Thursday, 28 July 2011

goodbye Albany . . . hello New York and home sweet home

It was a very tearful goodbye on sunday to all the Albany staff who we had come to love and call family. After breakfast down at  Christ the King Center the team had to get ready for departing in three vehicles to take them down to Albany railway station, for a beautiful 2 and a half hour journey through the most beautiful countryside to Penn station in New York.
After negoiating our way to our guest house we dumped our stuff and headed into New York walking through central park to do some retail therapy - the team had lists in their hands and money at hand . . .  New York better be preapared. After a few hours shopping it was time for food in TGI Fridays. Then a bit of site seeing - the Rockafella tower to get a grreat view over the city (not so good for those scared of heights) . . . absolutely beautiful at night with the lights on New York city shiining brightly.
Then into Times square and getting our bearings for the onslaught of shopping the next day.
After a very hot and sweaty nights sleep or no sleep at all - as there is no air conditioning, we headed out for breakfast together. Then we separated our own way in groups of 4 or more to hit the city after saying goodbye to Julie - 'please don't leave us with Simon getting us to the airport and home!'
Shopping, shopping, shopping and yes even more shopping!! tired feet, empty wallets, soaked through by the rain but very happy now the dilema was to get all the stuff into our suitcases!
Subway to the train station train out to Newark airport and homeward flight . . . phew exhausting this travellin lark but home sweet home - well done Simon we knew you could do it!

Just a quick thank you to all our families, friends and churches who prayed for us and left wee notes for us THANK YOU so much it meant a lot to each one of us.
God was good to us and blessed us immensely through each day of our trip and sometimes just blew us away with what He was and continues to do in our lives.
Please please ask us about our trip and even ask us to speak in church we would love the opportunity.

the Albany Team 2011
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Thursday, 21 July 2011

the end is near!!

Wow what an amazing last few days. The team are well in the swing of things and the running of the camp and God has blessed us as a team with good health and no accidents, so far - keep praying:)

Camp is certainly keeping us busy with 70 overnight campers for the week and 28 day campers - you may think it's harder work doing the overnight campers but the day guys are definately not easy and are keeping Becky and Regan really busy, the rest of our team were needed for the overnighters.

As well as doing camp duties and basically being on call 24/7 our team also have the pleasure of helping with kitchen duties at the welcome centre were everyone gets fed (including guests at the Kings Inn), housekeeping duties at the Kings Inn of making beds, cleaning the rooms and cleaning every window in the hotel and occasionally gardening work - in the veggie plot and hay baling . . .  so we are keeping out of mischief (or at least that's what they are telling Julie!)

Today Thursday Bill (head Chef) made us a very special dinner tonight of fish and chips and gave a tear jerking speech (although Bill wont admit it there were tears in his eyes!) of how much the team have impressed him and his staff at their willingness to work very hard and always with a cheery smile and he wished us God's blessing.

It was extremely oppressive today weather wise as the breathing atmosphere reached 107 F - so there were lots of water sports today and plenty of water drinking.

Tonight was also talent night which was good craic - these young people are not shy at showing off their talents and letting us know how 'awesome' they are ( which they are!)

Three of the team have had the opportunity to totally step out of their comfort zones and stand up and give their testimonies - Ve, Tracy and Joy B  - (Becky hopes to be able to do hers tomorrow) as well as doing two sketches.It has been an amazing privilege to see not only these guys but the whole team be moved on and challenged in their faith.

We are one of the largest Irish youth teams sent out and have made our presence felt in our own style. . .

We pray that God would continue to use us to be a blessing to our american brothers and sisters and the young people we have grown to love will 'Choose life' (the theme of the camps)in all its abundance from God,

signing out for the night
Julie

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Goldrush

Since i'm a day camp councilor this week, i'll give you a taste of my day. Up at 7am for a shower and down to meet some of the campers to take the kids to breakfast, but most had already eaten so Regan and i ate with the overnight campers. I had planned to go to the healing service but day camp was seriously understaffed so i couldn't go. Sadface. But we played a game of Braveheart, which is basically tag rugby but you get to yell "Freedom!!!!" at the start. There was a free for all round where i had no mercy and won against all the kids.
After that was arts and crafts where we made ginger bread houses, some just won't forget that it was christmas last week. Some were awesome, the kids all had loads of fun and even though they weren't exactly works of art, they sure did taste good! American candy sure is good too!
I was able to take the lead on the bus singing the bear song, the moose song and even little red wagon on the way to waterfront and fishing (where the kids caught 7 kids between the 13 of them!)
Afternoon blast was a little bit more difficult with the day campers than the overnight campers since the kids are a bit younger and don't have too long an attention span, so it's a bit of a challenge trying to keep them from kicking Father Tyler and trying to run away.
But luckily the day campers don't stay all day and we were able to join the overnighters for dinner. Before that though, we had to prepare for the game. 5 of us were given cans of gold spray paint to cover rocks, twigs, leaves, flowers, anything we could find for GOLDRUSH. Another councilor thought it would be fun to spray my shoes gold. -_-
The game was AWESOME. There were some bandits (that was me!), sherifs and gold miners. The miners had to find the gold things, the bandits chased them with water pistols to steal the gold and the sherifs went after the bandits. Everyone got thoroughly SOAKED. It was a great night all round. :D

