A CHANCE TO IMPACT ETERNITY
Above is a look at last year's summer staff, such a great group of young people here to serve the Lord. This was taken during staff training where they drink through a fire hose of learning how to be a great counselor, specific skills to their department and just bond together as a staff. Most are from MN, but we do get some out of state and sometimes even out of country. It's kind of cool how technology has made the world small in that regard.
So these young people give up a lot of time in the summer. Anywhere from three weeks to the whole summer depending on position. Collegiate positions do get paid but if you have ever been on a ministry staff, you know you aren't signing up to get rich. That is so good and not at the same time. It's so good because the people that are willing to serve for a whole summer for not a ton of money are so committed to the Lord and serving our campers. The down side of it is that while these people are doing some of the most important work in the world, it would be awesome to reward them as such financially. But that's not where their reward comes from, obviously. Anyone who has been on summer staff will tell you... It is so much work but so worth seeing a kid light up when the Gospel finally resonates.
At the end of each week in summer, we have a wrap up meeting, part of it is to share what God has done. Time and time again these young people realize and share how hard it was, how God worked, and how blessed they feel. Through this summer experience where they pour everything out, pretty much every time they feel so blessed as they grow in their walk. That's also part of what we are doing here, training up Christian leaders of tomorrow... We have this conversation all the time, I just had one in best buy with a former staff a couple days ago... when they go away from camp and work somewhere else, it seems so easy and they are thankful for the work ethic they have learned. Fun to hear. But more importantly, on the job or off, they start to have ministry eyes and serve God where they are however they can.
It's impossible to quantify what impact that these summer staff have. We know of a ton of kids give their live to Christ each summer, and then there are all these little seeds that get planted, or stakes that have been driven. This was me as a camper. One of the first posts of this blog tells the story but it was a clarifying moment with a counselor that cared, right outside of Cedar cabin. These staff members make such an impact for the kingdom! PTL (Praise the Lord)!
If you or someone you know should be a part of summer staff, we have already been taking applications, interviewing and hiring for 2019. Application forms can be found here- http://shamineau.org/forms/ as well as a link to the online app. We have opportunities for students finishing 8th grade to college age and will hire around 200 staff. Any questions, let us know. program@shamineau.org.
As always, please keep this in your prayers as we look forward to another awesome summer!
