"Hey campers, my name is Coco! What's my name? (COCO!) I live in O-HI-O and go to Indiana Wesleyan University, Gooo Cats!"
This was the first of many introductions to be made at cheerleading camps across the nation.
Last week marked Week 1 of FCC Summer Camps. The week was busy, busy, busy, but also incredible, as I grew closer to my fellow staff members, had some fun, and watched God at work.
The week really began 2 Saturdays ago when we bade goodbye to the Texas staff who had a 2 day drive ahead of them. I was sad to see our staff now split in half, but happy that I would get a nice break before starting camp.
After we received our summer schedules from Cary Coleman, we went to the Rice's house to hang out, do, laundry, and EAT! The Rice family consists of the nicest people on the planet, who lovingly open their home to FCC staff and treat us like we are their own children. After being at a hotel or a sticky college campus for a week, going "home" and eating incredible food is such a blessing.
On Sunday, the staff hit the hotel pool. Unfortunately we didn't last long there, though, as the sweltering Georgia heat made being in the sun for any extended amount of time unbearable. We gathered to go to church that evening, and I was very excited about the church which we planned to attend. I had heard people talking about Passion City Church all week, and had taken note of the fact that Chris Tomlin was the worship leader there. The church building itself was incredible, not like any other traditional church I had ever seen. The worship was high energy and exciting, and, though Chris Tomlin was overseas doing missions, it was lead by Kristian Stanfill, a fantastic singer and extremely attractive individual.
The message spoke by head pastor Louie Giglio was my favorite part of the experience, however. He talked about forgiveness, and how when we are forgiven by God we are set free, and don't need to carry around the guilt from our sins any longer. The sermon was just what I needed to hear before beginning a summer of ministry, and praised God with everything I had for setting me free.
On Monday, the staff prepared to make the hour long journey to Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia. We practiced our Varsity All-Music Demo at the FCC main office in the morning before grabbing lunch and driving in the staff van to the college. Once we arrived, we practiced some more and began setting up for camp, as the campers were due to arrive the next morning.
Tuesday marked the day all of us had been eagerly anticipating, the beginning of camp!
I loved performing in front of the campers, and easily fell into the routine of the first day. I fell asleep happy that night, knowing that I was right where I was supposed to be.
The rest of camp seemed to pass quickly although we worked extremely long days. Even though cheerleading is obviously a huge part of the job of an FCC instructor, I found that my favorite aspects of camp were glorifying God through cheerleading and building relationships with the campers. One squad that really captured my heart was a varsity team of 18 who were assigned to be my "Faithful Buddies" for the week. These girls from the Atlanta area always had a smile on their faces, and even though they were extremely talented, never walked around with a cocky attitude. By the end of the week, I wished that I had more time to get to know each of them on a deeper level.
Throughout the week, I also bonded with my fellow staff members as well. On Wednesday night, we sat in a circle and prayed together long after the campers had left for the night, and the very next day God showed himself faithful by answering some of the very prayers that had been lifted up the night before. Thursday night marked the final evening of camp, and, after some rigorous condition, the staff celebrated by getting food at a cute local diner. After getting filled up on a blueberry waffle and some sweet potato fries, we all ended up sitting in the hall and sharing our "Highs and Lows" for the day and the week, which basically turned into a laughing-so-hard-you-can't-breathe session at some of the ridiculous stories shared.
Friday, after camp championships, we packed up the vans and headed back to headquarters, and the next morning at 8:45, I was on a plane bound for home, still in cheerleading mode, making up routines in my head. I couldn't believe that Week 1 of FCC Summer 2011 was over, and even though I had vacation to look forward to this coming Friday, I was slightly bummed that I didn't get to stick around for one of the Week 2 camps.
Even though I was only away for two weeks total, I can already tell that God is doing major construction work on my heart. I've learned that comfort zones are over-rated, and that if God calls you to something, He will give you all the tools you need to complete it. I already love FCC and my staff family, and am so excited to see what the rest of the summer brings.
"So let us fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:18
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