Well sadly, my summer has come to its end. It was absolutely worth it. Saying goodbye to my teammates who became closer than sisters was extremely difficult. But being back home is so exciting! I hope these posts have been enjoyable and inspirational. The experiences that led to them being written will forever be in my heart. There is so much more that I wish I could share, but to do that would require hours of your time as a reader. And I am sure I would end up rambling on about things and bore you to tears. Thank you for your time! If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at: screamingmime139@yahoo.com.

" we welcome you with praise. Almighty God of love, be welcome in this place!" - Chris Tomlin.

We're down to seven days! I'm really looking forward to home, but it is going to be so difficult to say goodbye to some of these people. I hate goodbyes, and I've never really been good at them.
We went to visit an Amish village in Lancaster, PA today. It was really neat. I believe we are going to visit Philadelpia tomorrow. I'm really excited about that!!

This week we are working at a church day camp for kids 9-11 years old. They learn about the Bible, reading, math, and science. It's been really fun to work with them so far. We've already had several opportunities to share Jesus with some of the kids! I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week... But I'm also really looking forward to coming home. I have nine days left. I am physically worn out. But I still have to focus on Jesus, not home. Which is a struggle! Thank you to all who have been praying for me. It means more to me than you know.

Today, after camp ended and all the kids left, we went to get some ice cream!! While we were sitting there, a man and his wife pulled up, ordered, and sat beside us. Somehow we started talking. We mentioned that we were from out of state working in the area as summer missionaries. He said, " so you guys are like Christians or something?" His wife looked at him and said, " yeah they are, just like us. " He acted like he never even heard her. He told us that he had never read the Bible before in his life, not once. He said that the " Big Man" had given him a pass into Heaven. I asked him how so? He said that he used to be really mischievous when he was younger, but he had taken it down a couple of notches and that was how was all good. We talked to him for a while, but he seemed very set on his ways. We prayed for him when he left. I ask you to pray for him too.
Thank you,
Brooke :)

Well today, I fell out of a tree, tried very hard to stay awake in chapel, presented some cool skits, and helped out in the kitchen. It's been a good day. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but we are back at camp with another group. We have met some pretty cool people. Sadly, the campers are leaving tomorrow. And we'll be moving on again on Saturday. Please keep us in your prayers. Pray that our eyes will remain open to the opportunities that God has put in our path.

Stick four teenage girls together for ten weeks, and there will be drama! For the most part, my teammates and I have gotten along extremely well. But a wedge of division has recently plagued us. At fisrt, it was just a small thing; it wasn't bothering anyone. But over time, that wedge grew larger and larger. Something had to be done!
When you have strong leaders with different opinions, it can be very difficult to back down from the situation, but sometimes that is the best thing that you can do. Last night, we all had a long talk about what the problem was, and what we needed to do about it. For now, that wedge is shrinking a little bit at a time. I do not think that it will ever be gone completely, but it's mending.
And no matter what, God is in control. His plan is perfect. Always.

P.S.- Mom, please feed my fish!

Prayer. It works.

     Yesterday we were out at Target with the pastor and family of the hispanic church we've been working with. Prior to leaving their house, we prayed. We asked that God would give us an opportunity to reach someone. We prayed that our eyes would be open to others and their needs. God answered that prayer. As we walked out of Target, an elderly woman with a walker shuffled past. We didn't think anything of it at first. She walkd a little down the sidewalk and then sat down. She looked like she was praying. We were all a little worried about her, and I noticed a hospital bracelet on her wrist. We decided to go talk to her. When we first approached we asked if she needed a ride somewhere. She was needing to get to her assisted living building down the road, but her walker was broken and it was very hot out. She didn't think she could make it there. We told her we would give her a ride, and she was very appreciative. She mentioned that she needed to get her prescription filled, but that no one would fill it except for CVS and that was too far for her. We told her that we would go and fill it for her. She started crying and saying, "I'm not worth it, I'm not worth it!". We talked to her about Jesus and how she was worth it. We took her back to the place she was staying. When we got out, we prayed with her and gave her a Bible. She said thank you over and over. She told us that she was going to kill herself, but then we came along and gave her hope. The pastor had found a pair of brand new womens shoes in the dumpster the night before. He thought someone might need them. Turns out that someone did. Prayer is a very real thing. The woman was praying for something, for someone, to come along and just show her some love. We all prayed for the opportunity to show the love of Christ to someone. That's the power of prayer!
Brooke

Priorities?

