If/Then

Whilst in NYC, I really wanted to see a show on Broadway as I love going to the theatre at home in London and didn't get to go the previous summer I was there. Looking at what was possible to see, we decided to go with If/Then because I wanted to see something not on in London and Karen hadn't seen it before. And there may have been that small tipping factor of the fact that Idina Menzel was the lead, I had no idea she was back on Broadway! My 14 year old wicked obsessed past me was very very excited.

Pre-show we had dinner with the Tees family (who run Camp DeWolfe and are one of the loveliest families there is) at Juniors. The food was great and they specialise in the most incredible sounding cheesecakes so we took out a carrot cake cheesecake in a box with us to eat after If/Then (later discovered to be the greatest decision ever made).

I went into this show knowing very little about the story line which was was good yet unusual for me and we waited in our seats with anticipation. As the show is about a woman whose life could have taken two different paths from one moment in time, it does take a bit of concentration to follow, but I managed and the story line is quite emotional, particularly in the second act which I enjoyed way more than the first. I loved that the show was set in nyc because I had been in and out of  the city all summer and from staying there for a bit I understood all the nyc related quips about the subway, amongst other things. I naturally assumed there would be a loud belting wondrous Idina solo, which did eventually appear in all its glory at the end of the musical ('Always Starting Over') and it was excellent. That woman can SING.

Having read some mixed reviews of If/Then, I can see where critics are coming from when they say it is clichéd in its presentation of ideas about chance and 'what ifs'. But from my point of view (which may not mean much in the grand scheme of things as I tend to love everything I see on a stage) it was so great to see a smaller, less well known production that was well put together, sung and acted brilliantly. It was just what I wanted from my experience of a Broadway show and I left with such a feel-good feeling. 

Literally carrot cake cheesecake. My two favourite cakes! best EVER.

Love,

Bethan

2014

Things I learnt and took away from this past year.

Don't be afraid of the wrestle - January
At the beginning of my second semester at university, Ruth spoke in church about HOPE and how it is something you have to want to do. God isn't afraid of the wrestle, why should I be?

Be kind not crazy - February
Whilst looking at Ephesians 4 in my lifegroup, Jon said that all too often we can respond to people with an off-handed craziness rather than with simple kindness. "You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together both outwardly and inwardly."

Carry each others burdens - March
Life does sometimes get tricky. I thought about where I got my emotional support from and the importance of having people to talk to when you just aren't sure about things.

Embrace the spirit of an adventurer - April
This one stems from my spontaneous trip to Paris with Becki, Natascha, Ellie and Kathryn. I was given a prophetic word that I have the spirit of an adventurer and I have kept this word with me ever since. I love it!

You are worth the Son of God - May
This had me thinking for days. HOW?!?! This is my value. This is our value. The Son of God. How my head will ever wrap itself around that I do not know. Incredible.

People and stories have transformative power - June
I read The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne for our staff training at camp and this was one of the things that stood out to me.

Community. Family. - July
Finding another home on the north shore of Long Island is one of the best things that has happened in my life. Spending all of July and August there we became a family. Such a joy.

Even if - August
I heard about the story in Daniel 3 - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's statue and were thrown into a furnace. "If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us. But EVEN IF he doesn't, it wouldn't make a difference, we still wouldn't serve your gods or worship your statue." Even if. Because it's not about what Jesus will do but what he has done.

Encouragement reinforces community - September
That it does! I am so blessed to have community in many places - Manchester, Croydon, Camp DeWolfe.

Sacrifice always releases power - October
This term, my church  has been focusing on being lavished by the father heart of God. Mark said this when talking one Sunday and it stuck with me. I am not sure what it completely means yet.

Carry this heart - November
This got me thinking about the kind of heart I want to have and carry. I heard this in the context of calling other people home; carry this heart.

Embrace the freedom he has given you - December
"God wants to give you a greater source of freedom in all areas of your life. He wants you to be free to love and worship him in everything that you do. He has so many adventures in store for you and you'll realise this more as you embrace the freedom he has given you." This is what I'm taking forward into 2015.

Happy New Year,

Love Bethan

I'm Glad That I'm a Counselor

As it is coming up to the end of the year (2014), I have been reflecting on the past 12 months and then I remembered that I had yet to post some of my highlights from the summer. On the theme of reflecting and looking back, here are some things I love (and miss) about camp:

• The Long Island Sound and all the beautiful sunsets that came with it: I loved being by the ocean and it being warm enough to swim and snorkel in as well as sail, kayak and canoe on.