PS. Hi Anna and Robert :)
Becky xx

Monday, 18 July 2011

Monday, Monday...

Up we got, after not nearly enough sleep, to begin our first full day with out new group of campers.
Last weeks campers who were asleep by 10pm seem to be a distant memory in comparison to the nocturnal 11-14 year olds. We'll have to work extra hard during the day to tire them out to ensure a decent nights sleep soon!

Today we had our first experience of american rain. It's like our rain, but warmer.
The change in weather didn't put a dampener on our activities. (excuse the pun), we still went down to the lake, played tag rugby (despite the americans lack of understanding), went fishing, made bracelets, did archery and plenty of other activities. It was like being at summer camp at home.

For dinner we had 'Cheeseburger Pasta', which looked and smelt like dog food, and after our interesting meal we headed to Worship where Ve gave her testimony, which was very brave and encouraging for both the campers and the other councillors.

Our evening is being finished off with a game of 'Braveheart' before devotions and bed.

Today has been a good day and I have enjoyed getting to know the kids.
Thanks for all the comments and encouragements so far. It's been great to hear from home.
Feel free to send donations to the Simon Henry & Jonny Sykes Designer Clothing Fund, C/O Beaver Cross Camp, Greenwich, New York.

God Bless,
Rachel xox

Sunday, 17 July 2011

First day of 6-8 grade campers

After watching the extended version of the first Lord Of The Rings until 1:30 this morning was a slow and tough start for most of the group today.

After heading to church we eventually helped clear all the christmas decorations that have been hanging at the pavilion since we celebrated christmas on wednesday, but thankfully both the american and irish councilors were on the job so many hands made light work and we were finished in no time.

Once we finished we had to prepare for the kids to arrive, but very quickly we were shocked to see many of the kids from last week arriving with their older siblings to say their goodbyes.

It seemed to take forever for the kids to arrive and get settled in but soon we were heading to the lake (or the Waterfront as Beaver Cross calls it) for the swim test which took forever seeing as there were roughly 70 children that had to take the test.

During dinner Chris, Jonny M, Becky, Charlotte and I (Ricky) were asked to help out at a concert 5 minutes which was in aid of Lougerhrig's disease which slowly breaks down the body and the person slowly loses body function. The person performing used to play with his friend for many years until the friend was diagnosed with Lougerhig's disease.

The performance was pretty good even though he decided to finish the concert then start playing again on two separate occasions. Putting that aside it was a great concert for a good cause and our help was greatly appreciated.

We came back to Beaver Cross as the kids were playing capture the flag and the red team was definitely better than the blue team.

Hopefully this week will run as smoothly as the last did and I hope that the kids will leave the camp having a strong faith in God.

signing off
Ricky

Saturday, 16 July 2011

Nice tan lines :)

Hello to everyone who is reading right now...and Mum and Dad I would like to clarify that I am safe and well so no more embarassing comments please!! Luckily for us today was  our day off...meaning no babysitting until tomorrow! Started the day at 10.30 with a spot of breakfast in the Slodge (the staff Lodge) and then travelled into Greenwich for some sight-seeing of the local K-mart and Dunkin' doughnuts. We were fascinated by such things as Justin Bieber schoolbags and the fact we could buy 6 bottles of powerade for $2.99.
We then went to the local Dunkin' doughnuts and bought 6 quality doughnuts along with an American equivalent of a slush puppy...I may tell you now that everything in America seems to be super sized...from their 'candy' to their bottles of body wash...everything is HUGE!!
Carrying on, we then returned back to camp to get changed into clothes to go to the lake. We walked in the heat to the Beaver Cross Lake for sunbathing and swimming..even though the water is nasty. Apart from being bitten alive and burning to a crisp we had a good time and then some of the men showed off their football skillz before tea...just had a full feed and am logging off :)

God Bless...missing you all...and Big Leigh and C-swizzle I am not a lost case don't be freaking out :)

Lots of love
Regan xx

Yeah Guys check out our new photos . . . see below the blogs!

