Types of Students at Camp

We start this week with another email from a listener! A little insight into the email, “Luke is nasty!” This week we look at the different types of students you will see at a summer camp! It’s great when over 20 churches get together for a week of camp but you also get over 600 different types of students with that. These students range from the “I don’t wanna” kid to the “I’m broke on the first night of camp.” If you think of a type of student that we missed, let us know by emailing us at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome back to another week of M3 Merge Ministry Mostly. Once again, I'm Daniel Cook and I'm Luke. And we are back. Uh past two weeks, we have had uh interviewees, I guess it was.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

I think we you're supposed to call them guests.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Guest.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

We had some uh guests join us. Interviewee makes it sound too like formal. We are not formal. No, we are not.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Uh but they came on uh Justin Williams first week. Oh yeah, Levi was last week for sure. So this week is just us again. Uh so if you like that, great. If you don't, then come join us.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

And you know, send us an email. Let us know. Speaking of email, we have received an email. Real excited about this one. Well, all I know was I was told that an email was sent, but you hadn't let me read it yet.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yes, because uh I was on a cruise last week, so we kind of got off, but also this email comes from a couple of podcasts ago, so different people have picked up at different times, so they're not necessarily on the same week that we're on, type thing. So this one is about one from a while back. Uh so the email will I'm just gonna read it. I don't think it'll be too difficult to figure out who it is from. So here we go. The individual, this email will say the name at the end. Call me a hater for being three episodes behind. That's fine. I'm catching up. Not a hater, you're just a little slow.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Yeah, I'm I was a hater. I was a hater. That was directly that was to you.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah, no doubt. I need the world to know that Luke Wilson's siblings, or at least specifically this sibling, do not, I repeat, do not have the same hygiene. I'm clean because I use a rag and I use a new towel every time I shower. Now that's a lot.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

That's a lot, bro.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

That is a lot.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

When I was telling my wife what my sister was roasting me for it at my mom and dad's house, like as in front of the family, like, and I'm telling her, I don't remember if she was not there, if she was just wasn't in the room or whatever. I was telling Joe what Carly Ray was saying. Oops, it's Carly Ray, by the way. It is my sister Carly Ray, and uh she was like, Does she do laundry like every single day? How many towels does she have?

SPEAKER_01 2:39

That's a lot that's a lot of towels because she also has four kids, yeah. So four kids close and then a towel every day every single day. I don't know that that's a lot, that's that's a little much. You can use a towel more than one time, but anyway, that's a lot. She uses a towel and it's like bold capitalized every time I shower.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Look, I I recognized on I admitted that a month is too long. Like I got that. Like I I was honest about that, and I recognize that that's gross, but you calling me I it wasn't gross that I do it, I don't use a shower, I mean a tower every single time I shower.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Yeah, that is a little much, but then she says, and I wash my back and my feet every single time. Y'all nasty.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

I do wash my feet, I don't wash my back. All right, with your right hand, touch your right shoulder.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

I can't. I had surgery.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Okay, use your left hand. I mean, you can do it there. All right, what about from the front? See, I can't do that.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

See, I can do that. I can't do it as much over there.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Look, I I can't, and I definitely can't from here. So you think I can wash my back? I can't even touch my shoulder. Yeah, I can't. And my if you tell me touch my right shoulder, I I mean my left shoulder, I gotta do it with my right hand.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Right.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Right shoulder, left hand. I can't.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Yeah, I can't reach up my back my right arm. Uh rotator cuff surgery. And I ain't have no shoulder surgery. I just tight as crap. So she said we're nasty, and then she said, and because Luke already said, have you ever smelled me? Doesn't mean you're clean.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

What?

SPEAKER_01 4:23

After I cook, she keeps going, after I cook, my pan looks clean when nothing sticks, but it's still dirty. She's saying you got a screw up. Uh I also make my bed every day. I don't know who raised him. So, yes, this is Carly Ray Luke's younger sister, yeah. Um, who decided to let everybody know that he's nasty. Um a towel every time you shower. Absolutely. That's a lot. I wouldn't want to do that much laundry.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

I think that's a bad look on you more than it is on me.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

That's a lot, man. Are you that nasty that you have to use all the time? That's what it is. No, that's good. Thanks for the uh email letting us know that you were were raised different. But also, she's the third, third child. You're you were the second. Like the second child, you just kind of don't nobody care about the middle child. Nah, not at all. Like the first child, they they watch and all that, but then the second one, they're more worried about the first one than you, and they just kind of let you and then the third one comes along, and nobody cares about the first or second anymore.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

That's right. The third one is the favorite. The last one is the one that gets all the attention. Look, I love my mama, okay? I love my mama. She was roasting me about not washing my back too.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

See, I can't like I don't wash my back.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Like, look, they asked me, they asked when when you when you get out of the shower, you dry off, and you put your t-shirt on. He was like, Does your t-shirt get wet? I said, No. He was like, So how do you dry your back off? I was like, Well, I'll take the ends of the towel. Right, that's a big towel. Yeah, and so my daddy was like, It's the same thing with a rush wash rag.

