Life Changing

We didn't write the last days of camp, but it was an emotional rollercoaster.   God granted 10 Americans the opportunity to change the lives of campers and Polish Counselors, but He also changed our lives too.   I have grown closer to Him each and every year I have been going to Jawornik English Camp.   I had the opportunity to help a camper going through difficulties at home and camp, talked to a couple of others about their faith and doubting there is a Wonderful God that is here and He is here to hold our hands through our troubles.

God is the center of this camp!   We started each day of camp with a staff devotion, Ania led the camp in a Bible Story each day, Chelsea and Grace led praise songs, then we ended each day with a prayer with the camp and devotions.  Our American Devotions were filled with laughter, tears, and water fights.  The pastor in Jawornik has been very supportive us coming each and every year!

I am praying that I will be able to go for many years to come!  God has this camp in His hands!!!

Today was a fantastic day! After working on films that were written by the kids, we finally presented them tonight. The kids had lots of fun writing and acting out their films and voted on categories in the "Oscars." We also had "food day" today. The kids got to taste lots of American food that they hadn't eaten before.

-Matthew Irwin

"Don't mess with the fishie!"- Doug Schmelzer

Monday, July 25th

Today was awesome! We began by learning some new songs in chapel, and then learned about the West region of the U.S. After some surfing and a little panning for gold we began our afternoon workshops. This was my favorite part of the day, because in music we learned how to use boomwackers! These lovely plastic tubes occupied each class for 25 minutes as they played along with the video that showed them when to use their note. The campers enjoyed this so much that after each session they were reluctant to leave. The last group ended up staying 10 minutes afterwards to repeat one song that they insisted on perfecting. Needless to say, we will definitely be using boomwackers in music again tomorrow. 

In Christ,
Chelsea Irwin

We started off our day by going to church where James did the sermon, many times he went off script confusing the translator and making the rest of us laugh. During church Chelsea and I led the children in singing three songs. Many times during the service I didn't know what was going on or where we were at in the hymn but a boy sitting next to me helped me throughout the service so I was still able to worship with everyone else. After church everyone had fun participating in water day. Josh caught many by surprise by dumping a bucket of water on them from the upper level walkout. The kids soon got back at him by dumping water on him. For the rest of the afternoon, we just hung out with the kids: playing the piano, cards, four square, or just talking to them about life. My favorite part of the day was when a boy kept coming up to me to give me a hug when earlier in the week he would never hug me back when I hugged him. It's easy to see how God has worked through everyone here at the camp and how much these new friendships mean to everyone.

Written by Grace

Friday, July 21

I Peter 4:10-"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." It has been great witnessing the gifts God has given the Americans, Polish staff, and campers here at JEC. Everyone brings different aspects to the camp, and it has been great experiencing others serving each other as the body of Christ. Thank you for your prayers and support. 

In Christ,
Daniel Spaulding

"Things don't always go according to plan...and that's okay."
-Doug Schmelzer