What the heck is gaga ball??

Despite the lack of sleep, super heavy meals, sparatic rain showers, missing my own kiddos like crazy, and my coming home to a lack of hotwater (don’t worry… 300 dollars and 48 hours later, warm water has been restored in our home) the weekend retreat was a BIG success!

Most of the 50-some kids arrived straight from school, exploding with energy. After getting everyone settled in their cabins, we kicked off our 2013 “R U UP FOR THE CHALLENGE” Released Time Retreat with some crazy songs. Their is not much greater joy than being surrounded by 50 fourth and fifth graders and about 12 adult cabin leaders all screaming “ROMANS 16:19 says….” at the top of their lungs. 

Later we headed to supper in the Sylvan View dining hall. Supper was delicious. I filled my plate with mostly salad, however I did indulge in a piece of the homemade fried chicken and washed it all down with a large dosage of coffee (I knew I’d need it later). Don’t worry, I ended up paying for the fried chicken later in our group session when my stomach was in shambles making those loud “I really need to let something out but I’m working hard to hold it in” noises it usually does when you’ve eaten some kind of food your not so used to eating.

Later, the kids enjoyed some “gaga ball” — Apparently gaga ball is the newer, bigger, better, badder form of dodgeball. Everyone stands around in a big closed in circle that my best guess is about 6 feet in diameter (now that I think about it the game must not be that new because the Camp we were at had several wooden “gaga ball fields” built and I seemed to be the only person asking “what the heck is gaga ball”)… Anyways, everyone stands inside this circle and the object is to hit this ball around inside the circle with your hand while trying to get others “out” and be the last man standing. If the ball hits you anywhere other than the palm of your hand then you are out and have to leave the circle. The best part for me as a gaga ball spectator is watching about thirty kids all hurdle the fence at once (completely in sync) to start a new game as soon the last person has gotten out and there is only one man left standing in the circle. This is done without any prompting, they all just know what to do and when to do it. I find it humorous how we as adults spend so much time trying to get kids to follow the rules and often have no success but when it comes to a game like gaga ball, they know, understand, and precisely follow each of many rules with little to no supervision. It is really inspiring to see this group of kids communicate so well together without saying anything at all.

Later we headed to the basement of Breezewood for some good old fashioned Smore’s (we had to make them in a fireplace since it was raining outside, but everyone did a great job of making the best of the situation) and a sing along.

Finally, it was time to head back to our cabins to get ready for bed. Although we were all dressed in our jammies and ready for bed by about 10:30, you can bet the girls did not let my co-cabin leader and I declare lights out until the official 11 o’clock lights out time. Little did I know, lights out didn’t really mean sleep as I had thought. It took about 35 minutes of giggling before things finally started winding down. Lucky for us by midnight everyone was asleep and despite their very convincing threats to “beware,” neither myself or my fellow cabin mentor was “pranked” that night. We found out later the plan was to throw all of their dirty clothes into the other cabin leaders bed and their prank of choice for yours truly was to all come bombard me in my bed in the middle of the night. Thankfully, they all drifted off at about the same time and none of them were able to wake the others to carry out their premeditated, highly anticipated night time pranks.

Between the hard, thin mattress, the hot and cold flashes I kept having, the fear that my cell phone would ding and bong or something and wake all the girls, and the Sunday School songs running through my head; I’m pretty sure I got about four hours of sleep that night, if I’m lucky. The next morning we sleepily headed off to breakfast, which was delicious. Since we’ve left I’m finding myself craving more of that Saturday morning baked oatmeal they had for us. Between the hot breakfast and coffee, I was feeling much better as we headed off to our next session with Pastor L. He gave a great presentation on the four soils and after a brief small group discussion, it was time for some serious FUN!

The rest of the morning and afternoon was consumed by dodgeball, apple pie scramble (a new and improved version of musical chairs), prisoner ball (a much simpler version of volleyball mixed with dodgeball is the best way I can describe it), and the long awaited rock wall climb. The kids worked together in teams of four (one climber and three belaiers) and I was shocked at how encouraging they were to one another. They pushed each other and they congratulated one another on pushing themselves as far as they could go. My husband was also there for this part of the day as a spotter for the rock wall and it was really powerful to see him ministering to these children. He’s not the type to go preach to kids or give his testimony in a Sunday School class so I really admire him when he finds non-traditional ways he can reach kids in his comfort zone. After a bit of coaxing from my adult peers and some of the kids who know me well, I finally gave in and agreed to scale the rock wall myself. Let me say, it’s not as easy as the kids made it look but with fifty kids and a handful of fellow kids ministry volunteers watching me, I knew I had no choice but to get to the top. Ringing that cowbell that hangs about a foot above the top of the rock wall, and turning around to see all the kids and my husband cheering and clapping was definitely a proud moment for me.

Following the afternoon of fun, we enjoyed some dinner and some free play time. By then, it was time to head back to the cabin to pack our things and start getting all the kids ready to reunite with their parents. I was thrilled as I overheard the girls talking about how much fun they’d had despite the rain and the fact that we weren’t able to do any of our fun outdoor activities like boating or parachute ball and how they were wishing they could stay just one more night.

I returned home dirty and exhausted and with a minor case of PTSD from one boy who’d chased me around with worms; but I also came home with an even greater love for Jesus, the kids, the mentors, my husband, my parents (who’d helped my husband out tremendously while I was gone), and my own children (absence does make the heart grow fonder). Though I knew from the start that this coordinator position was the job that God had been calling me to do for several months before he finally knocked on my door with it, I left this retreat with complete confidence that I am in the right place at the right time.