So English Camp is a week-long attempt at an immersion learning experience for German youth who want to improve their English language skills. The kids all eat breakfast with us (the Crown Team, the Careys, and the Interns), have English class, lunch with us, free time and activities with us, more class, then more activities and dinner with us. Dinner is followed by Etwas Mehr ("Something More") sessions and small groups, all in English, and then Snack time. The counselors and leaders were consistently able to be heard from my post in the kitchen- "Guys! Speak English, please!" It was a week of exhaustion, fun, laughter, and lots of "lost-in-translation" kind of moments. We had German kids from all walks of life, all modes of expression, and all levels of ability when it came to their English.
I worked in the kitchen with Sarah and Lea during English Camp. 6 American Breakfasts, 5 American lunches, and 7 American dinners, all with one Mrs Sarah Carey at the helm. Some of the kids were rather reticent to try everything that we made (seriously, kids? Who doesn't like Breakfast Burritos?), everyone had to try everything at least once, and most even found that we surprised them with unexpectedly tasty food.
So some background on me- I love to be in the kitchen. Food is, without question, one of my biggest love languages. Generally, the things that I make in the kitchen turn out pretty well. That is, while I'm no Rachel Ray, I love trying new things, experimenting with flavors, and creating treats for my friends. So I found out I was going to be in the kitchen for English Camp, and I was like, "Yes. Finally, something I'm good at from the get-go. Piece of cake."
I'm telling you, God finds the funniest ways to humble me.
From burning cookies on the first night to using granulated sugar instead of powdered for our nice desert, and every possible blunder in between, it must have taken Sarah and Lea a lot of grace to put up with me. I burned myself twice, once in picking up a coal that I thought was not hot but which was, in reality, white on the other side (It's okay. You can say it. "That was real dumb."). I put too much baking soda in the buttermilk pancake batter (which God took care of with a quick overnight miracle), my pudding didn't set, and overall the week might have been pretty darn discouraging if I wasn't swimming in the grace that my co-workers and my God had for me. In the beginning of my internship, Ben asked if I was a perfectionist, because if I was, I "might have kind of an interesting time here".
And so, God doesn't require perfection. This is a thought tried and true among Christian circles. I'm almost hesitant to reflect in this direction for fear of triteness, but if I haven't been able to nail it down as a lesson well learned, surely there's someone out there who also hasn't. And if there's not, you can rejoice with me as I swim farther into the sea of truly knowing our God. Our God who does not require perfection.
It almost tastes good to say such a beautiful thing. I serve a God who has total grace for me. For every batch of gross pancake batter and gritty pudding, God has grace for me. For every time I judge someone for thinking differently than I do, or act immaturely or in manipulation, God has grace for me. As an extension of that, my family in God has grace for me. I don't ever, ever earn my place as a servant of the King of the universe. I can never earn the right to call other believers my brothers and sisters. And yet, at the end of a week where I made more mistakes, both in the kitchen and out, than I thought were humanly possible, I am still as loved as I was in the beginning, simply because there is grace from a never-ending source.
English Camp was a wonderful week of making relationships that will last, both with my fellow workers and with the campers. I saw kids try foods that they were unsure about and like them. I saw people try to make friends with people they were unsure about and like them. I saw God's grace and love moving in and around the counselors, the cooks, the students. We all learned something about God this week.
And we're all definitely going to be friends on Facebook.
Peace.
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