My Motherland is Ghe-tto

We walked into Brooklyn yesterday, over the bridge, and of course yelling over the side (well as close to the side as we could get) just like they do in Newsies. We also found a statue of Horace Greeley and did a brief reinactment of a Newsies dance sequence....you know, it's just how we roll.

But yes...yesterday was the most bizarre, out of whack, yet amazingly entertaining day ever. We caused a car accident (not at all a serious one) because some dude was staring at us from out his car window while attepting to drive, thus causing him to run smack into the back of the van in front of him.

Then we missed out on the time of our life with this creepy old man in Brooklyn who stopped us on the street.

We made an attempt to get to Coney Island which resulted in riding the subway back to Manhattan, switching to a train going in the right direction, and then re-entering Brooklyn and eventually making our way to Coney Island...a ride which would not have been complete without silly middleschool and highschool boys trying to look cool and tough in front of us.

Coney Island is quite an interesting place....not at all glamorous....seriously, not at all. The main attraction was a game called "Shoot the Freak"...with a live human target and an obnoxious guy with a microphone. We did eat at the famous Nathans and get a funnel cake and got to do some people watching, so the day was well spent.

Oh yes, and did I mention in some way shape or form we always seem to end up in Chinatown.

Today we were all dragging but determined to see more of the city. We hit up the Tenament Museum which was really cool. A man on the tour with us actually lived in the neighborhood when back in the day so it was really neat to hear his stories. We also did some last day galavanting about the city and then called it an early day to get back to clean up and pack.

We are leaving at 5:15 in the morning and I really ought to be in bed but I am suprisingly not really tired...my body is just exhausted...

Either way, I believe I shall head to bed...good night dears

If you were aiming to shoot an arrow through my heart........BULLSEYE

Thank you Chinatown...I am now officially the owner of a hot pink "Prada" bag...I love New York.

today was our Big City Day. We went to see "The Producers" which was pretty amazing and then grabbed dinner in Times Square, complete with a quite wonderful honkin' huge piece of cheesecake. We also wore dresses, which is always a great thing.

I saw the movie Say Anything for the first time tonight, I must say, I enjoyed quite a lot and it had potential to go on my list of favorite movies.

anywho, i'm about to head off to bed.

So New York is pretty sweet I must say. We got in yesterday and pretty much hung out in the apartment for the afternoon and evening, so we called it an early night.

BUT today, we got an early start and hit up the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island which was so good. So much history there and so much more interesting then I remember it. There is just so much personal history there, millions of people went through the same doors I walked through, but it wasn't just some quick check in, it was a long, tedious, and frightening process upon which their entire futures laid.

After all that though we walked around Little Italy and China Town. I invested in a killer pair of aqua sunglasses with purple stripes and a plaid scarf...it's killer, oh and more costume jewelry...i'm such a sucker.

anywho, tomorrow I believe will be our chill day in Central Park which will entail peeing at the Plaza Hotel, riding the carousel, and eating a hotdog from a vendor. so it should be lots of fun. we also might try to get on TRL, which would be sweet, we're going to ask for Peru money (by the way, if you would like to contribute to the Peru Mission Trip send the money with my name to 226 Camp Rockfish Road Parkton, NC 28371 and make the check out to Rockfish Outdoor Center for it to be tax deductable).

well i'm out, early morning...

ahh so much to write but not the motivation to do it all...

most importantly, the first week of camp went awesome. It was a good learning time for a lot of our new staff and busy for those of us on support staff because we were running program like crazy. for example, I lead 25 hours worth of GCC this week...go me, i'm so pro...

we had two teams in, one from IWU and another from Bethany Bible College who were SO awesome, we tried to buy the one team from BBC but it didn't work out. we were really blessed to have such hard workers come help us out...good servants and tons of fun to have around.

it was good to have kids in, there is always a good energy when kids finally come to camp, even though staff training brings its stresses and worries, kids are such a good reminder of why we're doing what we're doing.

I had one ROTC girl who seemed to warm up to me and I am hoping to get an email from her soon. She was pretty much amazing and seemed to be open and searching. The ROTC kids were wonderful, some of the most amazing kids I've worked with at camp. Sometimes I feel like God is really calling me to work with the military...I don't want to be in the military, but between Operation Purple and this week with the ROTC I just see the hurt and love to hang out with those kids.

anywho, tomorrow Jordan, Petra, and I are making our way up to the BIG APPLE BABY!! That's right, 6 days in NYC and the town will never be the same!

tis all for now, more later

p.s. zac hanson is getting married

Camp Has Officially Started

Kids came today...camp has officially begun...pray...things are kinda going nutso around these parts, but the kids seem to be having fun...more later

p.s. umm yeah...mail me stuff

Another Summer

So here I am, once again reporting from the lovely Rockfish staff lounge, another summer is beginning. Gradually more and more staff are getting here, a lot of new people, which is exciting, summer is going to be interesting, challenging, and I have a feeling really hot.