SPEAKER_04 6:14

I said, What kind of wash rag you think I can put a wash rag in?

SPEAKER_03 6:19

That's a that's a little bitty. I didn't know my mom was like, We do have jumbo wash rags. I was like, it would take that for me, Nago. Ain't no way I could use a little wash rag. Wash my back out of here.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yeah, I can't wash it. I don't I can't I can't do the whole back thing. Now there's a loofah, I guess it's a loofah, that's about probably two foot long, and it has strings on each side of it that you can use. We had one, I think we bought one of the kids one for Christmas. Never use it. Yeah, I'm out, man. Yeah, just it's okay. It's like, and let's let's just say your back's dirty or you have something on it, you ain't never gonna see it. I yeah, I ain't worried about it. I mean, I ain't worried about it. I don't know what's back there. I don't see the hair on my back.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

I don't see none of that. It don't bother me at all.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

So probably a little bit more information than you were bargaining for. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Well, you can if you have typically what people get with me.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

If you have opinion or thoughts or critiques or anything, uh you can always email us, emerge ministries12 at gmail.com to let us know how you feel. Uh, we are quickly approaching camp.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Kids camp is less than a month away.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

No doubt.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

If you are listening to the podcast, real quick. Again, real quick. Uh, as we approach these final weeks, there are a lot of things that we have to buy, props, books, t-shirts. So if you would like to support what we got going on, you can look at the website, gives you ways you can donate. We have an Amazon wish list out there that you can purchase stuff.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

The easiest way to get to that would probably be from Facebook, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Merge Summer Camp.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

Summer Camp. Merge Ministries, merge summer camp.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Merge Summer Camp. And you can find that there. So even if you can't come, we do hopefully you are praying for us and what's going to happen. But we always could use the help kind of last final push to get us ready for camp. And speaking of camp, a couple weeks ago, we did a podcast on the types of leaders you see at camp. Yeah. Surprisingly, nobody commented on that.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

No feedback from that one. I was uh I was kind of expecting to get some hate mail on that one.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

I did too. I thought somebody, but the thing was, if you want to go back and listen to it, all the styles of leaders are necessary.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

They are, and everybody can't be each of those things. Right. Like you you can't have one leader that is all of those things, or they'd be schizophrenic. It wouldn't work out. I don't know what you're getting at.

SPEAKER_04 8:58

Yeah, what is happening right now?

SPEAKER_02 9:00

But you know, they are they are all necessary at at times. And the point, part of the point of the episode, we talked about, you know, what the ideal leader is, but also in you know, the one that's coming to my mind is the uh I forget what we call it, like the mother duckling, duckling, yeah. The little duckling, like getting everybody lined up in a row, whatever. As long as you know your role and you execute your role when it's needed, right? Perfect, baby. The mother duckling. Uh, if if we one of the kids we're gonna talk about here, if they had this leader, they wouldn't be this kid.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

So the kids need the different leaders at times. Camp needs different leaders at times. Uh, so today we're gonna look at the types of students we see at camp. And this will kind of could bounce back and forth from kids to youth um a little bit, but also still most of them are the same.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

It's pretty much all camps, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:03

Any camp you go to, you got these guys here.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

So this is uh what we have seen over the years of being taking our groups to camp and also doing camp. So once again, not downing on anybody, not like making fun of somebody making fun of somebody. Uh, but these are the type of kids that we see at camp. And the first one is the I don't wanna. I don't want to do anything, I don't wanna go play games, I don't wanna go hang out, I don't want to go to sleep, I don't want to eat, I don't wanna do anything. The pros of that is they'll not get hurt. They ain't gonna get hurt, man. Nothing's gonna happen to that kid.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

They are gonna come home safely. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

The con to that is you ain't gonna have no fun.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

No fun.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Like, how do you go to camp and all you do is sit there and go, I don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

I remember uh our our first year at Shaco with youth. There was about I think it was three girls um in one, they were all were in one small group, and when it came direct, they just were done. Yeah, like it's hot and they were out. So we had a tent set up with the water under there. I mean, it is hot outside, right? Like I give them that. It is hot, but your kids like go daggum play, man. Like, why why are we sitting here like a bump on a log? And so we got the tent under there, and some of the adults that their role is, you know, kind of the in-between games, they're not actually doing a whole lot in the middle of of games. They got their uh chair set up under the tent, you know. Right. Well, my wife was one of those uh leaders. She leaves in the middle of it to go film some stuff or whatever, and comes back. And this girl's sitting in her chair, and she's like, you know what? Like, I ain't gonna trip. Like, it is no big deal. Girl sitting there, they rotate, go to the next one, and she looks down, and Shod ain't got no shoes on, and she's got her feet sitting up in Joe's chair, and it's just mud all in Joe.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

She's like, Where is there even mud at?

