Whirlwind.

Emotions are high as second term of second session is high in gear. Yesterday, I had to say goodbye to my very first group of campers EVER and say hello to a new crew. It was very difficult considering the intimacy established by the last day with my old girls. My first group, the Real Deal was so special. I formed great relationships with all of them and had a hard time grasping the fact that it was over. We had ski trips, real deal trip, late night camp outs, and many more memories. We had one girl come to know the Lord and the other 11 see Jesus in a whole new way. Comments made like, "This is the best year of Kamp I have ever had," or "My counselors are the greatest" and "I don't want to leave" made the term so worth it. We had 5 girls come down with the flu which was a total bummer but in those moments the Lord revealed a new and precious side of them that I wouldn't have gotten to see any other way. Each girl is so unique and fun which is a motivation to invest and hear her heart. The Lord taught me alot about loving them and dying to myself constantly when I have to keep going even though it's hard and I'm tired. I didn't know it was possible to fall in love with 12 eleven year olds and at the same time impact their lives for the Kingdom. When I think about the fact that my Boss is God Himself and that I am working for Him in His harvest, I get so overwhelmed. I am so unworthy to do such a thing, yet the fact that He loves me enough to allow me a place in His HUGE and MIGHTY plan is humbling and encouraging. Some of the hardships that I am dealing with is bonding with the new staff and missing the old. It is so difficult to go from having people who have invested and truly love you so much to new people who are just getting to know you. I miss having people who knew my heart and my passions and having the same. It's not just missing the fun memories and great people, but it's also missing the deep spiritual connection. I trust the Lord is forming those new relationships but just really have a hard time being patient and waiting on His timing. My new girls are great but I am waiting to get to know them. They seem a bit wilder than my last girls but I love the energy and high intensity. I will blog more tomorrow and add pictures but felt the desire to give you a peek into life here and what it's like being a counselor. Please write me if you can, that seems to be the BIGGEST encouragement.
967 Lakeshore Dr.
Branson, MO 65616
Also, please be praying that the Lord would bless me with patience and confidence to serve Him in radical ways. Pray that I will remember to find time with Him and dig my energy from Him alone. I really miss the last term people but I'm still looking forward to growth and time with the friends here now. Love you guys!

Real Deal.

Welcome to the very first blog about my Barn. Yes, I am officially the proud counselor of Barn 12, the Real Deal. For those of you who don't know, Barn 12 is the oldest group of girls who have attended K Kountry the most years in a row. It's an honor and a privilege to be in this barn and obviously is a huge deal. This barn is full of the oldest and most mature girls at kamp. This will be their last year at our kamp so they also get special privileges and trips. I am so honored to be their counselor. My Co is named Elizabeth Davis and is from Samford University. It's such a blessing to have one of the best counselors of the term living and working with me. She is so great and fun! She's a huge asset to making me a better counselor. I am once again reminded of the Lord's sovereignty and faithfulness. I was pretty nervous about all this and He shines through once again to remind me that He is in control and loves me so much that He would orchestrate all this greatness into my life. It's such a blessing to have a leadership team who prays consistently over the staff and hears and follows what the Lord would have them do to make Him more known about this Kamp. My girls are so incredible!! I never knew that 12 eleven year old would be so cool. I feel like a loser compared to them!! They are so fun to be around and love being here. It's an amazing encouragement to me, especially in a difficult time because all my old staff buddies left the same day my girls arrived. The girls have amazing attitudes and I am just like a proud Mom to call them mine. We have already had dress up, ski trip, scavenger hunts, and great conversations. I'm not just saying this, but I really do feel like I have the BEST group of girls at Kamp. Each one has already began to reveal their personality and I can't wait to see what else they have to offer. I am so thankful for this opportunity and hope that you will join me in praying over this group of ladies. My challenge for myself is to leave this place deeper in love with Jesus and impact at least one life for the sake of His kingdom. Join with me as we run to the Cross in hopes that one day we will meet our Savior who gave it all for us. I can't help but be about Him. I'm super lucky to have this group of girls. Get Excited for More, because I am positive I'll have great stories and awesome pictures!! Term 4- Let the Games Begin! 