     Last week at camp, Pastor Jeff talked a bit about priorites and putting God first. As an example, he used a jar, a ping-pong ball, and some beans. The beans equal all of the things that are done in the course of your day. The ping-pong equals God. The jar is what holds everything in your day... When you put the beans (all of the daily stuff) in first, then try to shove the ping-pong ball in last, doesn't fit! Okay, empty the jar, it's a new day. Put God (ping-pong ball) first this time. Then pour in your beans... It fits! God must be a priority in your everyday life. I have learned this, and I struggle with it daily. I wake up in the morning and say, "Ah I'll just read my Bible tonight", but later I get distracted and never do it at all. And for me, prayer is a challenge. I never know what to say or how to say it. But one thing I am learning and working on is putting God first. Very first. Even before you step out of bed, get in the Word. With God first, everything else falls into place.

The past two days have been so great! I have been helping teach English to Spanish speaking adults. It has been a really neat experience. I have been so blessed to be able to work with these people. They have such a heart for God.

On the road again

     Happy late 4th of July! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday.
     We planned on going to the mall with our host family yesterday morning, but I have not been feeling well, so I took a Benadryl the night before. I didn't wake up until almost 1 in the afternoon! I have never slept that late in my entire life! Needless to say, we didn't go to the mall, which was unfortunate because the dog ate my shoes!
     We enjoyed a nice event last night. We helped work at Son Jam, which is the 4th of July event that the church puts on every year. Two of my teammates did face-painting while Brandy and I worked inflatables. That was quite an interesting ordeal. The inflatable I worked was a skee-ball type where the kids rolled a softball up it to get points. But often times they would miss and the ball would roll into the road! Sometimes the kids would chase after it, so I had to be the bad guy and yell at them. Then I would climb the fence and run into the road to get the ball. It was madness. But the kids enjoyed it, and the fireworks were good.
     So today we are moving on once again. We are at a multi-cultural church in Annapolis called Punto-Central (Central Point). We'll be helping out with VBS and also teaching English classes. I'm excited to see all of the things God has in store for us here! Please be in prayer that we can reach the people. I don't know a bit of Spanish, and I am trying to teach them English. So your prayers are most welcome!!
Thank You!!!!
Brooke :)

Drama, Jesus, and BBQ :)

Hi there,
     I apologize for not writing for a couple days. I had no free time the last few days of camp. I have had my fill of dealing with little girl drama! One of the girls in my cabin freaked out because she messed up her nail polish. I mean that she literally could not function. And then I had the pleasure of dealing with cliques and silly arguments, but it was worth all the drama. On Thursday night, the Gospel message was preached. I had the opportunity to pray with two girls who wanted to accept Jesus, and one of the other girls in my cabin accepted Him too!! During service, the pastor called all of the leaders to stand in the aisles. If a girl wanted to talk or pray with one of us, then she stood and we walked outside to pray and chat. I was so nervous; I had never led anyone to Christ. I prayed in the aisle and then two girls approached me. So I took them outside and we sat under the flagpole. I asked them a few questions then asked if they wanted to pray. I know that the words spoken were not my own. I had no idea what I was doing, but my Jesus did. He is now their Jesus too. Many other decisions were made that night. I am so glad I was able to be a part of it all.
     The next day parents came and the girls performed what they learned over the week. I taught "God of this City" by Chris Tomlin to my sign language class. They did great, and I was proud of them. Then we had to say goodbye. It was not very difficult to say bye to my girls (that probably sounds mean), but it was very difficult to say bye to all of the other leaders. They became such good friends and I pray that we stay in touch.
     For the next few days, we are helping prepare for a 4th of July celebration at a church in Delaware. The church pastor is hosting a barbecue tonight (and I think it might be a BBQ for us, but I'm not sure). We get to relax today, and I'm so excited!
     If anyone has a question or would just like to contact me personally, my email address is screamingmime139@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you!!
~Brooke

