Camper Information Meeting

Tonight we held the camper information meeting at the Village Park. It’s a wonderful area (perfect for outdoor YL club meetings) near Yousef’s parents' house. About 50 kids and leaders showed up to play some games and get information about the camp next weekend. We set up the sound system and played a big game of musical chairs. We broke into 3 groups, collected 50 shekels from each camper and went over the packing list with the kids. One of the kids, Ilea, brought his 50 shekels (coins) in a bag. Here he is with one of his leaders, Isam.

Due to space at the camp (and to maintain a good leader-camper ratio), we have limited this first camp to 50 campers. One way to limit the number was to allow only one child per family to attend. Kids also have to pay 50 shekels (about $15 US), which for some is quite a lot of money to keep their name on the list. I loved looking at the list Yousef is keeping of the kids signing up for camp. It looks just like lists we have kept taking kids to camp, with payments, some scratched out and other names added, only everything is in Arabic. Several kids came to the information meeting hoping a space would open up if someone did not show or had not paid his/her 50 shekels. What a blessing so many kids are excited about the camp. It was great fun to see the kids having fun and hanging out with their leaders. It’s really exciting what God is doing here.

After the camper meeting, the senior leadership team met for several hours to continue putting the final details on the camp and pray for kids. We are renting space in cabins near the Dead Sea for the camp, but need to prepare meals for the camp working out of mini refrigerators in the rooms and a outdoor grille. There will be 6-7 of us acting as a "workcrew", cooking and serving typical Arab dishes. Fortunately, Alysia and I will have some help since I have very little experience cooking Arab food other than serving the hummus and pita chips I get at Costco! ;) Abir did teach me to make lebane (soft cheese spread) last week when we were at her house...so I have one dish under my belt so far.