One year ago I was a camper at Woodleaf - A Young Life Camp. I thought it was this Christian camp where there were holy men and women in high school. It turned out to be something totally different. I saw a lot of purple. There were couples cuddling in hammocks, sneaking off into the woods, having a romantic cruise on a kayak, etc.
I was focused on meeting people and boy did I meet a lot of people. There were almost 300 kids at this camp and I felt as if I gained 100 new friends. My friend who introduced me to this camp, Kirsten, showed me how everything was done. We ran to the main building to get front row seats for the evening "club," is what they called it. The band came up front. I got excited: "Yes! Worship time!" Then the band started playing "22" by Taylor Swift. I got very confused, I thought that we were going to worship, so I waited for the next songs. The next three songs were "Home," "It's Time," and "I Will Wait." Then we sat down. Now I was really stumped.
There were a lot of skits. One skit was about Dare Devil Extraordinaire, another one about Fashion, and another one about Sasquatches. Then they would have names of campers or leaders up on the screen. The campers would come down and have a competition. All of them were pretty ridiculous. One was having to bob for apples in bin full of water, apples, and the fish from the lake. Another one was creating a smoke cannon and firing them to knock off cups of the crowds' heads. Those were only two of them.
Then the speaker got up. I was very surprised. It was a young woman named Tanita who was funny and kept my attention. There are 2 things that I distinctly remember about her. 1. When she talked about Jesus' death she went into detail about how he was nailed on the cross. If you were nailed on the cross, you don't want nails going into your wrists, you would be struggling and wanting to get out and having people hold you down. Tanita said, "I firmly believe that Jesus calmly laid there without protesting one bit, because he knew that this had to happen." I had never thought of that. It made me realize how much He gave up for everyone and me. 2. Her prayers were one sentence long. The first night she talked about how the "I" is in the center of SIN. Her prayer was, "Dear Jesus, please help us to make sure that our "I"s are not in the center. Amen." And then we left for an obstacle course.
We ended up jumping in the pool, doing a mud fight, field games. They always kept me moving and I was exhausted by the third day. But nonetheless, I LOVED it. But I still didn't know it was a church camp. I went up to a camp intern and asked him when chapel was. He stared at me for about 10 seconds when I realized that they call it "Club" not chapel. Then I was told that this camp is run by a national organization called Young Life who reach out to high schoolers that didn't grow up with church.
During my week, I went to the store a lot. I became obsessed with Young Life. I bought 2 tank tops, chapstick, a hat, a fanny pack, a lanyard, and a sweatshirt. Every night I would come home to my cabin with something new.
On the last day of camp, Tanita asked kids to come up and proclaim that they didn't want to put the "I" in SIN anymore and instead putting Jesus at the center of their lives. I counted 47 kids going up. My mind was blown. I was a senior just graduating high school and at that moment I realized that I was not going back to high school. I'm not going to these camps anymore and I'm not gonna see this ever again. Or can I?
When I went home, I thought to myself "That was the best week of my life." I wanted more. I believe that God put it on my heart to work in the Youth Ministries. When I went home, I started looking at colleges where I could study that field. I also wanted to continue with Young Life. I went on their website and looked up the phone number for the nearest location which was East Palo Alto. When I called them, it turns out I did call Young Life, but the one in East Palo Alto focuses on young mothers. That wasn't what I wanted, but they never got back to me anyway. So I went for Palo Alto and there was a link to email somebody. I sent the email, but still no response.
I decided to wait a little bit. I work at Peninsula Community Center (PCC) in Redwood City and we were hiring this new girl, named Caitlyn. She knew my coworker and was talking with him when she mentioned Young Life. I immediately interuppted the conversation (because I'm obsessed, remember) and I started to jump up and down and go into hysterics. She explained how she is a Wyldlife leader. I researched this while I was researching Young Life. Wyldlife is the same thing as Young Life, just with middle schoolers. I thought that middle schoolers were lame and wannabe high schoolers. They bothered me and I didn't care for them much. (My opinion was probably because I had a rough time in middle school). Caitlyn told me that the director of Palo Alto Young Life is going through a family trauma and hasn't been able to do much and that's probably why nobody responded to me. So she gave me the email of the Wyldlife director who stepped into as temp Young Life director. Her name is Lacey.
I emailed Lacey and she got back to me the day I emailed her. We had coffee that week and I decided to lead in Wyldlife instead since I am fresh out of high school. That Thursday, I went to Wyldlife. Lacey told me that my first time is going to be awkward, so I was a little prepared but not really. When I arrived, Caitlyn wasn't there. And I was the only female there. Lacey was setting up but other than that, there was no estrogen. So, what did I do? I talked to the middle school boys. All of them seemed uninterested. Two other girl leaders showed up and 3 middle school girls. I talked to all of them and they all were nice and welcoming. But I was sooooo ready for the night to be over. I rushed out of there as soon as I could. In my car I thought to myself, "Is this what I want to do??"
The next day after work, I found one of PCC's summer interns, Lauren, lounging around and I sat with her and I told her about my night. I was feeling discouraged and thinking I will never fit in there. She then said, "How do you think I felt when I arrived at PCC?" Oh snap she got me there. I never realized that. Interns come to PCC every summer and some of them don't know anybody. Lauren was one of them and everybody loves her. I decided to go back the next week.
Caitlyn was there next week and there were a lot more kids there. I still was nervous. It was carnival night and kids were playing games to collect tickets. With the tickets, you could buy a shaving cream pie to pie a leader in the face, or put it all over their hair. I was talking with these two girls, Mollie and Mary most of the night, asking them questions about themselves, and wanting to be friends with them. I didn't know if I was getting anywhere. Kids were starting to cash in their tickets. All of a sudden I hear, "Sami, you're being beckoned to get a pie in the face." Thank the Lord that the shaving cream covered up my tears. Yes I got a pie in the face. And they were very polite about it too (the difference between girls and guys). They said "Plug your nose and cover your eyes! We'll give it to you soft." And they did. That same night, one of the leaders gave me some more cream in my face. I think this is a pure example of how "I waited patiently for the Lord." (Psalms 40:1) My personality is very direct and impulsive. Whatever my feelings tell me, I go with it immediately.
I have been a Wyldife leader the past school year and it has been quite a journey. I realized a couple things. 1. I love middle schoolers. They are the coolest people on the planet. All of the girls I met there, I can call them my friends. And I am tearing up now just thinking about them because they are the best. 2. You can't just sit there and wait for an opportunity. You have to go out of your way to make things happen. I am a very chill person and like things to just flow the way they're supposed to. But kids are not going to just start showing up at a house they don't even know and start playing games. In Young Life, you have to do this thing called contact work and that's where you attend public events and invite kids to come. Not like a total creeper, it may take a couple of weeks to get your face known and people to get to you. Then you can invite the kids. One little 9 year old taught me that. I was in Mexico and it was the night where our partner pastors would come with their families and sit with us during chapel. I sat next to Tea (Tay-uh), the 9-year old and I left my chair empty. She asked me why I wasn't sitting in my chair. I said I wanted the Mexican families to have seating instead of me. She said "Well you can't just sit here and expect someone to sit in the chair, you have to offer it to someone." And that's when I realized it. Thanks Tea. Also, thank you Audrey, Jenn, and Lacey for being such great role models to me and welcoming me in the Wyldlife family.
So now, I am about to work at Woodleaf, the camp that started it all. I will be working in the Mayor's office (not so sure what I will be doing) but I am excited and I will be there for 4 weeks ) May 30-June 28. I don't think I can update a blog there but we'll see. After that, I go on an even crazier adventure.
