Water Ski Camp

This summer I was visiting family in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and my cousin became interested in water skiing. My aunt found a camp for him, and quickly enrolled him in it.

The camp was a week long, and went from 6 in the morning to 5 in the evening, and the kids were out at a man-made lake all day, taking turns going out on the boat, which was driven by two guys in their 20's. 

On the last day of the camp, the two guys who were in charge of not only driving the boat, but watching the kids, decided to pack up and leave, with no previous warning. This left the 12 kids unattended to, and the parents had paid a lot of money for them to go out to this day camp. The wife of the camp owner had a license to drive the boat, so that was covered, but that left the other 11 kids, not skiing, unattended to on the dock. So I volunteered to go out and watch the kids, while Karen (the wife of the camp owner) took care of the boat driving.

I got out there at 6 and played with the kids, watched over them and helped them change into and out of their ski gear. 

Around 8 I took the littler kids, leaving the older kids with Karen, with me up to the house and made breakfast for everyone, then brought it down to the dock for everyone to eat. After everyone ate, the kids took their turns on the boat, and I spent the morning watching them. 

In the early afternoon, I went back to the house to make sandwiches for everyone, and brought them back down just like I had for breakfast.

After everyone at lunch, they went back out on the lake for a few more rounds, as I entertained those left on the dock. Karen needed a break from all the driving around 2, so she sat on the dock and watched the kids while I went out and helped Roger (the camp owner) set up the other docks for a water skiing tournament he was hosting at his house (he had two man made lakes) the following day. We hung flags and posters around the docks and put up signs telling visitors where to park.

After we had finished setting up and cleaning up, I went to watch the kids while Karen took them out on their last run.

Volunteering out at the water ski camp definitely taught me a lot about dealing with kids, ranging from ages of 2 to 15.  The littler kids were very unwilling to mind, and I had to work with that, to keep from causing conflict and stressing out Karen, and the older kids weren't much help either. They were off in their own world, not really interested in being part of the group, until around lunch. After lunch I had everyone playing games together and interacting, so they would not only gain the skill of water skiing out of the camp, but also make friends and memories to last. 

Interior Fabrics & Design

This summer a family friend of mine, Patricia Clinton, set up her new fabric store in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and needed help getting it up and running. I volunteered to help her set up, and help out with customers and such, since she was short workers. I wound up working there for 2 days, from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon.

The first day, Patricia picked me up at 7:45 a.m., and we headed over to a client's house, where I got to see how "measurements" work. This basically means that Patricia went over to a client's home (with permission, of course) and measured whatever it was she was supplying fabric for, or making for the client. I helped her in measuring and carrying around samples to show the clients.

After going to 2 homes of clients, we made it to the store around 9, and I began to help some of the other volunteers around the store. We were hanging fabric up on hangers and putting them on the racks, rolling fabric, and straightening up, all while attending to customers.

In dealing with clients, I had to attend to all their needs, help them find fabric, and be creative in suggesting different fabric samples. Occasionally, it required great patience, as many didn't know what they were looking for, but being patient and polite made for easy communication.

The first day, basically all I did was hang up fabrics and help customers. I learned a lot about dealing with people I don't know, and helping them. 

The second day, I went to Patricia's store and spent the first few hours labeling price tags for one of their upcoming sales, and changing tags on the hanging fabrics. 

On this day, we had a particularly weird customer come in. She entered the store around the same time I did, and I immediately went over to see if I could help her, but she politely declined, so I left her to roam, letting her know to call me if needed. I went about my business, changing tags and such, when I noticed it had been a few hours, and this customer was currently sitting in the back of the store, behind a rack of fabrics, talking on her phone. It was a little suspicious, but we let it slide.

However, as one of the girls I was working with walked by her, she heard the woman say "There's going to be a nuclear explosion. Get the food into the cell and meet your dad down there." We were immediately alarmed, not knowing if the woman was just crazy, or if she knew something we didn't. We ran to the back working room and filled Patricia in on what was going on, and she told us to let the woman be for a bit and see if she left on her own, and if not, we'd go again and ask if we could help her. We followed her orders, and eventually the woman left the store, in a hurry.

