Camp in the Spanish Mountians

So I just got back from 5 days of Spanish Children’s camp and it was a blast! The camp was in the beautiful Spanish country mountains right outside of Mercia. Every morning I went running as the sun began to rise over these gorgeous Spanish mountains and it was absolutely breathtaking and an amazing way to start each day.

The beautiful Mountians

It was very similar to American camp in the sense that we slept in tents and did similar camp activities such as zip lines, arts and crafts and playing sports. But there were also several differences. I got to experience the laid back style of the Spanish first hand at this camp. There was a schedule of activities for each day but except for meals nothing ever starting even close on time, which can be quite frustrating at first yet again I am learning to be patient and more laid back. Another difference was the meals including the time they were held and what was served during them. Breakfast was at 9 everyday but then we had to wait 5 hours to eat lunch at 2 and then wait another 6 hours to eat dinner at 8. I was a bit difficult to go such extended periods of time with out eating but I learned very quickly to fill up on bread when I had the chance at every meal. Now the food that was served at this camp was quite an experience.

 Here are a few of the meals that were offered during my stay:

-Pizza & an Omelet (this was one meal and these were paired together).

- Tortilla (a potato pancake sort of deliciousness) with hotdog wieners in tomato sauce (NOT GOOD).

-paella (yumm).

-Fish sticks and spaghetti (again served together as part of one meal).

- Rabbit stew (it was yummy until some one found the skull of the rabbit on their plate and then I lost my appetite).

- and a Spanish summer salad (ensalada verano) consisting of a combination of potatoes, olives, tomatoes, eggs and tuna. This looked like the most terrifying salad I had ever seen but it was delicious!

I had a great time at the camp for a million different reasons but it was just really cool to hang out with some Spanish kids and to get to know them. It was cool to talk about God with them and it was even cooler to hear Tiffany give her testimony in Spanish to all these kids. To me there is just something so beautiful about telling children about Jesus in a country half way around the world from my home in a different language. Worship was kinda funny too because almost all the songs were Spanish versions of our American worship songs and it was hard not to sing the English version. I had a great time playing soccer with the boys every day and that made me a hit because one I know how to play and I play “muy bien” according to the guys and also because my name is Chelsey which just happens to remind them all instantly of Chelsea FC the English soccer club. The kids loved to practice their English with us and loved to write use letters in their broken English.

The Campers

Ronnie (a camper) and I, we had to wear swim caps in the pool!

Camp was such an amazing experience and I am so thankful that God has allowed me to have such an encounter in my life. Although I didn’t get much sleep (these kids ran around until midnight and were up at 7am everyday!) I am very excited to leave tomorrow for the Canary Islands to work at yet another camp. Thankfully this one is an English camp so maybe I wont be as exhausted as I have been recently.