      I think you are all caught up, so now I will just tell you about the joys of camplife! We had a dance party/ bingo night last night. I cannot dance! But we had lots of fun running around in circles, doing the conga, the twist, and so on. We were all so exhausted! My cabin girls were fast asleep in no time. I love it when they all fall asleep because every night when they fall asleep, all the cabin leaders sneak out and go to the lodge to have tons of fun! And to write.
     Here is a typical camp day for my group:
1. Get up at an ungodly hour so I can wake girls up for showers.
2. Make sure they don't go back to sleep.
3. Walk down Mt. Olympus for breakfast. (The camp is set in a mountainy are, and it is a pretty steep hike to walk up and down.)
4. Go to a staff meeting while the girls clean the cabins. (It's a competition for cleanest cabin. My cabin won yesterday! And they had the best cabin today too, but they wanted to spread the winning around.)
5. Go to morning chapel. Keep the girls awake!
6. Begin morning rotations with a Bible study in the chapel.
7. Walk down the mountain to the fellowship hall to listen to Mrs. Denise (a missionary to Bahrain).
8. Walk back up the mountain to the education building to listen to Ms. Debbie (a missionary to Azerbaijan).
9. Lunch Time!!
10. Rest for a bit.
11. Swim for an hour.
12. Eat some snacks.
13. Go to crafts
14. Recreation
15. Dinner!
16. Evening chapel. Again, try to keep girls awake.
17. Night time fun. (This is some sort of night time activity. Last night was a dance party. Tonight was supposed to be an outdoor movie, but it rained.)
18. Lead a small devotion in the cabin
19. Get everyone who wants evening showers taken care of.
20. Lights out!
21. Wait for the snoring.
22. Grab my computer and sneak out.
23. Go write, eat snacks, and stay up way too late.
24. Sneak back into bed.
25. Sleep for about four hours.
26. Repeat.
     It has been quite an interesting few days. But I have really enjoyed it!
In Him,
Brooke

Best cabin leader ever? I think Yes!

     Our next stop took us to a little town called Mt. Rainier. We were literally two blocks away form the Washington D.C. line. Our task for the week was to help lead Backyard Bible Club and VBS at the church. I absolutely fell in love with this church and the people in it. They are a multi-cultural church, and their doors are open to any person forn every background. They had a mission house right beside the church that they had been fixing up so that they could house missionaries and other such guests. We were the first missionaries to stay there, and we absolutely loved staying there. It was an older house that needed a few fix ups, but taking cold showers was worth it!
     When we first arrived , we were exploring the house and organizing random things. When we opened the fridge, guess what we found? A package of raw pigs feet! We said to each other, "Is this a joke or something? Are we supposed to cook these for dinner?" Thankfully, the next morning we went shopping for groceries. The pig's feet was not a prank, just an odd thing that someone had forgotten to take out of the fridge.
     We all had such an incredible time at Backyard Bible and VBS. We grew so close to the people there, and they all welcomed us and treated us like we were family. Our theme for VBS was Big Apple Adventure! The kids learned about faith, love, and trust and how they connect those things in their every day life. They also learned about inner-city missionaries and the ministries they help with. Mt. Rainier was a very difficult good-bye.
     Camp Counselor day two: not too shabby!! Our cabin won cleanest cabin award. I have to brag on my girls. When we got back to our cabin after a very long day, the girls took showers and got ready for bed. I told them that I was going to take a shower and that they would have some free time for a little while before lights out. While I was in the shower, I heard them scrambling around making lots of noise. I was a bit concerned at this point. When I opened the door, every girl was in her bed, they were quiet, and the lights were out! I was so proud of them! I said, "You guys are awesome!" Then they said, "We know!" I love my girls.
     I have to share another sweet moment. I have a girl in my cabin that had a bike wreck and scraped her leg up pretty badly. Another girl in the cabin said, "I'll pray for your boo-boo." That just made my day! I hope it made yours too.

