by Rev. Kay Ash

With one more camp to go, I want to tell you about Be A Force for Good:  Animal Camp which took place last week.  We had a wonderful group of 1st through 4th grade students, most of them attend Wednesday Night Live.  They all seemed to know each other deeply from the neighborhood, some go to school together, and some are related.  Each and every day of camp was filled with laughter and silliness!

In the mornings we played early (to beat the heat): soccer, badminton and many make-believe beauty performances.  I passed out lots of band aids and snacks, they guzzled gallons of water.  As always, there were Bible stories, deep questions, prayers and blessings.  I’m sure it is no surprise that we shared the story of Noah and the ark filled with all the animals.  Here are the questions that came up:  Is the story real or more than real (half thought one way, half thought the other)?  How long is a cubit?  Why did God make it rain?  Is God a person?  How does the Trinity work?  Did it rain for 40 days or 150 days?  We talked and talked and then talked some more. 

We also shared the story of John the Baptist, who was wild like an animal and lived in the wilderness.  I think the kids were grossed out by the idea of eating grasshoppers, but the honey was tempting.  When God spoke during Jesus’ baptism, the kids discussed the voice of God for a long time.  Do you hear the voice of God through your ears, or do you hear it in your soul?  Was God’s voice loud and booming or soft and comforting?  Does anybody actually hear a voice?  At the end of each story, they always prayed that summer should last forever and that they never want to go back to school again.  Blessings are demanded and they constantly want extras.  These children wrestle so deeply with their faith. 

All that said, we have not gotten to the best parts of Animal Camp yet!  On Tuesday, we went to the Dallas Zoo.  Thank you, thank you to the amazing Corey McSpadden who was an absolute rock star zoo guide.  Having worked at the zoo before, Corey always knew which way to go, many of the animal names and details, and was consistently encouraging the children on what turned out to be a blazing hot day.  First thing, the kids wanted to ride the carousel and then on to the flamingos.  The children’s petting zoo was a big hit and a great place for us to cool off while eating a snack and turning cartwheels.  The tigers were awesome, and the kids loved the snakes.  My favorites were the Texas horned lizards that I used to see when I was a little girl.  After lunch we saw the elephants and luckily, the lions were leaning up against the glass asleep, which gave us a chance to compare our hands to their giant paws.  After the lions, it got too hot to continue.  We need to go back to the zoo soon to see all the parts we missed.

Special thanks to Suzanne Braddick who brought her certified therapy dog on Wednesday.  We learned so much about all the behaviors a therapy dog needs to pass their test and become certified.  Each of the children got to give commands and then dog treats, lucky dog!

On Thursday we traveled to Dog and Kitty City, a no kill animal shelter run by the City of Dallas Humane Society.  What is different about Dog and Kitty City is that many of the cats freely roam the facility.  We helped to socialize the cats by sitting with them, petting them, reading books to them and by sharing the cat toys we made (baby socks filled with cotton balls and catnip).  The kids took turns in the kitten room and gently sat with those very senior cats who looked like they had used up 8 of their 9 lives.  Surprisingly, they were having so much fun, they hardly noticed the play yard full of puppies!  Once we got outside, the kids squealed with glee as they picked up the plump and fuzzy little puppies.  Wagging tails, slurpy kisses, sweet puppy breath and a small wading pool filled with water, what could be better? 

Small group camping this summer has truly been amazing!  Even with The Kessler School moving out and all the expansion construction going on right now, somehow it feels like Kessler Park United Methodist Church is the luckiest church in the world.  The pictures tell it all.