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Like, oh, just go play. So sometimes these kids that don't want to do nothing, they're caused more problems than they know.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Just go with the flow for a week of your life. Just just say yes, just have fun, man. Just yes. I will try it. I will sweat a little bit, I will do whatever it needs to be done. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:38

First group. My my first one is uh the the D1 athlete. They uh you you like to have this person on your team, whether they are actually a D1 athlete or they think they are.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

So this goes to the code. Well, that could go into two categories there.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

You can split this into two categories. You got one that really is the D1 athlete, and then you got the other one that thinks they're a D1 athlete, and they're not athletic at all. Uh, so with that being said, the pro of having the actual D1 athlete on your team is you're gonna win, baby. You're gonna win. You're gonna win. Like then and winning is fun. Like you take some of those kids that don't want to do nothing, but they got the D1 athlete on their team, and we winning, we we we uh supporting. You know what I mean? We're gonna be a part and we're gonna participate. That's it. The problem is uh they treat every game like it's game seven of the World Series, like this is the finals, and we we gotta get it, uh, we gotta win. And they typically tend to be, you know, a showman, right? Ball, ball life, ball hog. Yep, never let anybody else touch it. Nobody else. I remember last year watching kickball and or two years ago, same that same year. We're playing kickball off in the corner, and this kid's going from from pitching to catching the ball in left field, and nobody on his team moves. Nobody even moves. Like they kick the ball and they're just watching him run. It's like, I don't even have to try, like, we're gonna win because this guy's gonna cover. Uh the opposite of that, the the con, I mean, the the con is that you don't win. And then you're making everybody frustrated because you you are telling people like you're this athlete and you're carrying yourself like the other actual athletes. And right, you think we're gonna win, but it don't happen.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

But then for those kids that think they are, like when you actually see that they aren't, it's bad. Like they carry their self like I can do this, and like then somebody kicks the ball and it hits them in the face and they can't catch it, then it's like, ee, it's not a good look. Yeah, uh so, but like you said, if you got them on your team, you're gonna win. It works well well for you, and you are gonna like it. But you may not touch the ball or get to play, no, but you will win at the end of the day. That's right. Uh, the next one I got is high energy, low stamina. These kids come out the morning like running up and down the road for breakfast, like they are just gone. And they're living the best life. There they go, but then you hit services and they go to sleep.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

They're done, boy. Like they're running up and down the road.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Services, they go to sleep. Soon as service is over, they're up again. It's like a power nap.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

For for kids, what it what time is breakfast?

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Oh, I want to say 745, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Yeah, and we get up there, what, seven? Yeah, I think it opens for staff at seven. We're walking up at seven o'clock. They they're like supposed to open it then. And these kids that you're talking about, the high energy, low stamina, are walking out. They done ate.

SPEAKER_04 16:01

We're like, how'd you even get your food? Like, it's seven o'clock, and I'm walking up the stairs. How are you? How have you already eaten?

SPEAKER_02 16:08

And uh yeah, as soon as it gets time for service, they're out. They're gone, but they're gone.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

I'm like, dude, you were just running like eating candy, and now you're gone. But then they're also the kids that when it comes for lights out, they are wide open once again. And you're like, they get that that second third win, baby. They do. It's like, stop it, like spread it out, like pace yourself a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

Talking about the eat eating the candy in the morning time. Uh, one of my favorite kids, especially when I was when we were doing, you know, as the youth pastor, we're just taking our group on a on a trip or whatever. Uh, the snack smuggler. Yeah. Oh man, I love, I love that kid. Uh, I remember one time we're going, I guess I should do the pro and con before I tell the story. Uh, the pro is this kid, they ain't never going hungry. You ain't gotta worry about have you eaten like some of these kids, they go all day and they're just playing, they're go, go, go, and whatever. They they you realize, oh man, you haven't eaten anything. Um, they they ain't gonna go hungry. The the problem is uh at the at the end of the day, their their bunk, their whole room looks like a daggum convenience store. Like they got everything. Uh, you're attracting all the bugs. Like we are in the woods, you know what I'm saying? Like, you gotta throw the trash away. But uh there's also the the snack smuggler that uh also is uh entrepreneur, yeah. And they be out there in the hallway selling snacks. I remember my Justin Johnny, I call him, uh, my brother-in-law who was on recently, uh, when he was a chaperone for his church before he came on staff. I I think I've shared before. He goes and he goes all out. He's getting all the snacks, figuring out what everybody wants. Well, he's got this one kid that's holding this book bag, and he's obviously looking suspicious. So Johnny's like, I what's in the book bag, man? Right. And uh he's like, I'm thinking, you know, he done brought something he ain't supposed to bring. Well, he done went into the snacks that Johnny brought for his room and put it in this book bag, and he is selling them in the hallway. Johnny bought and paid for all of his food, and he's selling these snacks. Entrepreneur. Oh, yeah. He's making money, baby. He's like, I don't want these snacks, I'm gonna make them money.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

