Camp and the 4th of July

Hello All! Happy 4th of July! We are almost done with our first week of camp! Although the ending is a little bittersweet, I think I am leaning towards the bitter end. I've grown to love my kids. We have had some amazing conversations, and God has really blessed our time together. Alana and I realized farely early on that almost all of our kids spoke good English. Some were hesitant to use their English but we have slowly but surely gotten them to talk to us. Yesterday we started a new morning routine where instead of teaching we just have a discussion for our first session. Since they all speak good English this is a more practical way to get them to use there language. They were all good about talking. Wednesday we talked about Polish and American cultures and asked them to talk about different stereotypes. It went over really well, so today we decided to ask them Who God was to them. They all gave us an honest response. It was some of the best discussions of my life. Some told us they didn't think that there was a need for God to be a part of our lives, and some told us that God was the only person in their life they could trust. The entire time was amazing, and we were able to give them the gospel and talk about living our lives for Christ. I am so glad that Alana and I thought about doing this, and really that can only be attributed to God. I am sure there is no way we could have thought that up on our own. In the afternoon session Efraim, our translator, and Lukash, our Polish helper from the church, got into a really deep conversation with them that went on for over an hour. By the end all of the catholic girls asked for a bible and we gave them one. It was great and I am so thankful for all that God did for us this week. Alana and I have pretty much been on our own in the teaching department. It has been challenging because we have to come up with more complicated activities so that they aren't bored. We learned really quickly that they understand almost everything, and that kid games aren't really that much fun. So, it has been entertaining and we've learned to push through the awkward silences. It is funny, now that we finally know our kids, what to expect, and the things they like or don't like to do, camp is over. We are having a special 4th of July party tomorrow for all the kids, and we are really excited for the big party we are throwing for them. It is going to be a great end of camp. I thank God for this amazing week. It has been one of the most challenging of my life, but it has been a blast. God has been good. He has provided everything we could possibly need and more. Here are some pictures. We haven't taken very many since we've been so busy, but I'll try to take more and get them up.

Playing an intense game of spoons.
Two sisters, Hola and Ula, with Alana and Me
This is a wierd Polish game......I could never win but I always tried.
We taught our group how to make Brownies. Then we ate them. They were delicious.

P.S. God is good! Paul got me some new allergy medicine that has been working better! It is still pretty bad, but I am doing much better. Thank you all for praying.