It was definitely a lesson in how to deal with people, especially in potential dangerous situations. We weren't really sure why she would come to a fabric store to tell whomever about a nuclear explosion, but it certainly did worry us. We were kind to her, offered her help numerous times, but every time she turned us down and would go back to her corner and get on her phone. It was definitely one of the stranger experiences I've had.

For the remainder of the day, I worked in the back room, rolling fabric, which basically means I was using a machine to spin fabric onto a cardboard cylinder to display it. 

Volunteering at Patricia's store was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about dealing with strangers. I learned how to handle uncomfortable tasks, the workings in a fabric store, and I learned a lot about working alongside other people.

Mexico Mission Trip 08'

About a year ago, I became very involved with my church, taking every opportunity open to me to get involved. The friends I've made there, and the atmosphere of love and acceptance, draws me there, and makes it one of my favorite places to go.

One Wednesday evening (Wednesday nights are the High School Youth Group nights), we were watching the slide show of upcoming events, and one caught my eye. It was a slide advertising the upcoming mission trip to Piedras Negras, Mexico. By the following Wednesday I was signed up and excited to go.

A few days later (a Friday), all the high school students who signed up met at the Church and we loaded up in White Vans, and took off on a long drive to Piedras Negras, Mexico. 

Back (Left to Right): Jenny Sjoerdsma, Katy Martens (Me)

Front (Left to Right): Brittany Walker, Mecholah Cotrofeld, Jessica Martens

After arriving in Piedras Negras (a small town just a few minutes across the border), we headed to Ven De Christo, the Church where we'd be spending our time. 

The Church was very simple. It didn't have any glass in the windows, just netting, and it had bare white walls and a concrete floor. It was nothing special, yet it had such a magical feeling to it.

After unloading and piling everyone into the church, it was around 6 at night, so we cleaned up the inside, sweeping, picking up trash, washing the walls and dusting the pews and the altar.

We worked until 10 at night, cleaning it up, then went to sleep, because we had an early morning on Saturday.

The next morning, we woke up at 530 and had breakfast with the people who live in Piedras Negras. It was really interesting to talk to them, because our spanish was not that great, and the same for their english, so we had to be creative when conversing.

At 6 we cleaned up the mess from breakfast and spent the next 5 hours painting the outside of the Church-giving it a much needed fresh coat of paint. 

 

Left to Right: Brittany Nichols, Katy Martens (Me), Jenny Sjoerdsma

Left to Right: Bracken, Jon Evans, Katy Martens (Me), Jenny Sjoerdsma, Brittany Nichols

Back: Jessica Martens

Once we had finished painting the church (around 1) we headed out to walk around the town and talk with the local people. We learned a lot about their culture, how important Ven De Christo is to them, and how they live.

 

After spending a few hours walking around, we returned to Ven De Christo around 3 in the afternoon and got ready to head out yet again. This time we walked to the local park, where we met up and played with over 40 kids. We spent 4 hours just hanging out with them and learning their favorite games.

Around 7 we left and headed over to a house for mentally challenged kids, who didn't have a home. There were 20 kids in this orphanage, whose families had left them, and who were cursed with mental illness. Rarely, people go to play with these kids, so when we began playing with them, their eyes lit up. They would pull us into their rooms and show us their toys, and wanted us to hold them and hug them. It was one of the most amazing, life-changing things I've ever done. This orphanage is supposedly the only one in all of Northern Mexico, and the people who run it have such big hearts. They care so much for these children, and would do anything for them.

Around 10 we headed back to Ven De Christo to get some sleep for the next morning. 

The following morning, we woke up around 7 and made breakfast for the local people, and all of us worked together to lead a church service for them from around 9 to 1130. It was really cool to teach them the way we learn, and to watch the translator explain to them. You could see, in their eyes, how excited they were to listen to us speak about our faith.

After the service, we cleaned up the outside of the church for a few hours (12 to 3) then packed up the car and headed home.

Of all the glamorous trips, with nice hotels and good restaurants, that I've been on, this was by far my favorite. I got to really connect with people and step out of my comfort zone, and grow closer with God and stronger in my faith.