That's gonna make me some money. Uh, but that goes to another one on here is the kid, which this kid, that kid was not because he was making money. Yeah, but you always have the kid that shows up at camp that is broke on the first day.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

They spend all the parents will send them with $25 and it's gone. They spend it all.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

All of it.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

All of it. So you get everything you want. It's the pro. But you have three more days until you go home. And you ain't got nothing. You ain't got nothing. You're begging your friends to buy you a 25 cent airhead. Uh now, if you pay sure, which they usually don't, because when they go broke on the first day, they eat all the candy on the first day. That's right. Uh, which some of these kids we've talked about before, like they don't get to eat sugar. There's some kids that their parents don't let them eat sugar at home, but when they come to the snack bar, it's it's fair game. No doubt. So they they see that and they just go all out, but they also probably buy their friends stuff. Oh, yeah. Uh so you you like that.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

They're often, yeah, they're often generous with it. Like they ain't never had no money in their life. And their mama sent them with some money and they're like, Hey, you want something?

unknown 19:44

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Yeah, and some of these kids uh still have to eat, even when we did youth at the very beginning, we would stop for lunch on the way home.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

They don't have no money, they don't, and then most of the time these kids won't tell you they don't have anybody, so they just don't eat at all. And then it's like, you sh you should have told me. So yeah. But anyway, but I broke.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

My group when when we leave kids' camp, my group stops on the way home to eat. And uh the first year I was at the church I'm at now, we had our merge parent meeting or whatever. And the lady that that runs the kids while you know I'm on staff, while she has has them, she's in charge, she um kind of spoke up at the end of the meeting and was like, if you don't think your child can keep up with their money, put your money in an envelope, put their name on it, give it to me, I'll take care of that. Alleviates the I spent all my money on the first day. Right. Uh, but afterwards she said, and if if you don't think they can handle it, inside that envelope, put a little baggie with, you know, $10, $15 in it, or you know, $10 so that on the way home they we can make sure they have money so that they can eat on the way home, which we ain't gonna let a kid not eat. That's what you're saying. Like we see them over there sitting there, not eating. You ask them, Hey, you're not hungry, they say, No, or do you have money? And they're like, No. He's like, Come on, I'm gonna buy you some food. Right. But uh when when we got done, I asked her, I said, uh, do you you you know that from experience, it feels like. And she was like, Oh yeah. First year we came to camp, she said we stopped to eat afterwards, and not a single child had any money to eat on the way home. She said they spent it all at camp, which you know, part of that's our fault. We'd be selling t-shirts and sweatshirts and hats, and they look good and they want our fault.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I guess it's our fault for creating things that they want. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 21:46

I ain't mad about it.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

We do so we will have a merchandise store at camp and a snack bar. Snack bars typical cost of things we don't overcharge for we we are uh pretty we're.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Cheap.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

We're cheaper than everybody else.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

We do have sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats. We're creating all those too. So but yeah, so those kids, there there will be a kid or two who goes through all of their money on the very first day.

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Um the the next one is one of my uh one of my favorite memories uh of camp every single year. Um I don't know what the difference between these two are. You have them here, a yeller and a screamer. I don't know what the difference is.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

I don't know what the difference is, but my wife will tell me there is a difference in yelling and screaming. Yeah, I've been told that too. But I don't remember the I don't remember my wife told me the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

Uh but uh your your son, Levi, who was on last week, uh at camp, he he is a yeller. And he's not yelling at people.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Uh it's I see the difference. Oh, what's the difference? So a yeller is like your your like the yeller, like Levi, he yells for games and all that. Yeah, screamer is that kid that's sitting in the audience that you tell them to say something or or to respond, and it's that hypocrisy. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's like, we didn't ask you to do that. Like, we just want you to do that. I guess I should have read about it.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