Kountry Side Photos!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

Happy Fourth to Everyone (late bday cards are always fun so I thought this would be too...) I hope everyone enjoyed their time celebrating all the good things of our country. I know some of you were at the beach, the lake, or the farm. I hope everyone saw enough fireworks to hold you off until New Years. Many of you may have bruises or scars from firework fights or common mistakes in firework shows (Brendles). I know my family enjoyed an amazing firework show on the lake given by my Dad. I'm a bit jealous I missed the lake burgers and fellowship. If you are wondering what I did on my fourth of July, I'll let you know. We had quite a July 3rd because LeCrae and Flame gave our Kamp and two other kamps a free concert. LeCrae is a famous Christian rapper known well around the Kanakuk parts. Most of our kids are too young to really understand the excitement of him being here but all the counselors were going nuts. It was such a fun time to just go crazy and release some endorphins. Plus, every concert I've ever been to I've sweat more than the person on stage surrounded by lights and fog. Therefore, I may have lost a few lbs. as well. :) Since we had the concert I feel like everyone was pretty tired on the fourth. We all got up and put on our best outfits. It's so cute to see kids all decorated in red, white, and blue. I helped Jane decorate the office with a big flag, balloons, and enthusiasm. One of my favorite parts of the day was between lunch and breakfast where Jane and I met the K1 office girls across the bridge. The K1 Kamp is located less than a mile away from our Kamp so you can walk there. We met and shared blueberries and sweet tea and just hung out. Jane and I made a sign for them which was also fun. The day in the office was pretty slow because their was no mail yesterday (or today since its Sunday). In the middle of the day, we played a trivia game with all the girls and some of the staff dressed up. I was dressed as Betsy Ross (made the first American flag), sitting with the Statue of Liberty, Sarah Palin, and Barbi. Maybe I'll be able to post some photos soon. The next fun thing we did was have a big pic-nic down in the lower fields and eat grilled chicken for dinner down by the lake. Dinner was followed by a big parade. The parade was hilarious- Santa Clause, Jane Qui Qui, bands, skit characters, Miss K kountry... etc. It was full of staff members dressed up on cars or golf cart 'floats' to entertain the kids and hand out candy. We wrapped the night up with a huge firework show. Two other kamps came back over to celebrate with us. The fireworks were really great!! No worries Dad, they had nothing on you. :) My favorite thing yesterday was some of my closer friends from Auburn arrived. I went crazy in excitement to just see new faces and be refreshed. It got me excited for my term as a counselor and to just see friends is always a great thing. Today and tomorrow will be my last days in the office for a while and I'm pretty sad about that. However, I am fully trusting the Lord to prepare my heart for my fellow staff and kampers to arrive. I'm not sure when I will have another chance to blog but know that I missed all of you over the Fourth. I hope all of you are still in one piece and had a great time with friends and family. Love and miss you guys!!
Brandy

Start of July.

Hello to All!!
Well the term is winding down. All of next term counselors arrive tomorrow by 6. Some of them have already trickled in while others are on their way. I'm so excited to see my friends and new faces. On July 7, it has been confirmed that I will be a counselor. I don't know my co or my ages of kids yet but I'll let you know. I will be a counselor for the first 4 weeks and then an office girl the last 2 weeks. I feel like the Lord really blessed this decision and has been so faithful to me and blessed me with a great opportunity to pour love and passion into these kids so that they too may come to know the Lord the way I have. The Lord has blessed Kkountry and healed up a lot of the sicknesses that had been accumulating here. I pray that He continues to protect and watch over our camp. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to all my friends here as they go home when their term is over on the 7th, but I have faith that these relationships are in Him and will continue to produce fruit and glorify the King. I am super happy to report good health on my older sister's behalf. Please read her blog and dive in to her heart for the Lord. She's so talented in poetry and the way the Lord has ministered and made Himself known to her in her last month of ministry is beautiful and contagious. (www.blairbrendle.theworldrace.org) I am hoping to post some pics up of the past few days at Kamp tonight on my last time off. Know everything here is good and I can't wait to see what He has in store. :) Love!!