I'm Wide Awake

I've always connected and loved John 9. But I've never experienced it as much as I have than I have on this trip. The man in this story we can call victor. So victor was blind and Jesus spat in dirt, rubbed it on his eyes, told him to wash, and then he could see.

Over and over again Victor keeps telling people that he washed his eyes. I use to focus on Gods power and the fact that he takes things as simple as dirt and uses that to give that man sight. But no! When you read it the thing that is stressed is that he washed his eyes and then he could see. By putting dirt on his eyes he just made his eyes what they already were dirty, clouded,  nothing. But by washing them he could see. That's what this trip was/is a constant washing. Ive learned so much about myself. Ive seen so much of God. I've learned to trust Gods plan for me. To not doubt his timing or placement. My eyes were washed time and time again. I saw God in each of my kids:

• Anusha: meeting a need without being asked.
• Deepa: selfless and giving even though she has so little to give.
• Samantha: confidence in the word. I saw 2 Timothy 4:3 in her.
• Tabi: to focus on my strengths instead of my weaknesses so much and use them for others
• Ramya: I saw 1 John 3:18 in her
• Jane, Ruchika, Jennie: I saw how true 1 Peter 3:4 is.
• Ester: the power of being a constant and consistent friend.

God is AWEsome. His beauty is made perfect in EACH ONE of us uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and I am so thankful that he put me here to witness it this week and forevermore.

To God be the glory forever and ever amen!

Victoria

I am blogging because my parents are concerned

It is midnight here in Chennai, and our group is waiting patiently for the flight back to Frankfurt. We just learned that it has been delayed 1 hour, so we are just making the most of the time buying souvenirs and semi-American snacks. I personally am trying to fight off some food poisoning a few of us got Saturday night, and it's not fun. I had to stay behind at the hotel today, while the rest went on an outdoor shopping trip. The sickness has made it a little challenging for some of us to enjoy these last couple of days, and for me it has been difficult to remember all the blessings we received through all of this. But in spite of a rough ending, I can faithfully say that this trip has been a huge success. We gave our all, and I believe everyone who was a part of this camp fell in love with God all over again. I have never felt so grateful to have been given a week of camp to counsel for. I know that God will surely do great things for the ICC in the years to come. Also, our flight just got undelayed! Yeaaahyeaaah.

Grayson Williams

Life to the Full

Wow. I mean... WOW! This excursion to India... I will never forget...I can't.  God said to Solomon: "Since you have asked for this and not for...yourself...but for discernment...I will give you what you have not asked for..."-1 Kings 3.

My whole heart was set on giving ALL I had to the children at the Swamp Camp. And I prayed His Will be done. I wanted to execute what the Lord desired me to do so that the campers...even if just one was impacted enough to turn to Him.  Although I had a stomach virus, was late, had no money or clothes, tested by the issues I left at home, I told my Father to just help me to serve and to leave all of my worries to Him.

I do believe that the Lord saw my heart and blessed me so! Every single one of the campers shared with me how I impacted their lives. Every single one. Male and female. Im crying right because it was God they seen through me and these innocent hearts, they are genuine.  From the very small ones that spoke no English (they had their little buddies translate) to the eldest telling me they will never forget me or the way God used me. This is more than I could ever dream of. 

I thank God for teaching me another level of faith. Showing me my maturity when I felt most insecure about where I am with Him due to the battle wounds of the mission field. 

And I would like to say that the Moonlight devo was inspiring...seeing the moon dance on the the Indian Ocean (Wow!) Was beyond breathtaking...it was like the presence of God..."in the cool of the day" Genesis 8. I thank Him and cried because just 5 years ago I was angry with Him because I thought He he had abandoned me like everyone else...left to die. But He rescued me! He rescued me and I am now on the other side of the world telling my story and and sharing His Love. And on top of that He has made His Presence known to me.

And as much as I can, I would like to continue to serve in the way if He so has me. I love you Father!

-Tia aka "Natchattiram" [means star(s)] that's my Indian name.