So the yeller, the yeller is what I'm talking about. Okay, so the pro is everybody knows when you're around, and a lot of times you you life foot apart. That's right. You people people enjoy being around this this kid. Uh the con is, which is my favorite. This is why this is one of my favorite kids, is after that first day they can't talk, they cannot talk, and their voice is so low and raspy that you're like, it is so like so funny to me. I love it. Yeah, like you ain't gotta go all out the first day. Last year, you know, for for camps, we had we had kids. Uh, we we ride up on Sunday, the staff does Monday through Thursday, and then Friday started youth camp. And it's Tuesday, yeah. And Levi can't talk. And I was like, bro, you got a whole nother camp to go to. What are you gonna do? By the end of it, his voice was so shy, it was great. I love it. I I love the yeller. The screamer does bother me a little bit since we're on the topic.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

Right, we'll go on and hit it.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

We'll go ahead and hit the screamer.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

So, like I said, the screamer is like you yell for your team, and like it's like, yeah, and everybody's cheering, but there's that one kid who is high pitched, like squilling almost on purpose. On purpose. So everybody knows what team you're on, everybody knows that you have the I guess that's a pro. I guess, yes. But it's like just you don't have to do that, like you you can just scream and cheer like everybody else. Um I have little dogs at my house, and when they bark, it doesn't bother me.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Right. When somebody comes up, they get that high pitch bark, and it makes me want to punt them across the room. You can't say that. Not that I want to punt a kid, uh an animal. Oh, I can say that. It's my dog. It's my dog. If I want to, I didn't say I did it. Yeah, there's probably gonna be some emails about that. So we both I am what I am, Daniel Cook.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

With both of these, like you do have a it made me think of losing your voice. Like, there's been some years that like I start to lose my voice, but I remember I think it was when Ryan was leading worship, and I've seen them other places too, like they lose their voice and they have this spray, yeah, yeah. That's like spit spray. I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

I think it's called throat coat.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yes, that I would never doesn't sound good. I'm like, nope, I just won't be able to talk. I'm not, it's like a thick, like a it no, can't do that.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

So so in in line with the yeller and the screamer is the sing off key guy. Man, here here's my all right. This is a hard one. The pro is your heart's in the right place, that's right, and you're worshiping, and you have a desire to sing to Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

The con is sometimes it can be a distraction, and it depends on how the person handles if they if they have that heart of worship and their desire is to worship Jesus, and you recognize you're hearing something, and you look over and you see the culprit, and their eyes are closed, their hands are up, they're they're in it, whether you know, whether that's exactly how they look or what or whatever. Their eyes could be open. But my point is, when you know all right, they're worshiping, it it settles you, and it's no longer a distraction. It might have distracted you for a second, you're like, All right, like I I can get over this. The ones that are doing it on purpose, right, bothers the mess out of me.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

That whole like hold the note longer than everybody else, like three seconds longer, they're holding the note.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

Yes, yes, like it. Yeah, so with this being said, where I sit in church, there's people around me that sing beautifully, and there's people around me that don't. And when you know the person, it it doesn't distract you as much because you know what their their heart is, right? Like they're just wanting to sing. Yeah, yeah. I know I can't sing, that's fair. And I'm slightly self-conscious about it, so that if I find myself above the music, I'll bring it back down a little bit. It's quite quite as loud. Now, there's other people that it don't bother them, they're worshiping. That's right. They are worshiping, so it don't matter that you hear them and you they don't sound good. Right. It's fine. Yeah. Uh, which again, that should not be the distraction that it is sometimes. I get it that sometimes it is a distraction. It shouldn't be because they're worshiping. Uh, and and you should be free to worship how you want to worship. Where it actually becomes a problem is the I'm doing this, I'm doing this to to be seen. That's right. And it's about you and not about Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

That's right. Yeah. Because I I cannot, I cannot sing either. But like you said, like I know I like to. I like to. And I ain't no good at it. I get all the words wrong. Um, but I also keep it, keep it down a little bit. Um, but I mean, you have not everybody can sing, and some people, like you said, they they worship and they're all in off key, all of that, and that's cool. But when it's attention grabbing or that kind of distraction, then uh sometimes I'll be singing in the car, whether it's worship or secular music.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

I'll notice that now I'm the only one singing, and so I look back and my kids are like, Dad.

SPEAKER_03 29:07

I'm like, bro, just join in with me. Yes, it's fun to sing, like it's enjoyable.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Just sing, man. Who cares what you sound like? Which my wife and my children sing well, so that's probably frustrating. It's just you because I'm going, dude.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

Dude, you suck. You're you're one of these people that don't need to be singing. Uh so then we got the the lost kid. Um as the name says, the lost kid. They pros, they get extra steps.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

Because they are all over the place.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

They're getting to exercise in at camp, baby.

