the start of something new
Hello y'all, my name is Celia Thomason(I'm the red head)! I grew up in the Christian Church(Disciples of Christ). My mom is currently the minister at Madison Christian Church in Madison, AL. Growing up I attended church summer camps, winter retreats, mission trips, general assemblies and many other church sponsored events. In high school I was introduced to Peace Interns and I fell in love with what they did. I sadly discovered my first year at college I had to be 21 to be a Peace Intern so I looked for other jobs. I found Camp Lakey Gap, a camp for people with Autism. I was head over heels for CLG and ended up spending three summers there, two as a counselor and one as an Activity Director. This winter I realized that this coming summer will most likely be my last free summer(because I will soon have to enter the real world) and decided to put myself out there and apply to be a Peace Intern. And luckily I got it because I am now writing this blog post!Before arriving in Indianapolis, IN I was incredibly nervous because I did not know any of the other interns, Briana Black and Will O'Brien, and to make it worse I missed my first connecting flight of the summer putting about 5 hours behind schedule on my first day. But I believe that the other interns and I had a fast connection, and by today no one would be able to guess we had only know each other for a week. The picture above is from our second night together, the folder features High School Musical and when we found the folders we all started singing the hit song The Start of Something New which I think is fitting for our new journey.
During training week we met with many people and different organizations within our denomination; Council on Christian Unity, Reconciliation, Global Ministries, National Convocation, Disciples Women, Disciples Home Mission, Green Chalice and GLAD. We also had the opportunity to have dinner with Sharon Watkins, our General Minister and President. And at the end of day we would come back to the Retreat House at Allisonville Christian Church and have independent work time, unpack the day and end everyday with devotions. It was a wonderful week full of laugher, crying and new experiences.
Celia Map
Tomorrow I will be leaving the other interns and begin my separate journey to a different camp each week!Week 1 (June 6-13): Disciples Oaks Camp; Gonzales, TXWeek 2 (June 13-20): Disciples Crossing Camp; Athens, TXWeek 3 (June 20-27): Camp Chandler; Wetumpka, ALWeek 4 (June 27-July 4): Dunkirk Camp; Dunkirk, NYWeek 5 (July4-11): Texoma Christian Camp; Kingston, OKWeek 6 (July 11-18): Craig Springs; New Castle, VAWeek 7 (July 18-25): General Assembly; Columbus, OHWeek 8 (July 25-August 1): Suttle Lake; Sisters, ORClosing Retreat (August 1-5): Portland, OR I am so excited to start this adventure!Till next time y'all!