Last day in India

So today was for cultural edification, sight seeing and SHOPPING.  I did have to buy more rupees.  Since I have some left I will just have to come back to spend them.  There is a very nice mall but the real fun is the street shops; haggling with the vendors and getting a good price.  In a city of 8 million, the streets are so crowded with people, cars, motorcycles, bikes, buses and these crazy three wheeled cabs. It is going to be so sad to leave our Indian brother and sisters.  They have come to mean so much in a short time.the camp counselors from the US couldn't be a better group either.  I will miss there spirits.
Deb

India's Got Talent

The talent show was a great success this Indi-Camp!!! There was so much talent that we had to have 2 talent shows over 2 days. The first night we wanted to have two Indian counselors MC so we asked Shamini and Rohit. They did an amazing job! They were a little nervous about hosting but after we taught them they did a great job. We had every kind of talent like singing, dancing, a couple of skits, someone playing the piano and someone reading a piece of poetry they wrote. My favorite performance would have to be the dance by girls 1. Everyone that performed did fantastic! I was extremely proud of everyone that performed. The bravery that was shown from all of them to get out of them themselves was very inspiring. On the second day of the talent show Jacob Williams and I did a list of the top 10 reasons you know you were at IndiCamp 2014. Many of the kids didn't understand the concept at first but towards the end they slowly understood. This year I believe that the talent show was a great success! I can't wait to come back next year and see even more talent.

-Ashley Bowman

Post Indi Camp

After being in the Chennai Camp my life has been forever changed! During this trip I've made so many new friends.  My best friend was a little girl named Anupria.  She had such an impact on my heart, because she told everyone during one of the kids classes that I was her best friend! The best part is that she didn't speak any English, only Tamil (the language most of the people spoke). I've also learned to be humble in heart and spirit.  When you literally have to pee over a hole and eat with only your fingers you learn to embrace the culture and the people. To be humble you have to think of this culture and these people as better than you own.  Lastly, I learned that in order to successfully lead you need to have the heart of Jesus.  Like he shepherds his sheep with love, patience and firmness I need to do the same. This experience has greatly increased my faith in God and His Spirit.  Taylor

Inga poringa? (Where are you going?)

Hey friends and family!
Julia Casazza checking in! What a crazy week it has been! We just reached the YWCA where we will be staying the next few nights! This past week I got placed as a counselor for girls team six. I had two co-counselors: Sheetal and Bindia. Here is the crazy part... I had EIGHTEEN GIRLS. Yeah :) but it was such a blast! The first day was a little scary. There were so many of them and to say that I was overwhelmed would be an understatement!
One group of girls that I was particularly nervous about was four girls that spoke almost no english. My initial response was to stay away, but the first full day of camp they asked me to talk with them. I decided to reach out to them as well! The four girls soon became, "my girls." They called me Julia Akka which means "big sister Julia". Even though we couldnt understand eachother half the time, their love was so evident. By the end of the week I was in tears because they had truly stolen my heart.
I will miss them...
Tomorrow we are meeting with the Chennai church. We have been told there will be about 800 people there. Its gonna be awesome.
Love you all! See you soon :)
Julia Akka

Abeshack & Friends

IndiCamp 2014 is over! This experience has been amazing. The kids here are very respectful, and all of my doubts and fears about this trip were crushed as soon as camp started on tuesday. I had the privilege of counseling boys 1 which consisted of 15 boys that were 9 and 10 years old! They were all so nice, and the love we all felt for each other was great despite the evident language barrier caused simply by accents. One camper that stood out to me was a 10 year old named Abeshack. He was the nicest, smallest, most adorable little kid I have ever seen. His english wasnt too good, but he would always smile and yell "Jacob ana!" with a big smile whenever he saw me (ana is Tamil for older brother). He clinged to me all week and would run up from behind me and grab my arm when we were walking places. When he left today, it was so difficult to hold all the tears back (I'm even trying to hold them back while typing this), and now I miss him so much. It is amazing how God allows us to make strong friendships and love people so much after knowing them for just a few days. Another camper that I just met yesterday became one of my favorites in the whole camp. The camper knew no english, but that did not stop us from bonding these last two days. I was surprised by the happiness that was so evident in this camper's personality because of the background they have. This camper lives in an orphanage with many children that have HIV and AIDS. I could not believe that, just because of the joy I could see in this campers eyes. Today I saw this camper walking to the bus that was driving all the kids, and I waved to say goodbye. They got a huge smile and ran over to give me hug. I am so grateful to have a God that gives us these joys and relationships regardless of everything that stands in the way of that happening!