SPEAKER_01 29:43

They are the con is you're never where you're supposed to be. Like, no matter how well, and we've I've I've had these kids, no matter how well your leaders are, this kid will always be missing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

For a little bit, kids are uh, I don't know if there's a I'm sure there's a better term. This probably didn't, anyways. Uh they're like they're slippery. Yeah, they they're right in the middle of the group where they're supposed to be, and then the next thing you know, they done slipped out, and you're like, Where did they go? Where did he go? You know what the the lot of times this kid is is it it it kind of can go back and forth. Sometimes this kid's real quiet, right? And they slip off because they're quiet, but a lot of times it's not, it's not they're part of the yeller, the life of the party, they're they're in it, and then the group gets quiet, and you're like, wait, wait, he's gone again.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

Something's not right.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Uh yeah, the funniest which I've told the story before was we had a kid, student life did an after party. Oh, yeah. Um, and we couldn't find a kid. Excuse me. And the dude was on stage dancing at the after party. Like we were up in the room, like we were probably those days at Mountain Ridge, so we were a long way away. So we jumped in golf carts and everybody took off. And the dude's on stage dancing. And I'm like, hey man, at least you're somewhat where you're supposed to be. Well, you're you're you're safe.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

That's you know, you're at least you're safe. You're with other people that you know you're not lost in the woods somewhere. Right. You're safe. Uh these these uh types of of students make make me laugh. You got the the the camp romance expert. Uh you you got there's kind of two sides of this one too, right? You got the one that's there for their camp crush, uh, and then you got the one that's kind of that's the go-between. Like they know everybody's business, they know who's liking who and all that. So uh you know, I guess a pro is you you know all the relationship status before breakfast. You know who's liking who and what like you're in tune with the people, you know, is is I guess a pro. Um, but by Wednesday started three relationships, ended two, and uh somehow you've become everyone's therapist. Like you're the one that's involved with everyone and putting out fires, and you know, it it's it's comical to watch. Uh you know, remember being a teenager. That's right. You know, it's a thing. Like, I'm not I'm I'm hating because it's funny as an adult, right? Um, but it it's a thing. It happens, and it's funny for me to watch. It happens every year. This is more so with youth, but it's kind of infiltrated kids a little bit. Last year at uh uh Christmas in July party, there's a whole you know drama going down with uh a couple of the older kids and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 32:41

You're like, bro, it's you're in your kid, leave it alone, who cares? Run around with your glow stick.

SPEAKER_01 32:48

Yeah. I wonder if any, if there's if if you're listening, has a camp romance uh ever made it?

SPEAKER_02 32:56

That's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

Like, did you find because we we all I guess somewhat have them? I I don't really remember a whole lot from when I was a teenager. If I had I'm sure there were people you see, and which back then when I was in youth, and yes, you call me old all the time. I didn't get no cell phone. We did not I didn't get a cell phone until I graduated high school and got ready to go to college in 2000. So when I was when I was in kindergarten. So when I was going to youth camps, like we had to write each other letters. So I didn't have a beeper, or some people might have had a beeper pager or whatever. Um, but yeah, there was no cell phone like, hey, let me get your snap. Oh I I mean, because I'm thinking about it, I'm like, dude, we had to get like address. Oh yeah, we had to write a letter. Hey, hey girl, let me get your address.

unknown 33:50

Let me get the address.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

So there was no, there's no, hey, what's your what's your snap? Or hey, let me let me send you a text so we can keep up. Because I think that's maybe gives a possibility that some of these camp romances actually could last. Because with me, once you write a letter and it takes how many days to get there, then if they write back and by then you're like, wait, who's it? You're like, I like you.

SPEAKER_02 34:17

I don't even remember what you look like. So when I was in uh the youth group, we went to I think it was uh M Fuge at um Mobile University. And uh when you go to like where service was, it was like this big old auditorium. Okay, and so you had to walk down these steps and then cross this little little road to to get to it. And these steps were like it's like kind of like stadium steps where it's you know, a long you take two steps and then it's a short step, so it's long and short, long and short going down this hill. Well, this girl that was you know, she was cute. She bit the dust. All right, and she, you know, everybody knew it because you know, well, she was cute. So the guys in the youth group are like, go talk to her. So I kind of run up there off smooth, and I'm like, hey, are you the girl? And as I said, girl, I ran smack into a light pole. She's on the sidewalk. I'm trying to get up to her, she's got her little posse around her, and when I I'm telling you, I smacked, I'm smacked this pole, and it was like what what you see on a cartoon like my arms go forward, my face stuck, my my my right foot's planted, my left foot and both my arms go forward, and I just slide down the pole. Shawdy didn't even look back.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

She just gave a pole. Hey, you just fell too, by the way. I don't know why you think you better than me. Yeah, I was gonna say, y'all must have been a like a match made in heaven.

