WyldLife session 1

Whoa.... What a  crazy week It has been! There has been tears, laughs, arguments, joy, smiles, and craziness! There is no better way to describe WyldLife! 

WyldLife is part of young life, what WyldLife is, they are junior high kids. Junior High kids terrify me. The camp was over run by them and we were hiding in a corner. In all honesty it was not that bad. Junior High kids make me laugh. Their hormones are raging and they want everyone to think they are cool! It is a joy to work with them. This week God really taught me patience. Never have I been called to junior high ministry really. God has always called me  to work with older youth. This week I talked to some really awesome kids! Not only did God teach me patience with the kids, He taught me patience with the leaders as well. I had some interesting encounters with a few of the leaders. At first I was very angry and down by the way they were treating me. God opened my eyes to show me that the way I was acting was not in a Christ like manner. I learned that not only are we here to serve the kids and show them love and acceptance, but I am here to serve everyone. I have been called to become more like Christ daily. To accept oppression and learn from criticism. That wall of anger was broken and I was able to treat the leaders with more respect, even when they didn't treat me with respect back. 

As I was leaving Friday for another camp that I will be at tomorrow, I realized how much everyone in the house meant to me. When saying a quick goodbye, that goodbye turned into 20 minutes. Everyone gave me a hug and told me how much they would miss me. The girls told me how much I meant to them, and the boys gave me a hug letting me know how much they do care. It was comforting. On the drive home I could not stop telling stormi about the impact that they all have had on my life. In this short month or so we have become family. We have laughed, argued, cried, and just walked through difficult time in life together. I am blessed by them. 

This week not much really happened. It was more of me preparing for this next week, where I will be a youth leader for my home church. God has shown me patience, and comfort during the hard time. He showed me how to allow the boys become my brothers and how to talk to them and allow them to care for me and pray over me. He has showed me how to rely on the girls when my world is falling apart and how much power a simple hug has. Even when emotions flared, even when tempers became outrage, even when laughs turned into tears, this week God continued to bless me. He blessed me with sweet junior high kids, funny youth leaders, amazing friends, and a great camp family!

God bless <3

Heaven Slaughter 

Life at Buckner

Yesterday was the final day of the two week young lives camps! What a crazy week it was! As I sit here writing this I am laying in a hammock in the back yard of our house over looking the pond with the giant slide. It is safe to say that I am very peaceful and content right now. This is probably the most peaceful and down time I have had all week. 

This week God revealed so much of His character to me. He taught me how to stay calm even in frustration, how to love even in hurt, and how to laugh even in tiredness. I am almost positive that there was never a dull moment this week. I know God changed lives, I know this because He sure did change mine. 

I wont go through everything that happened this week. I will, however, hit on a few of the highlights.

1. Unity within the two groups- There is young life work crew here along with our summer staff. This week I got to know so many of the other young life staff members so well. Its a true blessing to do ministry along side them. One of the best moments was getting to hammock with one of the girl workers named Stacy. I was able to hang out with here for a few hours. We just shared testimonies and stories of our childhood together. I was able to encourage her, and she was defiantly able to encourage me. I love seeing how God can really work in the lives of those seeking him. 

2. Power of prayer- I worked the zip line once again this week. It is becoming my favorite activity that I work at. Many people are scared and have trust issues with the zip line. We are human. Things frighten us. Wednesday I got the privilege of meeting some awesome girls on top of the zip line tower! Time after time girls went up there terrified and allowed me to hold their hands and pray over them. Many times they asked me to pray. I was so touched that day. These girls were looking to God in their fear and God gave me the privilege of being the one who prayed over them .That day I saw fear become joy as girls zipped down and realized how peaceful it was. I saw tears turn into smile at the name of the Lord. I was able to speak truth to girls who felt Satan had a hold on their life. Not only did I see fear of the zip line disappear but I saw fear of the hold on their life disappear as well. The power of prayer is unbelievable. 


3. Kayla and Ava- While helping move all the girls in I was able to spend some time with a young mom named Kayla and her sweet baby girl Ava. These two were the picture of Joy. Throughout the whole week I was able to get to know Kayla a little more and see Ava's sweet smile. Those two really showed me what the love of Christ looks like. They were always so joyful. I got to see them while they were leaving this morning. Kayla pulled me aside and said thank you for everything. Little did she know she helped me this week! Through her and Ava God showed me a little of Himself. 

4. Unity within our staff- Its no surprise that our staff tends to fight. When living so close to one another for so long, we start to break. This week I saw God break down walls and lift our pride of ourselves. There were so many times when I saw fighting going on and someone would become the bigger person and apologise for the way they were acting. That really encouraged me. I sometimes let my pride get the best of me and feel like I need to be right. I was shown that we are a team. We work together to accomplish the goal. We can admit when we are wrong and move forward.  

There is so much more that I could write about. God reveled to me so many things. This week I saw Him break down so many walls. Not only in myself but also in so many people around me. I am blessed, even in my weakness. Press on and never give up. God can use you no matter where you are in life. He meets us where we are at and picks up the broken pieces.

