i thought it may be nice for you guys to know what we talked about during the camp… this posting is a short discussion of the daily lessons and teachings:
day one: preparation – noah prepared for the flood by listening to god and building an ark. he prepared for the flood w/ his wife, his three sons (ham, shem, and japheth), and their wives. the kids prepared for the flood by packing, listening to the weather, and generally figuring out where they were going.
day two: evacuation – noah evacuated by getting into the ark with two of every animal as well as with is family. the kids evacuated via car, bus, train, plane, and even boat. they went with family, friends, and others. and they went to many different destinations (some more than one destination and others to destinations yet unknown).
day three: transition – noah’s temporary home during the flood was the ark. it was cramped, smelly, and probably loud, but it was temporary. the kids were (or are still) living in temporary housing… it’s cramped, not nice, small, and not very fun at all… but it’s temporary. this is also the tough day where we talked about loss and grief. terrible stories including putting pets down and losing loved ones.
day four: new hope – noah releases the dove and gains hope when it doesn’t return after the third time. it’s a validation of the hope that things are going to change, that life is going to change, and the he’ll be off the ark soon. the kids talk about their hopes and dreams for the future and then discuss the signs that they have in their lives proving that they, too, can have a new hope for the future. in the way that noah gained hope from releasing the dove, the class wrote down our hopes on paper, folded them into paper airplanes, and threw them around the room as our “doves.” i have to admit, seeing those planes all fly at the same time made me cry. they truly understood the concept, when i explained to them that their airplanes were their “doves” they all went “oh man… that’s SO cool!!!” how could i not cry? here were “my kids” and here were “my kids” healing.
day five: a new day – noah finally leaves the ark after almost a whole year and steps on dry ground for the first time. he receives the rainbow from god and starts his new life, revived. the kids are starting to see the new day and the changes that are going to happen in their lives. they receive god’s promise that he’ll never flood the earth again and gain knowledge and comfort to know that none of the weather that occurs is a result of god because of this promise. they discuss more about their hopes and dreams and we close the time by talking about what camp noah did for them this week.
a curriculum that is truly incredible. the only unfortunate thing about it is that the kids BEGGED for us to return next year for the same camp, but this camp is focused on healing from trauma and disasters… i felt terrible that in my mind i kept thinking “if you want us back then have another hurricane.” = )
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