summer recap pt. 5: next level

This brings me to week numero 4 with the kiddos from church! Like the first two, Next Level Camp (grades 5 & 6) began and ended in the church parking lot. Our destination was Carolina Creek Christian Camp; we had fun, we were hot, and we worshiped Jesus!

My team counselor, Sarah, and I were blessed with 16 6th grade girls; every single one of them had a beautiful first name but wanted to go by something different. If it could be shortened and sounded good with ‘ie’ added on the end of it, you were welcome in our cabin. I considered going by Ellie for the week. Ha!

Our cabin name was the Poppin’ Porcupines. The camp pastor apologized to me for this name before camp even began, but there was nothing to be sorry for....we put the ‘Pop’ in Porcupines!!!! Sarah came super prepared and for that I am EXTREMELY grateful. Among her bag of goodies and wearables were choker necklaces that her sister-in-law donated to our group. They were awesome!!! They had a little picture of a porcupine, had our cabin name written in pink and a splash of zebra print in the background. Perfect!

Sarah also came prepared with porcupines that she and her daughter made. They were perfect for decorating our room with!

There is sooooooo much to do at Carolina Creek. Every day our group went through 5 rec rotations!!! To say it was hot is an understatement. If I had a nickel for each time one of the girls pleasantly reminded us that it was hot I would no longer need to search for a job. Ha!

The blob was a favorite. Have you ever blobbed?! The girls had a lot of fun blobbing each other; a few even overcame a fear of heights while there.


This floatation device was popular as well. I can’ t remember it’s name, but we all loved it. It kept the girls occupied and cool for quite some time.


We got to zip line!!! This was my first time and I absolutely loved it! This was hard for several of the girls, but with encouragement and support from our friends most of them were able to overcome their fears and enjoy (or endure!) the experience.


Ok, so this was kinda scary. I don’t know if I’ve ever held a bow and arrow but I can only imagine what accidents I might cause. Can you imagine 16 girls with bow and arrows in the grasp?!?!? Thankfully we made it out with eyeballs accounted for (38)!

Time for target practice!!!




The Poppin’ Porcupines on our last day together:
Our team is poppin’, yeah
Our team is poppin’, yeah
We’re the Poppin’ Porcupines
Praisin’ Jesus all the time!
Our team is poppin’, yeah, yeah,
We’re poppin’!!!




One of the greatest things about Caroline Creek is the staff. The camp hires young people who have a growing love for Christ, a passion for others’ and a love for sports (and heat!). We were blessed to have Robin as our counselor and guide throughout the week. We could not have done it without her!


After each rec rotation Robin sat us down as a group to discuss the activity and how we can relate it to our walks with Christ. It was so cool to see them ‘get it’.



Lessons Learned: