Closing

Well, I can't believe that I'm home from Tennessee. After the last group of campers left, my staff went out into the county and finished all the projects that campers didn't complete and closed down camp. Then we moved out of Baker (which remember is just a seasonal camp) and into Pines for a few days of closing activities. I celebrated with my staff, and even got to show my Dad around the service area on Saturday! Here are a few pictures of the highlights:

The office, all empty again!

My staff wearing our staff shirts. 

Me at a waterfall I went to with my Dad

My staff at the Closing Service.

I've been home for two days now and am still processing all the amazing experiences I had this summer. I was very blessed to be able to serve God at Mt. TOP this summer, and I'm excited to figure how I will continue to apply the theme of "Faith Works" to the rest of my life. This will most likely be my last blog post, so I want to thank everyone reading this for your prayers and support this summer. It has really been a huge blessing to me during my time at Mt. TOP. Thank you so much!

All the best,

Stacy

SP 7 Recap

Hello!

Well, my last camp week has come and gone. Overall, SP 7 was a great way to end our summer. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week: 

A picture of my whole staff on Sunday before campers arrived!

Monday we did worship at the gate! It was nice to change it up and worship
in a different setting.

My friend Shellee, who was on my staff last year,
came to visit on Tuesday and helped me set-up worship!

The weather was nice on Friday, so we actually had a real campfire!

Here is a picture of my staff setting up for our last Fishhook worship on Friday.

Having the last group of campers leave is always bittersweet, but I try to focus on all the work we've accomplished this summer. While I love having campers, I know that they all have to leave to apply what they've learned at Mt. TOP in their hometowns. For the rest of this week I'm closing camp, and then on Wednesday I'll move back to Mt. TOP's base-camp for a few days of closing before leaving on the 4th. I can't believe the summer's almost over!

SP 5 Recap

Hello!

Another camp week has come and gone, so it's time for a weekly recap! Overall, SP 5 was an awesome week. We had a lot of new churches in camp, and it was really rewarding seeing them learn what Mt. TOP is all about as the week went on. Here are some pictures of my weekly highlights:

Before

After

This banner was part of the worship we did on Monday. When the campers entered worship, the banner looked like it does in the photo on the left. Then after the message (which was on perseverance, Monday's theme) as a response the campers dipped their hand in paint and covered the word "trials" to symbolize pushing through times of struggles with God's help. Then the staff peeled off the tape I had put on the banner before I painted "trials" to reveal the word "faith" to show that when we persevere we grow in faith and become closer to God. It was one of my favorite worships this summer!

Since this past Thursday was 4th of July, we all dressed up in patriotic clothes for HUM Day. One of the camp rules is no fireworks, but the staff put on a "human firework show" where we all acted like different types of fireworks.

One of my jobs on Friday is to facilitate campfire. At campfire, campers perform skits, songs, poems, etc... that showcase the experiences they've been through during the week. We usually build a bonfire, but since it was raining, we had to have campfire in the Pavilion (but I did draw a fire as a substitute). 

One of my favorite parts of the week was when my friend Robyn, who was on my staff last year, came for a surprise visit! I was so excited to see her, and very blessed that she got to attend Friday worship. It's crazy how some many things have changed since last summer, yet it's so easy to fall back into a rhythm when you reconnect with old friends!

Finally, here's a picture of Friday night worship. It's definitely one of my favorite worship setting this summer!

That's it for now! On Wednesday, I return from break and begin preparing for my last week of campers. I can't believe that the summer is nearing an end. It seems like just last week I was arriving for training. Time certainly does fly!

All the best,

Stacy

SP 3 Recap

Hello!

My second group of campers have come and gone, and I can't believe I'm almost halfway through the summer! SP 3 (which stands for Service Project Week 3, the third week campers are here) went really well. I was really excited about this week because I had been campers with several of the churches who came, so I knew a lot of people from the community. So, without further to do, here are some of my favorite pictures from the week!

My entire staff! Top row: Me, Ben, Jayke
Bottom row: Tyler, Mary, Rachael, Victoria, and Jacob

Mary facilitating a game on Sunday.

The setup for  Friday night worship.

Staff huddle during Saturday's closing circle.

Me with two of my campers I've known since I was a camper!

My staff playing volleyball Saturday night after campers left.

So that's SP 3! Overall, it was an awesome camp week. Over break I stayed with a local family and caught up on sleep, laundry, and Skype-dates with my friends back home. Tomorrow I start pre-camp for SP 5. Break was lovely, but I'm ready to get back to work!

All the best,
Stacy

HUM Day!

Hello!

I thought I'd do a quick post for you guys today and share a picture of my staff dressed up for HUM Day. At Mt TOP, we call Wednesday HUM day (Halfway Up the Mountain Day) because it is halfway through the camp week. To celebrate, the staff dresses up in crazy outfits for breakfast!

On the top row: Ben, Me, Jayke. On the bottom row: Tyler, Rachael, Victoria, and Jacob

I always like HUM Day because it gives me a chance to break out some of my crazy clothes. So far, this camp week is going pretty well. The camp community is awesome, and I'm excited to see what the rest of the week has in store for us!

All the best,
Stacy

Fish Camp

My first week of campers is over! This first week was a special week called Fish Camp. Fish Camp is for rising 6th graders to rising 8th graders. It runs from Tuesday to Saturday (shorter than a typical camp week), but Fish Camp campers ("fishies" as we lovingly called them) still do all of the same things as the 13-18 year olds who attend our main youth summer camp (YSM). Projects are just altered to be more appropriate for Fish Camp. For example, instead of building a porch fishies built a gate.  

Overall, it was an awesome week. It was incredible to see how excited the campers were about everything we did. From the games, to the nightly sharing, to worship, the fishies were always ready to participate. Here's some of my favorite photos from the week!

The setup for our opening worship on Tuesday.

Campers trying to make a paper airplane as part of a game on Tuesday.

How quickly can you hammer nails into 1x?

Campers playing a game on Thursday.

My staff wearing our Fish Camp shirts and making the "Fish Camp symbol" with our hands.

After campers left on Saturday, we tied up loose ends around camp and then went to a local bluegrass festival for R&R (which stands for "rest and relaxation". Every Saturday evening our staff gets to do something fun after a full week of work). Then after church on Sunday, I left for break. I met my family at Lake Norris and had a fun few days hanging out with them and enjoying the water.

My siblings and I on our boat.

Yesterday I returned to camp to start preparing for the 115 campers that will be arriving on Sunday. Hopefully the next week of campers will go just as well as Fish Camp went. As always, thank you so much for all your prayers and support.

All the best,

Stacy

 

Staff Office

For the last two days I have been cleaning and setting up our staff office. This is the first thing that a Program Manager does when they begin the summer. It was quite dirty after not being used for 9 months, but now I have it up and running! Here are some photos.

The Before Photos:

And The After Photos:

As you can see, I hung a lot of information on the walls, and just generally made it a more livable space. It may not look that exciting, but this is where I'll be spending most of my days this summer. I'm really happy with the results, and can't wait for all the craziness that will happen in this office!

All the best,

Stacy

Training Recap/Commissioning Service

Yesterday marked the official end of staff training. I learned a lot that will (hopefully) help me this summer. However, I'm quite happy to be on break and not have to be in the dining hall at 7am for breakfast. Here's a quick recap of what I've been doing since I last posted.

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday:

The tree I painted for Sunday/
Friday worship

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were the busiest days of training. We spent most of the time in KYJ (Know Your Job) sessions that focused on different aspects of our job. For example, one of my KYJ sessions was about how to lead a program meeting. A program meeting is a meeting I lead everyday at camp during which my MCs and I plan worships. So during the program meeting KYJ, I learned how to facilitate planning worships and how to steer my MCs in the right direction. During another KYJ session I painted a giant tree on a sheet for our Sunday and Friday worships. You'll have to stay tuned to figure out how it's incorporated into worship!



Saturday:
Saturday was a day of celebration. I'd been looking forward to Saturday all week because this is the day that we were able to move to Camp Baker. Training is at the other camp, Cumberland Pines, so on Saturday Baker staff moves all of our things (plus the Mt TOP trucks) to Baker where we will be spending the rest of the summer. I was so excited to see Baker again for the first time since last summer. Somehow, I just don't quite wrap my head around the fact that I'm on staff until I make to Baker Mountain.

The truck caravan driving to Baker.

All of Baker staff outside the lodge.

Me in front of the staff lodge.

Name-tag photo of my staff's management.

Then, after we unloaded everything at Baker, we spent the rest of the day bonding as a staff. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then went to Beersheba Porcelian, a Mt. TOP staple. Beersheba Porcelain is a pottery store run by the Mayhews out of their home. It's an idylic setting with ponds and flowers all around the property. Mr. Mayhew sits on his porch and makes all of the pottery. There's also a mountain overlook down the road where we had to take some the classic Mt. TOP staffer name-tag photos.

Finally, Saturday night we had commissioning service where all the summer staffers are commissioning to do God's work during the summer. It's a special worship where we celebrate Holy Communion and receive an olive-wood cross and a fishhook pin. The olive-wood cross symbolizes our ability to weather many storms with God's help because olive trees are very hardy, and the fishhook is the symbol of Mt. TOP, based on Matthew 4:18-20. Of course, there was also time for a staff picture!

My staff at Commissioning minus Tyler who was sick.

