Oh the fun you can have with a leaf blower...

irony

im posting on the staff lounge... from the couch... in the staff lounge.

how terribly ironic

Rain, rain, rain!

Hello PVMers! I want you all to know I've been thinking of you (new staff and campers especially!) and praying for your summer to come. I had the pleasure of visiting recently and seeing the beauty of God's hand watering the land. It rained a lot. Nearly every day. Now, I enjoyed it (most of the week) but it is my hope that you all don't have any weeks this summer that are like that. Staff training included.

God bless you, my brothers and sisters! I pray that your time this summer will serve to bring you closer to our Father, so that you may know the hope to which you are called (ephesians 1:18) ever more clearly.

Now get out there and have some fun!

a face lift!

Hard working volunteers from Lexis Nexis are out here all this week beautifying our Ministry Center by working on the roof, windows, paint, carpet, circuts, and kitchen space. Thanks, guys!

2006 Staff Email #3

Sent 5/1/06
Greetings 2006 Staff!

I'm adding more and more of you to the list everytime I write! If anyone hasn't receive the first 2 emails, you can read their content right here on the staff's blog, "The PVM Staff Lounge." It's also a good way to post messages to each other or voice your thoughts and ideas about the summer. (If you are new staff members, just put your thoughts into the comments section of an existing post, or email it to me and I'll post it for you).

I know many of you are finishing or taking finals this week, and some still have a few more weeks to go. Camp is getting very very close- training week begins 3 weeks from this Thursday!
Mailing
I just sent a mailing out last week to everyone's permanent addresses. If you are away at school, I understand that you won't have a chance to look at them until after you finish finals and move back, so I am attatching digital copies of the cover letter (notice that one has dates and forms for Junior Staff and the other for everyone else). It instructs you to sign and return one copy of the contract by May 1 (today). Obviously since some of you won't receive it until sometime this or next week, just return the contract ASAP. The other forms can just be brought with you when you come to camp.

Prayer
Please keep the students at Taylor University (including a few of our current and past summer staff) in your prayers. Several Taylor students and 1 Taylor staff member died in a car accident this past Wednesday. You can read more about it here and prayer request from Kat posted on Lance's blog.

Finally,
I have another article for those of you who are hungering materials to prepare your heart and mind for this ministry adventure that is lying just around the corner. One article relates to teens and youth culture, the other to dynamics among fellow summer-staffers.

His,
amber

2006 Staff Email #2

All past PVM staff: You are welcome to respond to any of the questions (especially #5) to help make this year's staff training as beneficial as we can!

Sent 4/12/06
2006 PVM Staff,

I'm in the process of planning 2006 staff training week and assembling pre-training packets to be mailed next week. The following 5 quick questions (below) will help me decide what areas to focus on during staff training. I would appreciate any input in order to make our time together as most beneficial as possible! If you have any options on these topics, please reply via email. Thanks!

Pre-Training Survey
1) Which 2 or 3 spiritual topics/ disciplines would you most like to work on together during training?
- Communicating your faith
- Leading camper devos/ Bible study
- Leading someone to Christ
- Discipleship/ mentoring relationships
- Christianity and American culture/ youth culture
- Christianity and world cultures/ religions
- Christianity and science
- Chrisitanity and the arts
- Apologetics (tools to defending Christian faith)
- Discerning God's will
- Dealing with doubt
- Dealing with pain
- other: _____________________

2) Which 2 or 3 skills or topics relating to campers would you most like to address during staff training?
- Creative "off the cuff" games and activities
- Understanding child/teen behavior characteristics
- Counselor role in camper discipline
- "Counseling" skills (listening, helping campers through problems)
- Understanding bullying
- Understanding eating disorders
- Understanding depression
- other: _______________________

3) What (if any) aspect of camp are you most nervous about?

4) What aspect are you most excited for?

5) What was the most beneficial part of staff training in years' past (or if this is your first summer at PVM, do you have suggestions from a similar type training or conference)?

in His service,
amber

Earth Day

Did you know that PVM does Earth Day? Last Thursday, Preble County celebrated Earth Day PVM style, as we hosted over five hundred 6th graders, along with dozens of teachers and volunteers. In addtion to PVM's own reptiles, presentations from professionals througout the county covered recycling, soil and water, animals, vegetation, and more. But the coolest part for me was seeing the grounds once again FULL of people and hearing it buzz with voices.

