The team arrived in Barcelona (via JFK) without any major hiccups! All our luggage arrived safely, and even though not everyone got an adequate amount of sleep on the plane, the excitement of camp carried us through! It was also so great to finally be reunited with Libby as she met us at the Barcelona airport after her European adventures. With a team of 14, the Dodrills and Stoughs needed their entire fleet of vehicles at their disposal to transport all of us and our luggage to camp, though first making a stop in Villa Franca for breakfast, coffee, and some groceries for the weekend before camp begins.
Saturday afternoon was spent with some people enjoying the pool and others taking naps. There was a thunderstorm that blew through the mountains and knocked out the power at camp for a few hours, but we still just enjoyed being together. After the storm was done and the weather cooled off, Jenn Stough in her blessed optimism took our team on a “25 minute hike” that lasted about 2 hours and included some bouldering and slight rock-climbing. It was beautiful weather to be hiking in, and some great views were seen, with only a few minor injuries.
Saturday night, in anticipation of a week of camp food, Isaac Stough and a team of volunteers utilized the kitchen and a giant camp wok to cook us up some delicious stir-fry and rice for dinner. The great food continued in the morning with a more traditional American breakfast of potato hash and scrambled eggs. Caleb said they were the best meals he had had at camp in his three years of coming here, and I don’t think he was wrong. After breakfast the remainder of the Spanish team made their way up to camp and thus began the flurry of decorating the hallways, meeting spaces, and stairwells with balloons and decorations for this summer’s theme of “Dreamworks.” Campers began arriving around 5pm, and away we went!
Sunday’s theme was Kung Fu Panda, so as part of our evening activity, McKenna (a world champion in Taekwondo) taught everyone at camp a few basic moves, kicks, punches, and blocks, and then we used those moves as part of a game. Our two sumo guests (Jenn and Nathan) had a tough time following along, so they just resorted to dancing to “Kung Fu Fighting.” We finished off the night by hearing Daniel (interviewed by Mark Dodrill) share his testimony which centered around the idea of a time in his life when he realized he needed to surrender control of his life to Jesus and the challenges he was facing he knew he couldn’t do on his own. Most kids were asleep by around midnight or so, which is a blessing as it allowed the rest of us to finally close our eyes and rest.
We are thankful for the prayers from Faith Church and our vast team of supporters that have carried us through to this point. We are excited to see the ways that God will continue to use this team over the course of this next week. Continue to pray for energy, necessary nutrition, healthy water drinking habits, efficient use of sunscreen, open doors for spiritual conversations, open hearts to receive the good news of Jesus, and open mouths to proclaim the boldness of the hope that we have in Jesus.
Until tomorrow, Nathan (on behalf of the Faith Team).