Jacob Williams

A Brief Synopsis of Indicamp thoughts

Wow, camp was fantastic! The kids were respectful and shy initally. Something that is somewhat unusual for camp in the US. In the US you generally have to earn respect whereas here the kids automatically respect you. So we had to work extra hard to get most of them to open up, but once they did they were incredibly fun and out of themselves. Kids would just come up and talk to us, introducing themselves and asking tons of questions. One of the most impactful events was the ring of honor and the ensuing mingle of honor, which is an event where boys and girls encourage each other. In Indian culture male-female relationships are very limited. I am super impressed with how many campers pushed through their insecurity and encouraged one another. The Grateful Devo was another high point. The kids were grateful for everything from Mr. Jeff to nature, but they were especialy grateful for their parents for sending them to camp (including me. My parents are awesome!). As I'm writing this we just stopped and walked around a huge rock sculpture, and we are now on the bus driving through part of Chennai. I think it is finally sinking in that we are in India.

Cade Lefler

The greatest in the kingdom of heaven

Matthew 18:1-5
One of the main ways I feel close to God has always been when I'm with children. They are so trusting and joyful. This week I counseled girls 2 and they were so sweet. I have never felt so needed before in my life. One girl, Gracy, was the only one that could hardly speak english at all. Most of our interactions were nonverbal and our conversations were limited to short phrases.  I would ask her, "you feel happy?" And she would smile and say yes. The affection she showed me throughout the week touched my heart. The first day of camp, though, she actually wanted to change teams to be with someone she knew. She cried a lot and told my co counselor that she missed her mom. From that point on though, she clinged to me. She smiled every time I walked in and constantly ran up to hold my hand. I have been reminded this week that love isnt shown in words. Being in india has been one of the most eye opening experiences and I want to hold on to the lessons I learned from my campers.

-macie

Last Day of Camp

It has been a wonderful week so far and the time has come for the end of Swamp Corps in India this year. It is funny how God works in unexpected ways sometimes. Yesterday morning I fractured my ligament in my ankle and on the way to the Pondicherry hospital I got to know an Indian counselor who escorted me to the hospital. I am now positive that with all the time we spent together yesterday that we now have a very strong bond both spiritually and in a friendly way. God is truly amazing. 

Sam Abernethy

Marvellous camp,........

..We are so privileged to come here and worshiping god's word and praising god by singing we feel very comfortable and as well as excitement really our god is an awesome god we have a chance to build our relationships wid our friends and as well as the foreigners  we have learnt about encouraging others I am realy proud of the parents who took efforts to send us  in this camp  I really pray for the foreigners who also sacrifice and spend the time with us I am really waiting for the next camp .
It is a like heaven and I am glad to be here in this camp it is awesome camp I really love the atmosphere of here I love this camp  and one thing I have learnt is loving each other I am so grateful to god
Frist experience is the best experience I love all the counselors they are awesome in teching us encouraging us caring us loving us

By. Pooja nathasha ruchika ................

From Tyler Baird

I'm sitting watching the Indian children sing and dance and act; they are amazing. The campers here are unbelievably open and loving. It is so refreshing to come to the other side of the world and be welcomed by brothers and sisters who are fighting the same fight and are looking for people to love and share their lives with. It is unbelievably hot and humid and dirty but I'm loving every minute of it. I've been counseling boys 5, 14 year olds. They have been so obedient and loving toward myself and each other. I am so lucky to be here and have so many stories to tell. Please pray for our health and travel. Mom and Dad, Happy 25th anniversary and have fun in Spain. I love you guys and miss you!

Fans are bittersweet

One thing many people know about India is how hot it is. But it's hard to appreciate that until you're here. To keep cool at night we have big heavy duty fans in the dorms. They feel great, until the power goes out... Or until you try to move them and they cut your finger.