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Beaver Talent

Good Morning or Night to all at home in good old Norn Iron. Today was another sunny one in Beaver Cross and packed full of activities. You may wonder at the title of this blog, let me explain.. today we had a talent show where all the campers and some counsellors showed off their various talents (thats another story on its own) from stand up comedians to dancing and singing Beaver Cross seen it all and absolutely brilliant. the kids are amazing and full of life it will be sad to see them go but its also exciting that we have a another full week with the next set of campers :D bring it on! As a team we have had various jobs to do from kitchen duty to hospitality we have done it all with happy and willing hearts. I have also came to the conclusion that America is big cheese fans trust me we had loads today. Hope the weather has been good to you all at home and you haven't been burnt too much!

Well what can I say, had an easy morning, doing arts an crafts! Resting up for a hard days work at the cornfield garden, which had to build a fence around to keep wild animals out. Absolutely scorching, completly roasted. But was a brilliant experience and enjoyed it big time! Then there was worship which was sooo amazing, the Lord was in the presence an spoke 2 alot of young people! We had a camp fire with sing alongs an we had smours :)!! Ended the night with devotions, last night with the campers sooo sad :(!!! Well hope ya r all having a blast in sunny Norn Ireland enjoy!!!


love lots Joy B and Tracy Fisher <3

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Christmas spirit was shared around camp today as we had our Wacky Wednesday. We had green eggs and ham for breakfast and played lots of Christmas games during the day. The day camp counsellors enjoyed a morning activity of fishing, with the best part being the catching of a turtle! The evening ended with a great game of lifesize Christmas cluedo, where we had to find out who stole Christmas(and it wasn't the Grinch). All the counsellors were dressed as various festive themed characters, the highlight being Julie's Yeti outfit (she had no choice) although Simons elf outfit (complete with red and green tights) grabbed all the attention from the ladies (all under 10). We have been promised a thunder storm but as yet are really disappointed though it did get very windy today.

To the (Kilmore Road) Wells'
Having a great time, coping surprisingly well with the heat. Helped unload 3 trailers of hay with Sarah, was great but i got blisters (Simon and Julie made me visit the nurse!).  Got some good photos, might put some on the blog sometime. Hope all is well at home and Ruth got away ok.
Lots of love
Joy W

To the Mullans,
it's real good out here, roasting and tiring, but brilliant!!
The kids are just full of life and the counsellors are so enthusiastic! really enjoyable time and all keeping well. :)
talk to you all soon
Love to all
Zara Xx

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Snow is falling all around us......

Unusual title for this time of year in america you may think, but we have been preparing for christmas in July by setting up the outside areas in a Christmas theme complete with trees etc.
The day camp kids have been busy since they arrived until they left, to start of we went and played sports in the big field and then got the big yellow school bus!! to the water front and we played American Football, councillers versus kids. We will let you guess who won!!
As for the overnight campers, the ones in St Mark's cabin (the best cabin) slept suprisingly well last night, and when we woke up this morning there was no talking or noise, unlike yesterday when we were awakened ridiculously early. After breakfast we had "morning blast" which is a bit of worship and a talk. Then I (Jonny M) had to work in the kitchen for a while :( After that headed down to the water front for a while and canoed, found some turtles :D
To the McMurray family: Hope you're all well, btw food is pretty good :O
Big shout out to the McAleavey clan. hope the dogs are well and you too!!!!:)
having a great time keeping very busy and looking forward to some proper food.
Hope your all having a good time in the Italy and arent missing me, and dont forget the present! Hope no one is burnt yet aswell. From Chris :)

Monday, 11 July 2011

shattered... but not broken... yet

day two of the kids, everyone was up at 6... 5 hours too early!
Had a great very full first day, doing everything from tying shoelaces, throwing hay, gardening and washing dishes, an average day on the farm!  Yesterday we did our swim tests... everyone passed except Simon, thanks for the years of swimming lessons Mom!
Today, I (Rachel), spent my morning at the beach with a group of about 12 kids and my afternoon doing a high ropes course. It's about 5000000 degrees outside so the lack of shade was a bit of a nightmare. I also spent 3 hours washing up with Chris. We tried our best to keep a positive attitude but it's safe to say that we don't see our future careers in a kitchen!
Big shout out to the Sykes family living it up in the Med ;) Hope you got my texts about calling me, and put the two fish food stuff in the living room tank! Loving life in the USofA. Much love, peace out.
Charlotte ------> McGrath family.. Hope John's not eating the full tubs of ice cream and Rev. Ken shouldn't be wearing socks with sandals!
To Helen Wells etccccc...... Don't be missing me too much in Marbella; I know you're missing me loads and you need me there to make the family of 5 deals, but try to have a good time without me! Ps, Daddy, Joy and I were throwing hay today.. was just like being at home!! (Love Sarah, if you didn't guess)
Thats all folks
Love Charlotte, Jonny S, Sarah and Rachel
xo

Sunday, 10 July 2011

Getting stuck in !!

