"We have nothing to fear but fear itself"

Everyone is afraid of something.  Adults are afraid of things like losing their jobs, illness, and a whole host of scenarios that only exist in their minds; kids are afraid of their balloon popping, or of one of The Avengers getting hurt (a friend of mine recently put on facebook that his little boy prayed for all of the superheroes of The Avengers by name the other night).  Whatever age you may be, there’s something you’re afraid of.

And how do we deal with these fears?  Teetering 40ft above the ground on a rope bridge and putting bugs in our mouths, obviously.

Can you guess what the theme for Logos camp is this year?  That’s right, Fear Factor! For those of you blissfully unaware of what Fear Factor is, it’s a reality show that involves three different kinds of scary stunts, may the best man win.  There are stunts with heights, stunts like something out of Hollywood, and most famously, gross stunts, like eating cockroaches or guts. 

I've had almost three weeks of vacation after English Camp, and I've been using that time to plan mini-episodes of our own Fear Factor.  Media is always a huge focus for us at camp, so this year, we're going to film an episode of Fear Factor every day.  All the kids will cycle through the competitions, and on the last day, we'll have a big finale with the winners.  

Examples, you ask? We plan to suspend some 2X4s high up in the air, strap the kids to a harness, and have them roll around in the stratosphere on a scooter.  The kids have to bob for bananas in a tank of  milk.  A competition to see who can move the most worms from point A to point B, with their mouths.  Get the idea?

Of course, it won't be all cockroaches and ropes courses.  Every day the kids will learn about what God has to say about how to handle fear, and how they can overcome what they're afraid of.  I'm particularly excited to get in on this process in the second session, where I'll be a counselor.

Personally, I'm really excited for this.  This is not actually the first large-scale Fear Factor I've organized; Eli Spire and I put on a show for 400 kids a few years ago for our churches annual All Night Party.  Come to think of it, I think anyone who has been in youth ministry long enough has probably brushed up against this theme.  All part of the job!

English Camp, Working a megaphone during Rugby

Camp starts on Saturday for the workers, and lasts until the 18th, so you won't be hearing too much from me.  Never you fear, you'll get a full update with all the juicy details and the photographic evidence at the end of August!

Good bye for now!

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

Another English Camp come and gone

I can't believe English Camp is actually over!  All those months of preparation, then 20 days and boom, that's it.

Let me break down English Camp by the numbers: 2 sessions, 157 kids total, 20 days, 7am-11pm, 8 Americans.  Holy buckets.

What can I even say about English Camp?  The first sessions was with the little kids, and it went fantastic, though it was really exhausting.  We usually have a sport team responsible for sports on base, all-camp games, evening meetings and morning exercises.   First session however, we were short-handed and my team of Americans had to step up as the sport team.  There were so many kids that they couldn't stay in the cabins with the children, but that turned out to be a blessing because between organizing sports and playing games, they wouldn't have had much energy for anything else.  They did really great; I'm so proud!

Team leader Lauren Pfahlert (AKA L-Phizzy) at the rock wall

My costume for "Crazy Football" included a housewife dress, a snake, and balloons on my bum

The rules of Crazy Football? Camp workers and counselors vs campers, they have to follow the rules and we don't!

Here's the camp team in their game costumes; we were obligated to weep every time we scored a goal

Our director (and my boss) Andree Slabiy dressed as a giant hand; Semyon with his newly-shaved head (he's off to the army)

Second session we had half as many campers, and they were teenagers.  Needless to say second session was much calmer, but presented its own difficulties.  My team was able to bunk with the kids in their cabins, but this of course presented its own challenges because not all of the counselors spoke fluent English, and even those that did had their hands full with their campers.  We intentionally plan something every moment of every day, and counselors must be with their kids 24/7; it's when a camper is out of sight of their counselor that problems typically occur.  This was tough for my team, but some of them really rose to the occasion and made due with what they had, even if it meant something as simple as learning names and asking to learn phrases in Russian.  An inexperienced and at times immature sport team added some difficulties to the session, but really all of camp went without any major incident.

It's not camp if we don't play baseball!

Eric Wheeler (AKA Free-Wheeler) and the team leading morning exercizes

Personally, I love morning exercises

Team-member Cady Hayes relaxing on the beach

Kiley Woodward (AKA Woodzz) on the football field

We did have some problems with one teenage boy named Roma; yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the flood, and he lost a couple young cousins, after which he took up smoking.  He also found out on the second day of camp that a best friend of his had been paralyzed in a freak accident.  He was constantly sneaking off for a cigarette, or distancing himself from the group and refusing to participate.  It was not rare at all to see Roma off to the side with his headphones plugged in, separate from whatever was going on.  But our heavenly father has a plan for Roma, and put him in my dear friend Andree's group.  Andree was able to help him work through some of his problems and offer some solutions, and the relationship they were able to build will extend beyond camp.  All of the stress of camp is worth it when you can make those kind of connections and get kids the help they really need.

Alicia Medeiros (AKA Club Med) working her space look on registration day

Luba, Andree Vasilev, and Artur on registration day, three of my dearest friends and fellow workers

Our photog Anya and Lauren Weatherly (AKA L-Dub); I call this look "Lauren-on-the-half-shell"

Zach Pryor (AKA Pry-bar) and Arseney at a camp meeting

Andy Woodford joined us from Krasnodar, and was a great addition to our team second session

In addition to my team of Americans, we had a lovely fellow named Larry come from a huge camp down in California to do some consulting; his daughter was a member of my team, and our camp has had a connection for about five years when our camp director and the former English Program Coordinator Anya (my friend from English Studio) went to their camp for training (on their trip they stopped up at our church, which is how I got connected with Mountain Springs Camp in the first place).  On Wednesday we have a leadership meeting to discuss camp and prepare for Logos, and I'll be interested to hear what advice Larry had for us and how we can begin implementing it.

Jordyn (AKA Jordache) and Larry Birch (AKA Mr. Birch) , chillin' in the airport

Which brings me to Logos; it's only three weeks away if you can believe it!  Our theme this year is "Fear Factor"; in addition to discussing the topic of fear, I'm there will be lots of bug-eating and activities along those lines.  I hope to be sports team for the first session and a counselor for the second session.

I have to go the beach every day; my life is so hard!

In other news, it's blistering hot here in the Kuban region, and of course, I have no air conditioner.  I asked Uncle Ilya yesterday about installing one, and he said "well, we're just worried it would blow on you".  Well yes.  That's the point.  I would give my left arm to have my own air conditioner blowing on me.  But of course, the Russians believe that if there's air blowing on you, you'll catch a cold.  If they knew that I'm currently sitting with my fan about a foot away from my face, I think they'd have me institutionalized.  Cultural differences, people.  This is what I live with.  We'll see who wins the fight of the AC. 

Well, it's time to rest up.  I had some of my girlfriends from Krasnodar stay with me for a few days after camp before they headed home, and while I was thrilled to see them, I'm now ready to sit back and do nothing.  I've got a fan blowing on my face, snacks, and reruns of The Nanny to help me regain my strength. 

Aunt Tanya, Masha, and Tima came to visit me on my birthday, AND THEY BROUGHT THE CAT BABY!

I hope you guys are having a fantastic summer!  Next time you're having a BBQ eat an extra burger for me!  Remember, if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments or send me an email direct at russian.janie@gmail.com.

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

PS Thank you Madi Hayes for all the beautiful pictures!