Our First Day of Camp (Monday)

MORE PICTURES BEING ADDED THIS AFTERNOON

Our first day of camp went SO WELL! We had a rushed breakfast since we could not get to it until 7a and had to hit the road by 7:15a. We met Ildiko at the Paulus Haz at about 7:30a to prepare for the day. We began by reading and talking through Proverbs 15:1-5. The team was challenged by the references to the tounge, focusing on encouraging one another throughout the day as we knew we'd be tested by anxiety, exhaustion and the need for patience. The team spent a good time in prayer lifting each other, the kids and the camp up in prayer. The last bit of time before the kids arrived for registration we spent reviewing the various plans and prepping the rooms.

The kids began to arrive around 8:40a in order to complete registration. While everyone arrived, we had them decorate their name tags with their team color and choose a water bottle to use during the camp. The kids are split into 4 different groups of English levels. In total we have 53 kids (and that was after Ildiko turned away 8 others on a waiting list due to space). Once all the kids arrived, Ildi ran through the 5 rules of the camp and then we introduced ourselves. Each of us said our name and then did a corresponding dance move (movie to come). It worked as a great ice breaker! Before breaking up into English classes, Zoli led us in "River of Life" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Nose".

The kids broke up into their four classes for an hour and a half of class. Upstairs we had the two most beginner classes with Lizzy, Sarah, Megan, Elliot and myself as the Americans. Vikki (Endre's wife) and Ildiko were our Hungarian helpers. Mike and Jackie were helped by Debbie (an American raised in Kansas who moved to Hungary several years ago and married here) with the most advanced kids. Some of them are fluent since they attend the ICSB which is taught entirely in English. The Miller's worked with Zoli with the intermediate kids. We all had great experiences going over how to introduce yourself and talking about our families.

English classes were followed by a short free-time in the ICSB gym playing four corners while lunch was setup. Lunch is caterred by a local restaurant. It is actually a 3-course meal! None of us remember having such a spread at Celebrate Summer... Today we had a soup, followed by chicken and rice, and then a crumbcake like dessert to finish it off. Janos started a contest each day for the kids to track who ate all of their soup (we're guessing that is generally undesirable by the kids).

Ildi followed lunch with a Bible lesson. Each day we are using a different body part to associate with the lesson. Today's was the hand and Ildi tied that into encouragement and helping one another. The entire lesson is in Hungarian.

Finally it was time to show off some mad dancing and basketball skills to the kids. Mike, Nathan, Endre, Janos, Beni, Marcell, and all of the future Hungarian (W)NBA players treked down the hill to the ICSB gym. The girls setup the upper room for the first dance lesson. Basketball went very well. We split up into 3 groups and did different stations. Mike ran a passing and shooting station with Endre and Beni. Nathan covered ball handling and defense with Marcell. I did lay-ups and rebounds with Janos. The kids seem to really enjoy the time. At the end of the station rotations we had the three teams race in relays and then have some free time. From what was shared it sounded like the dance went very well too. Elliot helped out with them, since he has some natural skills (which must have come from Uncle Mike). The girls were anxious about how it would be accepted since it was a little simpler than they expected, but it is working out great! I'm excited to see all the girls once they are given their ribbons on Friday to do the recital with.

By the end of dance and basketball we were all pretty spent, so we were glad that the last hour was filled with a craft and part of the Veggie Tales Jonas (Jonah) video. As the kids were being picked up at 4p, many of them grabbed their journal (this is the craft they are doing throughout the week, capturing different events from the day) to show their parents.

We made a stop by Interspar on the way back to the hotel to clean-up as some of the team was craving some good old fashion Hungarian junk food like paprika flavored Pringles and Poyllos (spelling?) which is like ricotta cheese covered in chocolate. The team cleaned up, the smallest member took a nap, and then we headed to the Kiss Haz (Janos and Ildiko's house) to have dinner. I love getting invited into their homes to see where and how they live. Janos walked us around his garden and gave us some fresh peaches and apple and try. It was sad to hear that he has had an ant problem which has actually killed his 20 peach trees (we ate some of the last he will produce for a while since the branch broke off in a recent storm). They'll plant again in the future since the bugs will likely move on. He also grows grapes and will try and make some wine in the years to come. Beni and Lilla also showed us their lofted room. Beni has been learning to play the drums for 6 months, so Mike and he played. We also met Bobo, their little Westy or 12 years. After dinner we discussed the first day. Overall, Ildi and Janos were very happy with how everything went. We talked about a few adjustments to try out on Tuesday, but were all very encouraged by the first day's success.