Sunday/Today:

One of my Walmart purchases. Every
Program Manager needs some smelly markers!

Finally on Sunday morning we cleaned the camp and gathered for a closing circle where we reflected on the training experience. Then we all left for break. I'm staying with three of my friends at the home of one of the Friends of the Ministry, people in the community who open up their homes to staffers who live too far away to go home during breaks. So far we've gone to the local flea market, made a quick stop at Walmart to get things we forgot, and a whole lot of nothing. There's a joke (which is usually true) that the only things Mt. TOP staffers want to do on their breaks are sleep and do laundry. Tonight I will head back to camp to get ready for pre-camp which starts tomorrow morning. I can't believe that the next time I'm on break I will have already had my first week of campers. There's so much to do, but I can't wait!

All the best,
Stacy

Hello From Training!

Hi!

The overhead sign welcoming to Ohio
as I was driving back from college.

The last few days have been very exciting for me. On Friday I finished school, then I packed up my dorm, drove to Cincinnati, unpacked, repacked, and drove to camp! It was certainly a whirlwind couple of days, but I'm happy to have arrived safe and sound at training.

Today was an especially fun day at training because it was staff reveal, which meant I found out what Ministry Coordinators (MCs for short) would be on my staff. Mt. TOP is composed of four staffs (two for each camp). Each staff has one director, one field manager, one program manager (that's me!), and five MCs. We come to training knowing which directors and managers will be together, but MCs aren't divided into staffs until mid-way through training (today!).

I am so excited that I finally know everyone who I will be working with this summer. After staff reveal we spent the day doing staff-bonding activities like building steps for the new cabin and the low-ropes course. The low-ropes course was definitely my favorite. I felt like we were really able to come together as a staff and work as a team to accomplish the tasks. For the next three days we will be learning more details about our specific jobs, and then on Saturday we have Staff Commissioning. Can't wait to learn what else God has in store for me this summer!

My staff on the low-ropes course.
From left to right: Victoria (MC), Rachael (MC), Jayke (Field Manager)),
Me, Mary (MC), Jacob (MC), Ben (Director), and Tyler (MC)

All the best,
-Stacy

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Camp Baker

During the summer, Mt. TOP actually runs out of two camps, Camp Pines and Camp Baker. This summer I'll be working at Camp Baker, and I couldn't be happier. Although Pines has it's own benefits (like a big field to play games), I'm truly a Baker Lover. So in celebration of the wonderful Camp Baker, I thought I'd do a Top 10 list of why it's my favorite out of the two camps.

Me and my fellow staff member on the Staff Lodge porch

1.  I get to live in the beautiful staff lodge which has a huge porch and is conveniently attached to our staff office.

2. The awesome Baker kitchen staff.

3. Nine-square and volleyball are so much more exciting when there's the threat that a loose ball may go rolling down the mountain.

4. The Side Porch is perfect for playing Octoball.

A game of Octoball

5. The gorgeous Worship Center surrounded by trees.

6. The camper cabins have bathrooms inside of the cabins rather than in a separate building, which makes the campers happy. Happy campers=happy staff!

7. Everything is close together. The Pavilion and Dining Hall are attached to each other.

Campers at the Prayer Dock

8. Physically being on the edge of a plateau makes all the references to the "mountain top" seem even more relevant.

9.Worships at the Prayer Dock.

10. It's the camp I attended when I was a camper, so it's filled with great memories from past years.


13 more days until I'm on the mountain!

All the best,
Stacy

Welcome!

Hello!

The worship center at Camp Baker,
where I'll be working this summer!

I'd like to welcome to you all to my blog! I started this blog so I could keep people updated as I work at Mt. TOP this summer. Hopefully it will give you a bit more insight into what life is like serving on staff! 

This summer I will be working at Moutain T.O.P. as a Program Manager with the Youth Summer Ministry (YSM), Mountain T.O.P. (Tennessee Outreach Program) is an interdenominational, non-profit Chirstian mission dedicated to rural life ministry in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. As a Program Manager, I will be charge of things that happen inside of the camp including planning of evening activities and worship, in camp communication, and office organization. This will be my second summer working at Mt. TOP. I decided to return after learning that this summer's theme was "Faith Works" based on James 2: 14-17 and feeling the call to help other people gain a greater understanding of God as others have done for me. I am so excited to see how God's hand touches people through this ministry, think up crazy camp games, answer lots of phones calls, learn new praise songs, and set up a hundred candles for worship each night. 

A picture of me and my staff from last year

I'm excited to use this blog to share all the light-hearted things that happen this summer as well as more serious ways that I see God at work. I'm so thankful that I have this opportunity to serve God this summer, and I can't wait to see where he leads me. 

21 more days until I'm on the mountain!

All the best,

Stacy