Sunday was a busy day for us all, up early for breakfast and an enjoyably different church service with the lovely Father Joe - what a legend ! after a quick lunch all the campers were arriving for the week so we had to make sure we knew what to do and where to be ! After our very competitive "swim test" (Which everyone passed but Simon mysteriously "failed" !!!) and some ice breaker fun with the kids it was time for dinner! 47 kids getting fed and watered in an orderly fashion is quite fun... its good to have rules ! These lovely American children are far from the shy and retiring Northern Ireland kids we may know... its keeping our Albany team on their toes !  Currently the team is split in half - one half leading the cabin overnighters and the others are on day camp duty which is 8-6 for kids coming just for daytime - they will swap these roles next Sunday when a new bunch of kids arrive. Everyone is loving the fun and fellowship and lots of new friendships with the other camp counsellors and the kids now that they are here to stay ! Weather has been fabulous and no bad sunburn as yet just a few insect bites ! Some of the team also bravely / stupidly walked for an hour last night to get ice cream from a local ice cream legend. Was it worth it ? Simon - "not really" ! tomorrow starts at 7am for the proper workers among us (Julie and joy wells we salute you!) and it will be a busy old week with lots of activities happening. Thanks for your prayers so far, keep praying that as we serve God wholeheartedly we will also be blessed.

signing off,

Simon Henry xo

Saturday, 9 July 2011

26 hours and still going

After getting our pick me up in Starbucks we headed for the plane to London which was a little bit bumpy but fine. We had some lunch in Heathrow and headed for a seven hour and eighteen minute plane journey. It was long and tiring, especially for those whose televisions were not working but we survived. Not many people were able to sleep so by the time we arrived in Newark and waited for two and a half hours for our bus we were very tired so caught up on about two hours of sleep. Since no cars were on the road at 2 am (NY time) we made it to the camp within three and a half hours, were allocated cabins with at least one other member of the team and slept till 11 am the following morning. Today we are taking it easy, meeting the staff and playing basketball and ultimate frisbee. Later today we will pick what activities we would be interested in helping with and hopefully have a look around the huge, beautiful site. Weather is great! Tomorrow the kids arrive at 2 pm and the team will be in cabins with the children. Everyone is well, tired but heathy. Everybody says hi!
Verity McDonald
pps please leave comments and keep praying for us.

Thursday, 7 July 2011

penultimate day . . .

Well here we go  . . . if we are not ready now we never will be.
Clothes washed and ironed - tick
Swim wear in - tick
Toiletries bought and not too heavy - tick
Wackey Wednesday outfits designed, made up - somewhat ready
Irish presents, chocolates for gifts - tick
Told friends and family about this blog - tick
passport and any medication , including own first aid - tick
tickets and anything else - see Julie

This is the start of our big adventure to serve God and others on our mission trip to Albany Diocese at Beaver Cross camp . . . we are not too sure what to expect but we are open anything (within reason and Julie allowing us to do it!)

'As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.' Psalm 18:30 NIV

Please continue to lift us up in your prayers that we would deepen our relationship with God through this trip and He would be our all and provider.

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

3 days to go . . .

We are the Down and Dromore Youth Team heading to Albany Diocese for two weeks and a few days and we set off really soon!
There are 17 of us on the team, ranging from 16  . . . to really old - Simon and even older - Julie; most of us are either 16, 17, 18 , 19 or 22!
We are going to be working alongside the summer camp staff at BeaverCross
http://beavercrossministries.squarespace.com
It is a really exciting time for us as we head out and experience an American Christian children's camp in all its fullness. the first week is a camp with children who would be in our Key stage 2 and the second are children who would be in our equivalent key stage 3.
We have met together over the past six months and hope we are ready to meet the challenges . . .
Please remember us in your prayers:

  • safe travel to and from Albany
  • health and safety
  • energy and strength
  • the children and staff
  • our own personal walk with God

Hopefully we will be able to keep you up to date with all our exploits over the next few weeks. so please keep checking in and reading our blog and leave us some encouraging comments.
Blessings
Albany youth team 2011