bearing fruit

just popping in quickly to write about my weekend. i spent the weekend supervising a camp for muslim girls in the waikato. these camps have been going for several years, and generally they take up a lot of energy. however, this time was very different.

this camp was run by young women who have been through the leadership programme. they took charge of organising and running the camp, and the adults were there to supervise but there wasn't much supervision required. i felt quite guilty turning up for breakfast when everything was prepared, and not having to help do dishes & clean up afterwards. but it was that easy. the camp leaders had organised a roster and teams of girls to share the load, so we didn't have to do too much at all.

of course this meant that a lot of the stress was felt by the young women - and they certainly looked exhausted by sunday! but that too is a part of their training, and exactly what we went through when we organised the first camp for them. they knew we were there as a back-up to be enforcers of discipline or in whatever capacity they needed.

it was such a beautiful sight to see these young women who we have come to know over the years show so much capability. the years of effort (in which i personally have played a minor role - the main work has been done by others) put into these young women has paid off, and i'm really proud of them. they worked so well as a team, and shouldered their responsibilities really well.