SPEAKER_03 36:01

Like never had another conversation with her.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

She just kept on the light at the top ended up being crooked. Like I smacked that pole, bro. I was moving.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Well, to go along with the the camp romance expert, we kind of talked about it. The camp crusher. Um, the pro to this person is they have a good chance to find someone who loves Jesus. Um but the con is it won't last longer than the week of camp, which maybe it does. But you have those, and I I don't know. I mean it's set up better today to last. It is, but you do have those kids that's why they go to youth camp.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

That is true.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

Like they go and they think, ooh, we're gonna see these other churches. And maybe that's not exactly why they're going, but that's a thought in their mind. That's part of it. Of like, hey, I wonder who I'm gonna see. I wonder who I'm gonna talk to. I wonder if it goes like because guys, I would say guys do that. I wonder if girls do that, like they go to camp thinking, hey, I'm gonna there's gonna be guys there, and they're I am not a female, so I can't really answer the question. I don't know. Good question. I don't know. Is that just the guy thing? The girls like I probably I mean you would think like the girls, because you hear when you talk to teenagers about dating, we can't find people that love Jesus. There's not these kind of because you tell them don't date somebody that don't love Jesus. So maybe they do come in with like, hey, there's 300 teenagers here. There's a good chance they're gonna be cute and there's gonna be somebody that loves Jesus. That could happen.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

They're so you're saying there's a chance to say um one of one of the other ones that kind of drive me great drive me crazy, less now that I'm on staff and I'm not running small groups. Yeah. Um, but I I feel for our small group leaders uh as they're trying to teach these kids about Jesus, mainly in youth. It it happens with kids as well, but the phone addict. Um the good thing is they got great pictures, they get great videos of camp. You don't miss anything when we say, hey, upload your your pictures here, we we get some fantastic shots. Problem is you miss half of what's going on because you are trying to post about what's going on and you have no clue what's actually happening. You know, we're taking the pictures and we're typing and all of that stuff, and whatever else they're doing, talking to their friends that ain't there. That's right. Uh the phone addict is uh a little bit a little bit frustrating to see. So when we were in ministry together at the same church and we'd go on trips, uh, we had a basket in every van. And when we got in there, hey, text your parents, tell them we're we're headed out, pass up your phones. Right. And it was always and they talk to one another. That's right. Or wonderful for the driver, they slip into sleep. It's a win-win for Luke, you know? Like we're listening to the radio, or you know, I may play a song, or I'm driving, so my wife might play a song uh on you know on the speaker through the speakers, everybody's singing together, right? They're giving requests, like there's a bonding that takes place there that doesn't take place if they're all individually on their phones. Yes. Um, but but with that being said, the the addiction to phones today is it is and a little bit much.

SPEAKER_01 39:29

And the problem, you're almost in a spot where I would just love to say you can't bring your phone. Can't bring it, can't have it.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

But don't do it.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

Parents today, they ain't that ain't happening. No, yeah. That ain't that ain't happening. And if you take the phones up, we even had it one time. You took the phones up. Well, if one gets dropped, that well, you took my phone and you dropped it and you broke it, and this and that, and all that. But you can't say for most of them, you can to some of them, put your phones up and they actually put them up. Right, right. Because now they got watches or they got airpod ear pods, and like you can still listen. And oh, I don't see my phone, but I'm listening to music.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

So I remember last year at uh at youth camp, one of the leaders came up to me and was like, Look, we start small group, and this kid pulls out his airpods, puts one in each ear as we're getting started. And she's like, What am I supposed to do? And like, tell them, put them up, right? Put those in your pocket. And if it is a problem, talk, talk to tell me, and I'll talk to his leader, or you talk to the leader. Like, we we can deal with it. You know what I mean? You don't have to let them sit there with their airpods in, but unfortunately, it is it is a thing. The the church I'm at now, the college group, it really started when they were in high school. Now it's mainly those ones that are in college age now, but even some of the high schoolers. Uh, when we go to merge, I don't typically make them put their phones up now. I just kind of let it ride. Um, but what I've noticed is they genuinely the merge kids, so it's made uh some I said Somerville kids. It's some Somerville, you got some from a bunch of different churches. I typically drive the girls' vans for whatever reason. And uh on the way up there, they have their phones and they're all playing a game on their phone, right? Like together, being you know, bonding. And I I love that. If you can use your phone in that way, like I love it. It's it's great, you know.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

But the one that's can't get off of it during camp is I will say, in all the years of ministry, I've only had one student tell me they weren't giving their phone or they weren't getting off their phone. Yeah, so 99% of kids, you say, Hey, put your phones up, they do, hey, we're done. We don't have that problem. But I did have one student look at me one time and I was like, Pass your phones up. They went, No. And I was like, excuse me.

SPEAKER_00 41:53

Who you think?

