YL Capernaum Everywhere

There is nothing like being in the front row seat watching Jesus pursue one of His kids. Being a part of that journey with Elena from campus visits, hangouts, club and this summer for a second camp trip was more than I ever imagined. God designed Elena with all sorts of fascinating layers but one thing I've learned is that she is an external processor but doesn't have many people in her life willing to listen to her many words. So from the moment she got on the bus to go to camp, we got to listen to all the ways she is processing Jesus’ love through the camp experience. The first year Elena came to camp, there was absolute shock about the love, acceptance and joy she began to see and hear, but this summer, she had a name to attribute all that love to. In the painful weeks of change she was experiencing in her life this past spring, she was crying out to Jesus and He provided the grace and comfort she needed. This summer, however, she was not afraid to ask the deep questi...

We often get to experience Christmas in July when we go to camp. We get Christmas in December, of course. But how about Christmas all fall long?! Yes, you heard us correctly! Our friends in Little Rock, AR are having Christmas club all semester long! They are focusing on the story of Jesus’ birth this semester, so thought they’d celebrate his birthday all fall long! What a fun way to keep the semester festive! You can see their club plans here ! A quick overview…. Club 1:  Christmas in Hawaii Club 2:  Reindeer Club Club 3:  Flannel Club Club 4:  Candy Club Club 5: Ice Club Club 6: Christmas Karaoke Club 7: Milk and Cookies Club Club 8: Christmas Potluck Planning to celebrate Christmas all semester long?! Send us your photos! We’d love to see you and your friends!

I remember the moment like it was yesterday.  I was walking across Southwind, night one of a Capernaum week.  All of the campers were moving from one event to club and I asked a girl if she was having fun.  She stopped in her tracks, jumped up and down, saying, “Yes, this place is the greatest!  Look they even have water fountains for us!” When I think about that moment, my mind floods with others that are so similar.  A girl who said her favorite part of camp was a hot shower.  A boy who couldn’t get past the fact that the kitchen made him a sandwich instead of the meal that was being served.  And on and on the list goes.  Our campers are overwhelmed with gratitude.  Whether it’s a small thing, like sandwiches and water fountains, or a large thing like a wheelchair that allows them to roll right into the beautiful, zero entry pool at Carolina Point, our friends swell with gratitude.  They ooze it from every pore; they express i...

Set up various games around the room and give the kids time to go to whatever they wanted, when they wanted. Leaders/buddies manned each station. Some station examples are bowling, corn-hole, knocking down pins, sack races, eating donut off string competition, face painting (buddies loved helping with this). Teach a “line dance” to Cotton Eyed Joe. It is SO FUN!!   Practice for a while and then dance to it all the way through. If you don’t know it it’s on YouTube.   Song: Keep our eyes open

Cary Collins is an artist in Little Rock, Arkansas that focuses on bringing scripture to life. Following the skills she taught in her lettering class, Amber Wladron has created additional scripture letters to share with her Capernaum friends during their small group time. Amber loves it because it is written as a letter to our friends from Jesus. These can be made by hand or you can use different fonts! This template of making scripture a letter to our friends has made us think about scripture differently and reminds us that it is written by God for them! 1001freefonts.com is a great resource for finding fonts! Cary makes beautiful work that can be found at https://carycollinsdesigns.com ! Feel free to create and upload your own scripture letters (as PDFs) to share here . Using the drive link will allow you to download a few letters that Amber has already created! We’d love to fill this drive folder with hundreds of verses, so please upload or share any that you create for you...