     After a very good week in Severn, we traveled to Frederick, Maryland to help promote and put on a pretty rockin outreach called Convoy of Hope (you should Google it, it's neat stuff). Convoy of Hope is supported almost entirely by the community hosting it. They provide for various needs such as medical exams, dental exams, family portraits, haircuts, shoes, groceries and a whole lot of Jesus! The exciting part is that the whole event is completely free for the guest.
     Over the course of the week, my teammates and I prepared for the event by passing out a ridiculous number of flyers to cars in parking lots, people on porches, and just about everybody in between. I think I walked more in those five days than I have in my entire life! Although it was time consuming and sweaty work, our efforts were worth it.
     On the night before the event we had a volunteer rally to get all the helpers ready for the next day. That night I witnessed something wonderful. It may seem mundane to some, but to me it was beautiful. I was able to listen to a man praying, crying out to our Heavenly Father in Spanish. This stood out to me, it even brought tears to my eyes. My Jesus isn't limited to one race or language, for He is the author of all languages. He hears every cry from every language. Even when spoken words cannot be formed, he hears the silent pleading of our hearts. We are not alone. There are Jesus followers everywhere, speaking every language. This is bigger than me and you. And it is so exciting!!
     On the day of the event more than 5,000 people came! Over 144 professions of faith were made, more than 1,200 pairs of shoes were given out, $35,000 were used for medical follow-ups, at least 400 family portraits and hair-cuts were also done. Overall the event was great! I was able to meet so many really neat people and just build good relationships.
     While I continue to catch you up on the past few weeks, I will also tell you about what is happening in the present. This week we are serving as camp counselors at Camp Wo-Me-To (Women and Men of Tomorrow). The camp is for young girls ages 8-14. I won't lie, I was super nervous at the thought of being in charge of nine young girls for the week. Children have always loved me. I'm like kid magnet. I just never know what to do with them. When I babysit, I love watching a kid that wants to read books and watch movies all day. How in the world can I deal with nine of them for a week?!
     Camp Counselor day 1= SUCCESS!! I love my girls, I cannot believe I was so nervous. A few of them were going to move cabins when they first got here so they could be with their friends, but after a little while they changed their mind. They wanted to stay in my cabin! That made me so excited! I'm looking forward to a fun week with my girls.
In Him,
Brooke

Hello again!
     I will continue where I last left off. In my last post I covered orientation in Ocean City. I'll try to put a few pictures up soon ( I'm not extremely computer savvy, so bear with me). Our second week started in Severn, Maryland. A family in the church was very gracious to open their home up to four teenage girls! The staff of the church were having their annual staff retreat for the first few days we were there, so we had a lot of free time to ourselves. On Monday, we were able to go into Washington D.C.. I had never been, so this made me super excited! I absolutely loved D.C.. We were only there for the day, so we did not get to see everything, but I really enjoyed it.
     Our host family took us somewhere a few days later. This place has become very dear to my heart. They are not very coomon down south, but they have them everywhere here! It's a little ice cream/ custard/ italian ice shop called Rita's. Someone needs to open one in Dickson for sure.
     Later on in the week when the staff came back, we helped to a good bit of office type work for them in preparation for their VBS. I hand-washed at least 100 baby food jars for the kids crafts. We did a bunch of nitty-gritty work that week, but we had lots of fun doing it. We had the opportunity to meet some super cool people and build neat friendships that I hope will last.
Thank you for your time
Brooke

And so the adventure begins!!

Hello there! First I would like to say that I am so glad to be able to share this experience with you! This has been an exciting adventure so far, and I trust that it will continue to be. For those of you who do not know me, let me fill you in. My name is Brooke Cole. I am seventeen. I love to read and sit by a bonfire with my wonderful family and friends. My favorite color is green, and I am a little bit addicted to Lipton green tea! I love adventure and I hope to live my life to the fullest. This summer I have been a part of a mission trip in Maryland and Delaware. I am on the state traveling team. We are currently on our fifth stop, but I will try and give a brief overview of the previous stops. I began my journey at 3:30 am on June 1. After a difficult goodbye, I left my home. I was the first of my teammates to land in Baltimore, so I got the privilege of waiting around for four hours for everyone else to land. First was Hannah, then Becca, then Brandy; and that became our team. From the airport we drove to Ocean City for summer missions orientation. We met the other missions team that would be staying in Ocean City all summer. In the three days that we were there, we all became very good friends. We were able to walk along the beach, invite foreign students to an outreach dinner, and go on a ridiculously silly scavenger hunt on the boardwalk! We all had so much fun and we grew closer as a team. I will try to continue writing every day. If not every day, then every other day. Check in tomorrow for news on our second stop!!