Yes, this was my first time as a camper with Carolina Cross Connection. A small hodge-podge group of us from different churches got together to form the “Church of Fun” and attend week 4 at Joshua Youth Camp in Albemarle. It was a great week of service, worship, new friendships and fun! Thank you to everyone who helped to break me in, especially my Christian Mission Group. The four young campers in our CMG taught me car games and made me laugh every day on our drive out to meet the family we were going to serve. And Dave, our fearless driver and leader, maneuvered Montgomery County country roads and taught me how to drive a nail in quicker and straighter! Together, the six of us tackled heat and rain, mud and bugs to help people with yard work, building a ramp and repairing a deck. Impossible tasks became possible one nail and prayer at a time!

I loved meeting the people we served as well as coming back to camp to hear stories about everyone else’s day as well. Worship was inspiring and surprisingly, I even enjoyed the volleyball tournament and fun in the field games! But my favorite part of the week?

The Daily Assignment

After morning watch devotion time there is a hint of anticipation that mimics Christmas morning. What is Ellen, our field coordinator, going to unwrap for our CMG to do today? That was my absolute favorite part of camp. I am constantly amazed at how God weaves and networks together our community contacts, the families we work for, staff members and then campers to form experiences that not only make a difference, but bring about transformation for everyone.

Yes, receiving our daily work assignment was my favorite moment. It was a refreshing break from the ordinary to give myself totally over to the leadership of the camp staff and to God. To be willing to say yes to whatever was in the folder Ellen held in her hands was exciting and refreshing. We woke up almost every morning not knowing what adventure God had in store for us. Where would we be setting the GPS to go? What would we be doing? Who would we be meeting? Where and when was God going to show up?

The week following camp I missed that excitement and anticipation greatly…But isn’t that what God actually invites us to every day? Each day when our feet hit the floor, we can ask God “What will I be doing for you today? Who will I meet? God, what experiences are you going to schedule for me this week?” While my field coordinator is not present with folder in hand, God is still orchestrating opportunities each and every day for me to share his love and grace and to be his hands and feet. It might be the opportunity to help the neighbor next door mow his lawn or the lady whose car won’t start at the post office. God has a daily assignment if we open our eyes and hearts wide enough to see it as it passes us in the parking lot, on the side of the road or as we walk down our own sidewalks. Sometimes, the adventure of serving others is right in our own households.

So thank you everyone at Carolina Cross Connection for not only providing me a new career this year, but an adventure this summer that I will never forget and hope to experience again and again. Thank you, God, for re-connecting me to the adventure that comes from daily surrendering and serving with whatever assignment God has in store.

If God places an opportunity or adventure for you to serve others during the year, share it with us! Send  a picture or note to krista@carolinacrossconnection.org. We would love to post it on our blog or Facebook page!  “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” - Hebrews 10:23,24

Camp Week 1: June 19 – 25
Camp Week 2: July 3 – 9
Camp Week 3: July 17 – 23
Camp Week 4: July 31 – August 6

Camper fees will be set and announced October 11, 2010, and registrations will be accepted soon thereafter. Stay tuned to the CCC Blog and our Facebook page for more news and updates as they develop.

And enjoy some entertaining outtakes from the staff…

…and…

…and one by a family we worked for…

If you have a video you’d like to submit, let us know!

Carolina Cross Connection Volunteer Opportunities

When you think of CCC, you often think of people wielding paint brushes and hammers. But, we could also use the gifts of people who know how to swing a stapler, clean an office, and collate the copies! Our new office in Concord has more space for volunteers to join us in our on-going work at CCC. We are especially busy with paperwork in May, but have office assistance and maintenance needs all throughout the year.  Check out these upcoming and on-going opportunities to serve with CCC.

May 13 & 14 and May 19 & 20: Summer Prep Volunteer Days

We will be preparing all kinds of paperwork and manuals for staff and campers during these days as well as sorting supplies.  Please email Krista@carolinacrossconnection.org if you would like to join us anytime from 10 am – 4 pm on those days.

On-Going Opportunities:

Landscaping Volunteers: Our new office comes with a beautiful back and front yard. We are looking for volunteers willing to help maintain the exterior of the office on a rotating schedule. This position comes with a perk: fresh lemonade and cookies!  Email krista@carolinacrossconnection.org if you or your church would be interested in serving with CCC in this way.

Office Assistants: Do you like to talk with people and process paperwork? If you can bravely banish solicitors and compassionately care for potential clients then we want you!  We are looking for office volunteers to help in the summer and beyond. This could include helping with organizing, copying, processing bulk mail, answering phones, cleaning, or public relations.  Ideally, we are looking for a person who can commit to volunteering weekly (anywhere from the hours of 10 am – 3 pm) for at least 2 hours at a time. Email krista@carolinacrossconnection.org if this sounds like you!

 Here are some pics of our new space!