There's a lot going on this spring, and we're so thankful to all of you out there who have been volunteering with work projects and teen events, helping on the adventure course, planning program in your spare time, and praying for the people and ministry here. There's still ways that you can be a part of things before summer hits full swing, so if you wanna come out and help, let us know!

One month til summertime!!

hey guys. i wanted to ask you guys for prayer. my cousin (chris) was rushed to the hospital today because he passed out. when he got there he started having seizures. they did an MRI and they found a large spot on his brain. they still dont know what it is and i dont know anything else yet. everyone in my family (besides me and my sisters) is down at the hospital. please be in prayer for us and for chris in particular. thanks guys. i really appreciate it.

2006 Staff Email #1

This is a copy of an email that has already been sent to incoming staff for 2006. I'll continue posting emails here, as they contain prayer requests for the summer and upcoming events for the spring. (Sent 3/29/06)

Pray
Please be in prayer that God provides us with quality male counselors and instructors for our rock and paintball programs. If you know of anyone who might fit one of these positions this summer, please put them in touch with camp!

Begin praying for this summer's campers. I know its difficult when they're just blank faces right now, but ask God to begin preparing your heart to love them, and preparing their hearts for the work he has in store at camp this summer. A portion of the staff website says:

Choosing to come to a place like PVM is a choice of action ... it requires sacrifice, balancing priorities, and even a level of risk-taking. More specifically, when you choose to serve at a place like a summer camp, you are choosing to love. You're choosing to go out of your way to give a gift to other people, to show them compassion and charity and to serve their needs. I John 4:19 says that "We love because He first loved us."

This is extremely important to remember, because it will help you understand exactly what the root of your love is. Without His sacrifice and love for us, we would not be able to serve kids at a summer camp. Hey, without Him we're nothing at all! It all comes back to God, and it's vital to know and understand that before considering any other reasons. It's like adoption ... when a couple decides to adopt a child, they must "pre-love" that child even before they meet her. They must prepare a home that is suitable, go through mounds of paperwork, and set their hearts on caring for the child wholeheartedly. By the time the child comes, she is welcomed into the family, having been loved for months (or even years) already. That's how God loves us (see Ephesians 1:5) ... and that's how we can love the campers.

Stuff from camp
I'm in the process of putting together a mailing that will include some additional things to help you prepare for this summer, including a few forms, details about training, and some things to read before you arrive. It will be mailed out in the next couple of weeks (by mid-April).

Volunteering Opportunities
If you're itching to come out to camp, or maybe haven't been here and want to see the grounds and schmooz with some future staff-mates, there are several volunteering opportunities coming up!

- Work Day Saturdays: During many of the Saturdays this spring, we will be out here doing some of the outdoor labor that needs to happen in order to get the grounds ready for the summer. Call ahead to see if there's something already going on that Saturday to join in on (this Saturday at 10am, for example!), or if you'd like to bring out a group of friends for a service project, we'd love to arrange something for you!

April 20 (Thurs.)- Zipline 3:30-5:30pm- We still need a few helpers!
April 22 (Sat.)- SLAM Jam (Teen event). 5:30-9:30 at Eaton YMCA.
April 23 (Sun.)- PVM Open House- ALL WELCOME!
April 29 (Sat.)- Zipline, Climbing Tower.(time TBA)
May 6 (Sat.)- Zipline (time TBA)
May 20 (Sat.) SLAM Jam (Teen event). 5:30-9:30 at Eaton YMCA.

Contact David about workdays; contact Amber about the others.

Thanks, all. We have already begun praying for you here. I hope that God is leading you through experiences this semester to preapare you more and more to love like He loves. I look forward to see you soon!

What it did in Michigan last week..

I thought you all may like to see some winter weather, since the south hasn't seen much (I imagine) lately... Oh, and that's ice making the trees so spectacular...They were all totally covered in it!