Talent Show

Let the talent show begin!!! In order to make the talent show run it has taken a lot of work. The auditions were crazy! We had almost 15 acts audition for the talent show. We are super excited and overwhelmed about the amount of people that were willing to get out of themselves.  Even after the auditions were over we had many people come ask if they could join the talent show! Of course we didn't want to say no to them so we added them to the list of performers.We now have 19 groups performing in the talent show! If we have  everyone perform on one night the talent show would be almost 2 hours long. So we are are doing two talent shows! One on Friday night and the other on Saturday afternoon before the kids leave. We have many talented kids that will be showing us their singing, dancing, and skits.  On Friday night we are very excited to have Indian counselors MCing the show.  These counselors are energetic people and have some incredible ideas. On Saturday we are introducing the top 10 reasons you know you were at Indicamp. I am very elated to see all of the kids perform and I know everything will run smoothly!!!

-Ashley Bowman

This is India Baybeee!!!

9,043 miles... That's the distance between my home in Atlanta, GA and our camp in Chennai. While home feels distant and far away, I've never felt more accepted and loved so quickly by the campers. The lives and stories of the campers and counselors not only humble, but inspire me. Their spirituality is lived out in their day-to-day lives and isn't just a process that is taught. Last night, we had our Starlight devotional on the beach with the moon's rays reflecting off of the tranquil ocean; easily the best Starlight devotional I've ever experienced at camp.  The kids go home tomorrow, and while I will be grateful for the rest and sleep, I will deeply miss my Indian friends. I pray that what they have learned and experienced will help them build a deeper understanding of God.

"You won't know the good you've done until you get to heaven" - Sonny Sessions

With love from India,
Andrew Chase

Stars Over the Bay of Bengal

I can't begin to describe the amazing day it has been. We had more challenges in one day than I have ever seen, crazy dancing broke out after lunch, the entire staff of Chennai church visited today, the little kids played Swamp Ball around 5pm as the entire camp cheered them on. There is a orphanage (see picture below) which is having a retreat at the same time we are so we invited the kids to play Swamp Ball while our entire camp cheered them on. They had a blast!!!!!  It was interesting to watch the girls play while dressed in their beautiful traditional outfits.   It didn't bother them one bit they played hard.

We ended the night walking down to the beach and sitting under the stars and a big round orange moon with its rays reflecting off the water listening to the sound of the waves.  We sang and talked about how God remembers us even though we are so small followed by some silent time to listen and reflect. There were tears and many conversations afterwards. Amazing.  Time is flying. Indian counselors are doing a phenomenal job as are the Americans. Time to sleep. another full day tomorrow...last one actually but we won't dwell on that. Good night.  Thanks again for all your prayers and thoughts. Jeff

Swamp camp india

Its just been like a couple days since the Swamp Corps started and its been AWESOME , this camp is so different than the usual ones! Initially before coming to the Swamp camp my relationship with God was not really great but just being here for couple of days I'm really able to see a lot of progress in my relationship with God, just being around with disciples and getting to know about them and like sharing testimonies has help me grow stronger spiritually!I am so looking forward for more amazing memories!!
-kevin (chennai)

I love India

Camp has been amazing!! I'm loving my girls! They have such generous hearts. Coming here I didn't realize how strong of a language barrier there would be. Almost half of my girls speak Tamil with only a few of those able to speak broken english. God helped me to see (yet again) that he can over come any barrier if it means glorifying him. I was able to spend a morning at the beach reading God's word with several of them. Two spoke Tamil and two spoke english and interpreted. I was so moved by His power and the inspiring conversations we were able to have.

I've learned an overwhelming amount about a beautiful culture! Too much to say in a short blog!! I will say that I now eat all my meals with my hand. No utensils here!!

Love from India,
Kelsey Chase

Boys Team 8 (camper and Mr Worldwide)

Hi im Jonathan from Bangalore,India and im really excited to write about the Swamp camp taking place in Chennai,India. The camp is filled with amazing stuff and the Director Mr. Jeff and his team of counselors are fantastic,smart,supportive,got a great sense of humour and really sacrificial. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to participate in this camp. On my way to the camp I thought I would not fit in, cause of all the different kids.But its just the second day of camp and ive already made a lot of friends and got to know about them better. I grateful for the counselors, in specific Jacob my team councilor, who is good in uniting the team and making the effort to spend time with each of us. On the whole the Swamp camp is a Blessing that is happening to me and im really having a great time bonding,eating,blogging..ha...ha,praying,singing,dancing etc. Thank you.
-Jonathan

It's day two of camp and all I can say is. WOW. My expectations have all been shattered and we still have so much time to go! I was honestly really insecure coming in that I wouldn't feel like a part here or that I may have a cabin that doesn't connect but God really set this thing up so perfectly.  From the time we started bonding with the indian counselors and doing our camp training session on monday, it was evident that the people here take their relationships with God very seriously and that theor desire wasnt just to put on a camp that runs smoothly, but to make an impact on the next generation by inspiring these kids to find God and be confident in who He made them to be.  I felt so loved by these brothers and sisters and we were having deep heart-to-heart talks before we had even gotten each others names down! (Shoutout to my dawg Rohit!)