Please be in prayer for the girls that encountered God these last two weeks. Also be in prayer for the middle school kids that will be coming to camp tomorrow. Also be in prayer for us, that we can show them the love of Christ no matter what. 

God bless <3

Heaven Slaughter 

Young Lives- Week 1

I'm going to do things a little different for the blog post for this week. Instead of just writing a blog about how the week went, I am going to write about each day one day at a time. That way the day is still fresh in my mind when I sit down to write about it that night. I will also write about what God showed/taught/spoke to me that day.  So for those of you reading, I hope you enjoy. (:

6/8/14

Sunday- Day 1 of young lives week 1

Today was the first official day of camp. For the next six weeks we will be working with young life. For the next two weeks we have young lives which is teen moms and their babies. (: The past week has been chaos trying to get everything prepared, but its been so rewarding. Today was stressful, joyful, insane all at once. The morning was very busy just trying to get the final touches in place for young life. I was able to attend an all camp worship with the young life staff this morning. I love that we can all come together as one. There is no separation in God's children. We are all after one goal and we should be able to unite to conquer that goal. Around 2p.m the buses started arriving with the girls! We had all activities open, I was on zip line. I think the only activity that actually had anyone at was the pool. So for three hours I sat at the zip line throwing rocks and getting into the Word. I got to zip line so that was a plus. Earlier tonight I was scheduled to help at the black light dance. I am so happy that I got to attend and help. I got to see all the girls in one place, and even got to meet a few. These girls are all between the ages of 14 and 18 so to see their smiles and hear their laughter was so rewarding. I know that most of these young moms are struggling but I couldn't help but smile when I saw how happy they were. Today God really revealed to me just how faithful He really is. He showed me how much He truly loves His children and how He loves to bring joy to their eyes. He taught me that even when the quiet moments come He is still speaking and calling after us. 

We have successfully survived day one of camp. Let the summer begin!! 

 6/9/14
Monday- Day 2 of young lives week 1
Today was... Exhausting. There is so much anger among our summer staff and it breaks my heart. I feel that we are in this for all the wrong reasons. We are doing this job for our own selfish gain instead of for the Lord and that is making us bitter. Today I worked ropes course. We got to a hectic start and it took a while for us to get going. Once we did, God showed me and reminded me why I was here. I was able to help the girls and encourage them. I used the power pole as a way to shed a little truth into them while explaining it. I was able to talk to scared girls and encourage them to let go of that fear. God reminded me that He sent me here this summer to further His kingdom and bring Him glory, not for the money or the worldly things. I am here for my Father. I found myself very frustrated today. We ended up missing dinner because the time was changed without us knowing and the kitchen forgot to put food aside for us. All of us were angry myself included. That anger seemed to lift when I saw the smiling babies and teenagers come together to enjoy the carnival we had this evening. Its amazing how God knows what it takes to bring us joy. Seeing others happy is what does it for me. Living in the house, I don't see that happiness often so lately I haven't been that light that God has called me to be. I am blessed to be here and today God reminded me that it is for His glory and not for my own. I am a Child of His and I am called to shine His light, no matter what the circumstances.

6/10/11
Tuesday- Day 3 or young lives week 1
Today was the longest day we will have, so I have herd. For weeks now we have been told that today would be the hardest most exhausting day. As I sit here at 11 p.m writing this I feel nothing but pure joy. That is how amazing the Lord is. He brings joy in our tiredness. This morning I was on TCB crew 1 (Take care of buckner) so we had to be up at 7a.m ready to clean the pool, fill water jugs, pick up trash and various other little things around the camp. I was tired this morning but my team made it so much easier to work. The guys on my team got up at 6 a.m to begin the work and let Alexys and I sleep until 7. That was so amazing of them! Once again today I was on zip line. I love it up there its so beautiful! We didnt have many people actually participating in the zip line today. Only 8 girls, but I took the down time on top the zip line platform to get into the word. After zip line we did a still frame skit for the girls, and a state fair type deal. I loved coming together with young lives summer staff and running all the events for the girls! Getting to know the other staff members has been so great! The best part of the day was the ending. Young Life threw a dance of the ages. All the campers and staff members got together and just enjoyed the dancing! Today God reminded me how blessed I am. He reminded me that even in my weakness I a strong, and even when the work is hard, He pushes me through. He taught me how to love those who are lost and how to work together with others for His glory. I am thankful for what I have and the opportunity God has given me this summer.