SPEAKER_01 41:55

I'm not giving you my phone. And I was like, and and really, what do you do? I'm on a trip. Uh yes, I'm the adult, but if this student's like, no, I'm not giving you my phone, like, so I was like, you do get out. I said, Well, I'm gonna tell you this either you're gonna give me your phone or you're not coming back on a trip with me again. Ever. She gave me your phone.

SPEAKER_02 42:18

I bet she did.

SPEAKER_01 42:19

So uh that's pretty much all of them. We kind of talked about it.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

Look how awkward this is now. You had to get punked out on the church van.

SPEAKER_01 42:26

Just give your phone up for a couple hours while we're driving. Um so yeah, so those are the type of students you see at camp. Once again, for camp experience, you these are kids that you you need to have. Oh, yeah. You gotta be there. That's part of it is part of being a kid. The screamer who is a high-pitch screaming sound, like you're a kid, no, that's what you do. Like we get it.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

Um, sleeping in service, we would prefer that you didn't, but that you don't.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

Um, but sometimes it happens.

SPEAKER_02 43:02

Um, so the the cool thing is looking over this list, um, I've noticed since we've talked about the one more thing guy. I'd be doing that. I would have never labeled myself as that, but here I am doing it again. Uh anyways, uh one more thing. Uh all of these different kids, as some of them are it's easier to to deal with, some more difficult. They all need Jesus. That's right. And so why the the leader is so important is we gotta reach all these kids. And so we need different leaders to be able to reach the different kids. And that doesn't mean that throughout the the week of camp nobody's ever, you know, getting on to anybody. Right. You know, we there's kids still do things they shouldn't do, and you gotta correct and whatever. But all of these kids need Jesus, not just the easy ones.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

deal with right well and the leader the different types of leaders deal with different types of kids better oh yeah but I don't want a kid I don't I don't I can I can't deal with him I'm like no you're gone like go I don't want to and I'm like okay well whatever but fine sit over there and not have fun right that's the way you want to be so some of them like I deal with better because of my personality and that kind of goes with the leaders like the types of leaders are there to deal with the different types of kids because we all have different personalities and patience and different things. Well and you and you see it at different times you got a leader with the arm around the kid or the youth and they're like giving them that heart to heart you know I've been known to have that heart to heart with a D1 athlete hey man you need to chill out like right we're at camp this isn't football camp this ain't soccer camp this ain't like this is youth camp this is this is my Jesus brother like right if you win this thing nobody cares nobody cares just chill out and have fun or the one that goes and puts around the arm around the kid don't want to do nothing and encourages them hey let's give it a shot right you know at the end of this if you still don't enjoy it and you don't want to do it tomorrow don't do it tomorrow right but most of the time if they give in they're gonna do it they're gonna enjoy it so so yeah we are getting like we said closer to camp it is coming uh about three weeks four weeks maybe less than a month away um so we're excited to see the leaders we will be standing up by the snack bar watching all the different types of leaders yeah no doubt laughing like having making comments but not judging just having a good time and then the kids you're gonna see them if you're coming to camp um just know that and this is probably a small number of different types of kids you'll see oh yeah there's a lot more there's a lot more uh thank you for joining us this week we will be back again next week but like I said we're getting closer to camp things have to be bought to make camp happen yeah uh we do have people that have supported us and thank you to those people for sure um but if you want to help us get over the edge help us to get there we do have last minute things we're buying to make camp successful uh but also we do rent sound and lights and different stuff that cost so if you want to contribute you may not be able to come to camp uh but you can pray for us or give uh we have give butter we have you can mail us a check that information is on the website merge dash ministries dot com um and if you want to write us an email tell us something we missed or something we got wrong yeah night send it on we will read it if you are kind of excuse me if you're on the fence of I I I like you know some of the things I'm hearing I I want to give but I'm not fully on board yet uh what what we tell everybody is come to camp come to camp experience it come for the day and just watch and and get involved you know participate what however you want to do that send us an email we we actually are are doing that this year we're we're getting that set up to where uh if if you want to come and and see what camp is like say you maybe you already are a donor but you've never experienced camp come come to camp this year send us an email we'll get you set up on uh all the details that you need for that um what once you you're there and you experience it and you see the kids and the leaders and you know the sound the lights and the service and worship and and all of the things that we do um it it pulls on your heartstrings a little bit I ain't gonna lie to you it it it it it's it's worth it so so come come check us out if if you're kind of yeah wondering yeah we invite you to uh but like you said send us an email to let us know that so we can get it set up we can look for you tell you where to meet us all that good stuff sure um but yes come check us out uh kids or youth kids camp is july 6th through the 9th youth camps july 16th through the 19th uh so pray for us as we go forward especially definitely need that but if you want to yeah if you want to help out there's a lot of ways you can do that so until next week we hope you have a great week and we will be back next week see you by see you bye