17th)

Today is "Frisky Wednesday's"! Ha I remember when I first heard that, I thought the same thing, "WHAH?"

"Frisky Wednesday" is where us SLA go to the girl's prison, 18 and younger. I'm limited to what I can/should say, but it was a great experience to have. Definitely not the often advertised side of ministry if you know what I mean, but a ministry that is most definitely necessary! They call it "Frisky" because you have to be FRISKED before you can enter the quarters HA! We were all so scared! But after so much fear of the "frisking", it was easy to laugh about afterwards. Once we got into the quarters and the girls entered we got to work. Introducing ourselves to some individuals and interacting with each other. We played basketball together, football, or cards. We taught them some simple games that we knew. It was so hard to let them know that you were not there to judge them in any way, but the complete opposite, we were there to fellowship and move straight by their past. We were there to show them Christ's love! No, it was not easy to break down these walls, but I believe the LORD planted the necessary seeds over the many visits from the other SLA this summer.

LIFEWAY WE GO! ( Tuesday June 16th )

Our first week of camp, SLA serves as our bible study group. So as if we were a camper, we get our own flag, and team name, "The Spitfires" So we opened with our regular day routine, but today's site was the Lifeway Headquarters! BAH NO WAY! It was huge, and had it's own zip code! BAH! There was an entire floor dedicated only to FUGE camps. So we get to have a special tour of Lifeway, and how they prepare camp. After that we had some free time, so us SLA went to an ice cream shop called "Maggie Moo's" It was good! Little did we know that there was a tornado warning going on! Shortly after it got a little nasty outside, "Martha you think everything is ok?" I remember someone asked. Ha Martha looked at her phone to find a text from one of the camp coordinators telling all the staffers to find a safe location! So our group all shuffled into the women's bathroom together! HAHA Funny I know, but it's ok we all survived!

Camp Starts! ( Monday June 15th )

Aaron, Drew, Denise, and Liz
Courtney, Haley, and Julie

At 5 Martha asked all the SLA to meet at the Belmont Bell Tower. We all surprisingly arrived on time! There I met my fellow SLA-ers. We all ate dinner together and got to know more about each other. After we all headed over to the auditorium for Worship. After worship the campers all go to there church group bible study, but Martha met with us and shared that in the future, the old SLA will lead the new SLA in a group devotion every night. She also told us that we would do the same for the new SLA next week. We all headed to bed after an exciting first day!

On Our Way! ( Monday June 15th )

Today I leave for M-FUGE SLA! Pete (My brother-in-law) and I left at about 12:30. We talked all the way there, and I'm not going to lie, once we arrived on campus and I saw the FUGE signs all down the road, I was screaming with excitement. We pulled in and saw a few staffers on the corner of wedgewood, which will be important for you to remember in the future. So I thought to myself, "Hm that's odd" We found a parking space where I ran into a staffer named Lindsay, who showed me to Stacy, who then showed me to MARTHA! BAH SHUT UP! Ha Martha had everything ready for me, my name tag, my key to my room, my T-shirt, and a book. So Pete helped me carry my luggage over to my room, and I met my roommate, Aaron Blankenship! :) Pete headed out and Aaron and I conversed as we both unpacked. Soon after we met our last guy SLA, Drew Turberville! :) We all shared a room, and There could be no greater pair to share with!

SLA!

So SOON!

So I got my last letter in the mail yesterday! It held all the final details about camp, like when to arrive, what the weekends held for us, what to pack, what to expect, etc., etc.

There's so much for us to do this summer! A regular day for us opens ,with 

Breakfast

A quiet time finishing with a staff bible study

The opening worship "AM Show"

Ministry Sites for the majority of the day

Dinner

Worship "PM Show"

Night Life, filled with crazy youth games, and excitement

Now I'm sure we have to be prepared for some odd jobs here and there, but other than that, this is a regular week day for M-Fuge.

Acceptance

        Me, when I got my acceptance letter.

M-Fuge SLA

Ok so this specific event of the summer is a big highlight for me. I filled out everything particularly early, just to get those extra brownie points if you know what i mean ;). I waited for my acceptance letter and waited, ...........and.........and waited. And after a long time of waiting (It really wasn't that long, but man oh man the suspense!) I still hadn't heard back from camp if I were to participate this year. So I call up the camp and come to find out that I had my old address on the application. I know embarrassing right?? WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE??! "Well James you have been accepted, welcome to camp!" said the camp coordinator on the phone, as I tried to hide my loudness of jumping up and down, overjoyed at the news, over the phone.

M-Fuge SLA (Student Leadership Apprentice) is a "Lifeway Fuge Camp" held at Belmont University in Nashville. It's a program where older highschool students come and put their leadership abilities to use in the aspect of being an actual Fuge Staffer. A very exciting role to play for our youth today. So I'm very excited to dive into this, and gladly receive all the things the LORD has in store. Pray for preparation of all the leaders over all these youth this year, and for the LORD to prepare their hearts and minds.