6/11/14
Wednesday- Day 4 of young lives week 1
Today left me speechless in so many ways. The day started off by us helping lead rec for the group that is here. That brought me so much joy! This past year God has really given me a heart and passion for rec and field events so getting to incorporate that into my work here at Buckner was amazing! Once again I was on the zip line and once again i turned into a lobster. I love running the zip line, though. I got to talk with alot of the girls today. There is one that broke my heart. To hear a young teen mom say shes getting an abortion nearly brought me to tears. I am constantly praying that God just speaks to her during the rest of this week. I was able to once again attend church this evening. God knew that I needed that and He really broke down some walls tonight. The worship was so raw and beautiful and the Lord was so present. After that I came back to the ranch house and worshiped some more with Grace and Brandon. Its such a beautiful thing  that we can openly and wonderfully praise the Lord. God is so big and so beautiful and it brings so much joy to me that I get to love Him for ever and that He allows me to be in His presence. Today God really showed me just how great He truly is. Even in my weakness, He gives me strength. Even when I'm broken He heals my wounds and shows me that all work is for His glory!

6/12/14
Thursday- Day 4 of young lives week 1 
I am writing this a day late. Yesterday was the last full day we had with young life. Not much happened yesterday. We did the normal activities with the kids and that is about all. There was a huge storm that hit the camp. Some of our staff got stuck at walmart while the rest of us were stuck in the house. Two amazing things happened yesterday! I got to skype with one of my closest friends and talk to her about her trip to Honduras. She leaves Saturday. I am so proud of Hope and Alyssa! They are following the Lord. I was able to talk with both of them and just send prayer their way and encouragement! I also got the opportunity to speak with my friend April. God really uses here to speak truth into me. She was able to just encourage me and help me through some things I have been dealing with lately. Yesterday God showed me through others a little more of Himself. I was so encouraged by friends who lavish His love upon me. 

6/13/12
Friday- Breakdown and turn over day. 
Today was a calm day. It involved alot of work but alot of fun also. Today was turnover, which meant cleaning and doing laundry! Today I completely got over my fear of vacuums cleaners because I had to vacuum so many floors. We worked from 10a.m until about 5p.m. I noticed today that when our attitudes become positive our work becomes fun. Today I had fun cleaning. Sometimes I was angry or aggravated, but there were more times when I was joyful and having a good time. After work we all got dressed up (I even wore a dress) and we went out to eat at chili's and went to a movie as a birthday/survived one week celebration! I love coming together with everyone and just having a good time. It is not often that I see all the staff in a good mood and smiling all at once. Today God showed me how to live out Colossians 3:23. How to truly do all work as doing it for the Lord. He showed me how smiles can light up a room and how celebrations  bring people closer to one another. Today God showed me love. 

There you go! There is a break down on the first week of camp! It's a long summer ahead of us, but I can already tell that its going to be a great one! God is already moving in so many ways and I am so excited to where He takes us as the summer continues! Thank you for all the prayers and sweet letters! 

God Bless <3

Heaven Slaughter 

Hope Shines Here

Wow. What a week it has been!

Wednesday night last week we got a little of a scare. One of our summer staff member's was in a car wreck. That was the first real challenge that we faced as a group. We all came together and prayed over the situation. She is alright and back at camp, but we were all startled when it happened. It really showed how in a few short weeks we have all come to care for one another. 

God has really opened my eyes this week. I have seen how much of a ministry opportunity He has given me in the house. Everyone is so broken, like me. We are all searching for something and trying to find fulfillment in things of this world. It breaks my heart, but God is really moving in me and showing me what His will is and His plan for me this summer. Friday morning CJ brought us together as a group and did a mini bible study with us. I feel like that is what we need most now. We need Christ. I had my expectations for this camp to high. That was the problem, though, they were MY expectations and God had different plans. I expected this to be a "Jesus" camp like the ones I have been experiencing at seek week the past two years. Working as a staff member is a way different experience. Its hard but God is defiantly giving me strength. I now understand that every oppertunity is an oppertunity to point others to Christ. I am always going to be on a mission trip. At first I was surprised. I did not expect to be doing ministry within the other staff members, but now I know that Gods plan all along was different then my expectations. 

In the beginning I was very skeptical wondering how God could use me to witness and minister to others this summer. I have been doing alot of making beds and cleaning toilets. When I fell apart and called upon the Lord, He provided. Last week God really showed me how He could use me no matter what I am doing. Everything is for His glory. I got to hang out with Sale Street Baptist and sit in on their worship sessions. I formed relationships with the kids and got to witness to a few of them. That week really helped prepare me for the summer. It really opened my eyes to seeing that God can use us no matter what as long as we let all we do be for His glory. 

This week we have been working with young life and getting ready for the next six weeks when we will be running camps for them. It has been great working alongside the young life workers. The next six weeks are going to be intense and busy but I know the Lord has some amazing things in store. Please be in prayer for the young life groups that will be coming. I know the first two weeks are teen moms and their babies, so this camp is about to get crazy! 

Please pray for me and that I can do the Lords work. I have been getting very discouraged and frustrated lately. I know that is not of the Lord. I have been selfish and instead of chasing after God's heart I have been going my own way. Pray for the other staff members that thy just seek after God in all that they do. Pray that we can work together as a team even when we get angry with one another. Pray for the camps and their workers as they make it a week the kids wont forget. Also pray for the campers that they encounter God in a new way. 

God bless

Heaven Slaughter 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. 

Colossians 3:23