Moving on to camp starting, I have the oldest boys cabin (16-17 year olds) and these guys have been blowing me away.  My campers come feom different cities and backgrounds and are in different places spiritually, but are all giving 100% to having a great week of camp. Though they are still trying to understand some pieces of the camp experience, they've already been getting real about their lives, asking for advice, and going HARD in challenges.

India may be a world apart and the most different culture I've ever experienced, but the Spirit is the same and this is family. Hoping the next few days go by slowly as we enjoy the moments with these people I already love so dearly.
- Jacob R #mrworldwide

Meal Time

It's 8:25am here at Chennai Camp! Yesterday we got to meet the 200+ kids who have come from all over india! They are energetic, funny, and beautiful. A lot of things are very different here but one the mosy noticeable is how we eat. In india most meals are eaten without utensils. It's been quite the messy adventure to learn how to do this effectively. Heres my team, boys 3, eating breakfast.

David Anna
(Big brother David)

The Language of Love

Today is the first day of camp! A majority of the kids here can speak English, but yet in my team of girls most of them don't speak English. It is difficult, but at the same time I feel like God set that up considering I went on the Brazil Swamp Corps trip where almost no one there spoke English. It is hard because I would like to have deep talks with my girls and find out what is going on in thier lives, but I need someone to translate to talk to them. It has definitely helped me though to learn how to communicate by just simply showing people love and serving them in whatever way possible. I have been so grateful though for the love they have shown though and am so encouraged to see them already coming out of their shells and embracing the camp culture. -Julia Buehler

Busy, Busy Day!

Wow, we have done a lot today.  After arriving at the camp around 2am, we all got to bed and was to sleep until 10am...most everyone was up well before that; then we took a tour of the facility determining where games are to be played, who is in which dorm, where the medical station will be and the snack shop.  We even went down to the beach and saw the Bay of Bengal.  None of us ever thought we would be staring at the Bay of Bengal...who in America speaks of the Bay of Bengal.  There is NO swimming aloud as it is a very rough current; look no touch.

Aferwards, we walked to their open air auditorium which is big (parusu in Tamul--that's what we call it)  It is twice the size of our pavilion and open to get the breeze coming off the beach.  The floor is tiered every 20 feet or so going downward toward the stage.  Amazing building.  It will be our main meeting place and it is where we held a full day of training and getting to know one of another.  The Indian counselors are fun and funny and amazing people.

Our team was tired, so tired that a few didn't even want dinner and went straight to bed, which is good.  They are staying in a an airconditioned room so they can sleep deeply tonight.  It is thickly humid; after 5 minutes outside you are covered with a film of sweat and stickiness and hot...it is the hottest place I have been.   Once the sun goes down the breeze off the beach is wonderful.  Tonight before dinner many of the counselors and a few campers who came early played ultimate frisbee.

You are to be very proud of your kids...they are doing an outstanding job bearing up under the heat and the tiredness; they are ready for tomorrow and 204 kids to show up starting at 8:30 in the morning arriving in waves of 50-80 by buses.

It is an historic week for Swampness and for India.  Abraham, India camp director, and I just walk around shaking our heads saying, "we can't believe this.  It is a miracle!"

Pray specifically that our team can get good rest as you finish your day and that as you sleep they will be filled with his energy which so mightily works in each one of us.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR KIDS IN THE ENDEAVOR.

Much love,
Jeff

India here we come!!!

Hello everyone,
I'm in Germany at the moment.  We just had an amazing communion service.  Jeff talked about Jesus being our good and loving shepherd.  He asked us to consider how we view Jesus.  I hope that by the end of this trip I will truly understand God's calling for me. But for now I'll continue to be in awe of God's great works. 
Love,
Taylor

What?!? We are in Chennai!