The 2010 CCC Camp Directors

Adam, Maylin and Pierson Cline

Hey Macarena!

Krista & Taylor

Rob Neill & Adam

Thank you to everyone who helped, donated, danced, and dined at the 2010 Charity Ball. We raised $2,500 and had a great night of celebrating the past, present and future of CCC. Adam Cline, Executive Director, had the pleasure of introducing his expanded family (note the beautiful Taiwanese children, Pierson & Maylin, as well as neice, Darcy from China in pictures to come!). CCC Development Administrator, Krista Petty, shared thoughts from her first few months on the job. Here are some of the stories she shared about CCC:
When I took the job here about 4 months ago, I thought I had a really good idea of what this ministry was about: home repairs and summer camp. But things are not always what they seem… In the short amount of time I’ve been blessed with working at Carolina Cross Connection, I’ve some to see that CCC is home repairs, summer camp but so much more. We called this year’s ball the Blue and Gold for a reason. CCC really does chase the blues away for people and gives them hope and sometimes, it helps give them purpose as well. In my first month at the office, I’ll never forget talking with Joseph. Last summer, CCC campers from Camp Carolwood painted at his house…but more than paint on the walls, Joseph really got to know the group serving with him. CCC went to serve him and he, in turn, served our campers. One of the campers serving at his home was a teen mom and she was actually nervous to admit that. While talking with Joseph, she shared her life story with him and he accepted her, encouraged her and prayed for her. Joseph called me in January, not because he wanted us to come back out to do more work, but he wanted to find out what church she was from so that he could send a scholarship for her to come to camp again, in case she couldn’t afford it. At CCC everyone has an opportunity to give hope and share Christ’s love.
CCC also offers people a golden opportunity to learn how they can affect change and use their gifts not just for a summer, but for a lifetime. With God’s blessing, this will be our 23rd summer of service. If you look a little deeper, you will see even more than 23,000 campers and over 13,000 home repair projects completed in those 23 years…you will see hundreds of staff people learning servant leadership skills and thousands of adults and students gaining a true understanding of what it means to live in community with one another and love people different than themselves.
I think one of my favorite things to be a part of at CCC thus far has been staff interviews. I have seen how Carolina Cross Connection has spurred students on to love and good deeds well beyond the summer. Like Jenna Holoman…She is going to serve as a Program Coordinator at CCC this summer. She gave me permission to share a little of her staff interview with you. When we asked this 21 year old sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill what experience she has had working with teenagers and leading her peers, this is what she said. “I am in leadership with Relay for Life at my school. In this committee, it is my job to help hold fundraising events for cancer research.” Also, on her own, Jenna organized friends to go work for a lady who was unable to do home repairs on her own—an idea that was based off her CCC experience. Jenna says, “This one-time project has turned into a relationship between her family and ours and we often take them groceries and pray with them.”
I don’t know about many of you older adults in the room, but that is NOT what I was doing at 21. Jenna is just one of many CCC staff and leaders making a difference beyond the months of June and July. Our staff, alumni and campers go on to lead campus ministries, start their own Christian service camps, are youth directors around the country and missionaries around the world. They have interned on Capitol Hill, are teachers-of the year (2 of them in Cabarrus county this year, in fact) led groups like People Fighting Poverty, and run their own nonprofit ministries. They are worship leaders, benefit concert organizers, Angel Tree coordinators, sports camp leaders in Harlem, sorority chaplains, and financial supporters. Carolina Cross Connection is not just a summer home repair nonprofit…it is a catalyst for even greater Kingdom ministry to come. So thank you. Thank you for supporting it with your ticket tonight, with your auction purchases and especially your prayers. Here’s to 23 more summers of service and beyond!

One of these decisions was the task of deciding on “Triads,” that is, the combinations of Camp Directors, Lead Field Coordinators, and Lead Program Coordinators that will be stationed at each of our five camp locations this summer.  Decisions of camp assignments for other staff members will be made during our Staff Trianing, May 28-June 6.

Without furhter ado, here are the Triads and Camps for CCC 2010:

Camp Carolwood

• Camp Director:  Edward Ramsey
• Lead Field Coordinator:  Emily Smith
• Lead Program Coordinator:  Briana McLeod

Camp Loy White

• Camp Director:  Amy Bumgarner
• Lead Field Coordinator:  Windell Wilson
• Lead Program Coordinator:  Michele Magnuson

Camp McCall

• Camp Director:  Amanda Stafford
• Lead Field Coordinator:  Chris Gennosa
• Lead Program Coordinator:  Paige Patterson

Joshua Youth Camp

• Camp Director:  Tyler Joyner
• Lead Field Coordinator:  Daniel Kerr
• Lead Program Coordinator:  Kayla Petty

West Wilkes Middle School

• Camp Director:  Annie Hughes Carroll
• Lead Field Coordinator:  Alyssa Baker
• Lead Program Coordinator:  Emily Couch