God's bringing the kids now we gotta bring the service.

Adam Seate had a good sermon today it was the third part of a three part series called Mission Impossible. He covered three things that we all should know and practice.

1. God has already called us. He calls sinners and unusual people to do his work.

2. God isn't going to change the world by Himself, to complete our mission we have to step up and do it.

3. Work Together, as a body, to bring people Christ and bring Christ to people.

He talked about Mark 2:1-12 and he focused on the last verse about the people being amazed and never having seen what they saw (the four friends lowering the paralytic through the roof to see Jesus). Adam talked about how they weren't amazed so much at the healing but that they probably had never seen four people work together for the sole purpose of bringing a person to Christ. A different perspective, I like it. Both Jordan and I thought it would be something worthwhile to share with the staff...I will admit, I have some anxiousness about the summer, but we all have to be working hard to make this work. So we'll see how things go.

maybe not...keep your fingers crossed

well, pretty much all my favorite camp shirts, most of my winthrop shirts, my tiedyed capris and a killer pair of orange track pants are gone...

can i have a crappier day please...

I, Brooke Currie, solemnly swear to
1) not break, lose, or scratch the recently purchased one millionth pair of shades for the year
2) not overpack for camp

Harry Potter number 5 is officially completely. I feel like a bad fan, it taking me this long to get through the 5th book and all, but there are still a few days before camp to dig into the 6th and get myself up to snuff.

it has been far to long since i've lost myself in a book...where i have seriously spent hours reading, unable to put it down...it's a good feeling...i also discovered one of my absolute favorite books as a child in the garage...i think i need to read it too.

I'm Just Going to Post This, Do With It What You Like

226 Camp Rockfish Road
Parkton, NC 28371

I will be there in a week (May 16) until August 16th

I Would Like to Have a Chat with the Dalai Lama

"We do not believe people are good because we see that they are good, but by believing that people are good we eliminate our own fear and thus we can intimately associate with them. To believe in the compassionate power of the Supreme Being which we cannot see is a discipline in order to believe in the invisible good of others.

Civilization has nothing to do with having electic lights, airplanes, or manufacturing atomic bombs. It has nothing to do with killing human beings, destroying things or waging war. Civilization is to hold one another in mind in mutual affection and respect." -Nichidatsu Fujii

"The Bodhisattva loves all living beings as if each were his only child."
-Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra 5

I wouldn't say that I am a complete inclusivist, but I do know that if I were a Religion major as opposed to a Psychology major, my senior thesis would TOTALLY be on parallels between Buddhism and Christianity. Granted, there are some major differences (karma, rebirth) but honestly, if a Buddhist were to come to know Jesus I don't think he or she would have to change much about how they view and treat the world around them, in fact, I think they would be better at living out the Gospel than a lot Christians do, myself included.

If we as Christians really had our stuff together, we would love and respect a lot more. We would reach out into the world like Jesus did. We would keep our minds pure and not hate in our hearts. We would spend hours of initimate time with the Father and see the face of Christ in everyone, because they too are children of God.

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" -Ephesians 4:32

next to playing the accordian, african dancing is my life calling...

in the words of my dear pal katie...

piss.

feel the burn

the following entry is something i never thought i would have written or even thought.

i love being sore...i love working my muscles and pushing my body...i love leaving the gym knowing that while tonight it's ok, tomorrow you're gonna feel it....i love the tight muscles, the hot showers that follow a good workout, S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G, endorphins...it's all wonderful

this all coming from the girl who two years ago did one hour of yard work and seriously thought i would never get out of bed....

ha, i laugh at my former self

do you ever have those kind of days where you just can't seem in inhale enough? not due to some horrid, allergy induced congestive state but just because there is something so intoxicating about the air outside and you just can't get enough.

today was one of those days, well, more like this afternoon and evening. right before i was walking to work, the rain began, and there are few smells as great as rain on concrete. then coming back from work, campus just smelled so fresh, that smell that comes after a good rain...i can't describe it, but i just couldn't inhale enough of it....

broadway has reached a new something...the wedding singer has been turned into a broadway musical, that's right kids, broadway. i love the movie, but i am skeptical of it's ability to be a worthwhile broadway hit.

anyone who wants to argue that psychology is not the best (and most fun) major here at winthrop, i ask you this: did you sing "You Are My Sunshine" as a class to the class across the hall? I am going to guess, probably not.

is it completely lame that i very seriously considered buying a copy of "Free to Be You and Me" tonight? do you people even know what that is? if not, you are lame.

glitter nailpolish takes me back to middleschool...i'm pretty sure i need to reinvest in sparkly blue...