...Letters from Joy...: English Camp!

The very next day after Leadership Camp, Hannah and I were asked to help with an English Camp in Lipljan (I speeled the town name wrong in pervious posts), just twenty minutes outside of Prishtina. Hannah and I arrived on July 14th and returned home on July 25th. The camp was a total of seven days. It was all held at the Better Life Center. One of the things that is unique about Lipljan is that it is one of the few towns or cities left with a fairly high percentage of Serbians. A main focus that the employees have in Lipljan is trying to unite and renew the relationships between the Albanian and Serbians. They believe that the English Camp is just one stepping stone in that direction. English is the only common language between the Albanians and the Serbians. Therefore, helping them learn better English will help the two parties better be able to communicate with one another and thus, develop better relationships with one another.

Everyday was filled to the max! The team met for breakfast and devos at 7am. English Camp went from 9am to 12pm, followed by lunch. From 1:30pm on, we had the pleasure of visiting the homes of our students. At 5pm, myself and three others had skit practice for the next day. At 6pm we had dinner, debrief and a time of prayer. Finally at 7:30pm, we had some free time. By then I was usually exhausted! Robin and I were the two English teachers. All together, there was about 80 kids. They were split up into six groups. Robins taught three and I taught three each day. A lot of free times were spent preparing for lessons. Everything was so well organized and planned!

The theme this year was the Olympics! The crafts, songs, games and English lessons all revolved around this. For our skits, three of us played athletes in different sports. "Muscles Mike" was a weight lifter. "Awesome Allison" was a fencing player. And I, "Jolly Joy," was a gymnast. The skits were always humorous to say the least!

The last day of camp was the Parents' Program, where the kids got to show their parents the songs and vocab they had been learning during the week. Robin and I put simple skits together for each group to perform, using the new vocab from the week. At the end of the program, Mark (an employee here) presented The Story to all the children and families. Wow. What a powerful time! They had a table with The Book and other related materials for anyone who wanted one. All of The Books were gone by the end, including the only Serbian Book. All together, about ten Books were given out, including some families who requested one during home visits. Also, serveral children's Books and smaller materials were taken. God is so good!

Once again, this week was rejuvinating and healing to my soul. It was a cold glass of water being poured over my dry spirit. Over and over again God reminds me that His timing is perfect. Our team was amazing! One couple were former employees who worked in Haiti. They lived there for about twenty-six years. Two other couples are full-time employees in Lipljan. Another couple was retired and from Philly and has been volunteering in Kosova for eight years now. These couples poured and poured into Hannah and I. If we ever needed to cry, they were there. If we ever needed advice, they were there. If we ever needed to just talk, they were there. If we ever needed prayer, they were there. I don't know what I would have done without them. They came in our lives at the most perfect time. I have still been going through the adjustment phase and sometimes I get pretty discouraged. Everyone on the team was so encouraging and understanding. I needed them more than they will ever know.