Just 26 hours after meeting at the ATL airport, we are riding on a bus through Chennai, India and it does NOT feel real! Months and months of prayer and anticipation have led up to what could be the most rewarding swamp trip I've been on yet.

We may be out of our comfort zone, but a greeting of Jasmine flower garlands and bottled water has our stinky, thirsty  selves already feeling at home. Nothing much to say except that I have an excitement I can't contain right now to see how God opens hearts this next week at camp and to watch the lifelong relationships being formed with the disciples here.

Keep us in your prayers! Much love to you people on the west side.
- Jacob R. #mrworldwide

We made it to India! It still blows my mind that I am here. I am so grateful that God made it possible for me to raise all the money for the trip in just two months. When we got out of the airport we were created by some of the disciples here with garlands made of jasmine. I am already so encouraged by the love they have showed to us. We are currently on the bus on the way to the camp. I have been just staring out in the window the entire time. We have passed so many people who are just asleep outside on the ground. Some of them are sleeping outside to protect their stores. I have already gotten tears in my eyes. God is definitely humbling me and teaching me to be grateful. I am so excited for camp to start and see the way God moves. We haven't even been in India for an hour yet and I already know that this is going to be a life changing experience.

Thank you so much for everyone who made this trip possible for me and everyone else. We are all so grateful.
-Julia Buehler

I cant believe thisss

Hey everyone! This is Jacob Williams! This whole experience has already been completely surreal. It still hasnt hit me that we are going to india! We recently arrived in Frankfurt after a very long flight. We flew over New York, Boston, Canada, Ireland, England and France! The strangest thing about the flight was that the sun was only down for about 4 hours... We are all currently waiting for our flight to Chennai! I just cant wait to be in India, and  I feel like this isnt really happening. I dont think I would be surprised if I just woke up and this was all a dream. Im soooo excited. However, I am also very nervous. I cant wait to see how God will work through all of us!

Did I Not Tell You...

This has been an interesting adventure for me already.  For 21 days and 21 nights I have been going about, working in darkness (night shift) 12+ hours a night.  Went to the doctor the day before my trip, wondering why I felt so sluggish and sick- well I had had a stomach virus up to that point.  Thankfully, God has given me a great immune system that the doctors cleared me. Had an upset occasion the night before with my family that left me upset. And I was advised to stay at home and rest for the night instead of driving to Atlanta...which I took.

Woke up the next day.  The sun was shinning the weather was fair. My cell phone was dead and it was 12pm central time--which is 1pm est. The Swampcorp group was supposed to meet up at 1:30pm at the airport and I was still 3.5 hours away in Alabama with the addition of an hour time difference. 

Initially I wanted to flip out. I prayed and chanted "Father your in control. Guide my steps...if you want me to go I will, if not I won't." I cried and Satan was right there tempting me to curse God, wreck my car...to turn around and explode! BUT... my Father was right there in the car with me. Keeping me in peace. I called Jeff crying "I am not going to make the trip...I am still in Alabama." He encouraged me that things will work out and to continue to pray.  Traffic slowed drastically after that.  But I kept praying knowing my Family was praying and that my Father ws right there saying "I am the resurrection and the life...do you believe this?" I cried.

To condense my testimony due to time and my slow texting skills... I made it safely to the airport with time to eat and 30 mins to spare! Nothing but God! I did speed but no tickets or accidents...guess I wasn't under the Law sorta speak. As I sat on the plane I smiled.  I said "thank you Daddy, I Love You."  I hope that this will be a testament of your glory.  I could only think of His words back to me..."Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" My heart blushed. 

-Tia

Arriving in Frankfort

Well... That was the longest flight I have ever been on. The ride itself was pretty good and the dinner was surprisingly just as good. We just arrived at the Frankfort airport and are now having to wait 3 hours before we get on our last flight to Chennai. I'm getting excited as I am sure everyone else is. See everyone soon.

Sam Abernethy

Up up and NAMASTE!

Namaste!
Julia Casazza here! We made it through security in less than 20 min and now we are currently sitting in the plane preparing for take off! I cannot wait to be back in India (my family went in 2009)! I am so grateful for this opportunity that God has given me. He truly gives us life to the full! I wish that all of your eyes could see what God is about to use us to do! Please keep us in your prayers!