• My camp family (obvs): I was so blessed to be surrounded by people who knew me well and who I was totally comfortable around, and who were all pretty hilarious too. I've formed some strong friendships with these guys and they really just made my summers the best.

• Feeling useful: anything from braiding hair to putting on band-aids to belaying kids up the rock wall (especially great when a camper was nervous). I fully knew I had a purpose this summer and that is a great feeling.

• Being able to be silly and ridiculous: see picture below - representing the combined emotion of complete tiredness and excitement of SUPERHERO DAY! Skits were also performed which were properly ridiculous, one of which you can see here. 

• Being outdoors so much: I miss being so active all the time. Swimming in an outdoor pool, running around in animal hunt and capture the flag, campfires, swimming and snorkeling on mornings off. I really like being outside. 

• How there was always a quiet place to go if you needed to: See bullet point one.

• Feeling like everyday was productive: We accomplished something everyday, whether that was seeing a changed attitude in a camper, sailing for the first time or trying new american food (corndogs: no, carrotcakecheesecake: yes). 

Our sand sculpture of the camp featuring a rock wall made out of actual rocks (lol)
Productivity level: high.

• Being able to really value time off and down-time: It's important to take time out for yourself and I really learnt the value of that this summer! Again, refer to bullet points one and six.

See you sporadically in 2015!
Bethan

Returning to Camp

It's been a while since I've blogged! I've been meaning to write a few posts about this past summer as I did last year, but have only just got round to it (I've also been scrap-booking, which has been fun!).

To start us off, here is what I wrote for the camp website right at the end of the summer (I think it sounds pretty high school assignment-y, but worth posting here nonetheless).

Deciding to return to Camp DeWolfe this summer was not a hard decision; the experience I had during summer 2013 was completely amazing and I was at a good position in my life to be able to spend another fulfilling summer as a camp counselor. I was unsure of what it would be like, returning and experiencing camp again with new people, but I was excited to be back; camp in general has always been the place I have felt closest to God in my life, ever since I first went to camp in England when I was fourteen. 

I saw God in all aspects of camp this summer – campers being open to new experiences and emotions, overcoming fears at the challenge course, and everyone at camp becoming a family. I also experienced God in our chapel time, one evening especially, when we brought chapel down to the Long Island Sound. The setting was beautiful, just before sunset, and after worship around the campfire (in a circle big and round) we thought about and wrote on a rock something that needed healing, which we then threw into the sea, releasing our burdens to God. It felt very freeing. 

This was one of the highlights of my summer and many of my other highs were also spent by the Long Island Sound; I had so much fun going sailing for the first time with two of my campers (even though we capsized and turtled the sailboat!) and spending cabin night doing a beach scavenger hunt with two of the girls cabins was great too. We really are so blessed to have such an incredible setting here at camp and it’s one of the things I will miss most when I am back in the UK. 

I believe that coming back to Camp DeWolfe was a choice given to me by God, and I am really glad I decided to return this summer. I learned so much from working with the people I met last year, which I think helped me become a better counselor and leader this year. The people I have met have impacted me in many ways and I know I have a family here at camp which will last a lifetime.

Famous in France

On our final day in Paris we headed to the metro station and passed a camera crew on our route. Kathryn made a joke saying that we should totally be filmed and that she wanted to be the star; we laughed and headed down the steps underground. 

After our day of macaron filled fun, we were walking across République where we had seen the camera crew earlier, and a man comes up to us speaking in French. Realising we were from the UK, he switched to English and asked us to "come and we film you for an advert! It will take two minutes!". Having been approached and asked to buy things all day, I was all for saying no and moving on. But Kathryn (and then the others) decided it would be a fun thing to do! So we said okay and were briefed on what was wanted of us. 

We were placed in front of a giant billboard with a flowing white skirt, resembling Marilyn Monroe's famous pose and told to look interested and when the wind machine blew we were to act surprised. I was so skeptical at this point and thought it was all going to turn out to be a massive practical joke or something! We did three takes of looking interested then acting surprised. Looking interested then acting surprised. Looking interested then acting surprised. Between takes we were all finding this hilarious and so surreal, like what are we doing right now, we don't even know what this is for and we have no idea what we're doing! After our success on the third take we asked what the advert was for and were told it was for a train company (upon researching after, I think it's one of those inter-railing train packages things). They had been filming members of the public all day, so we were pretty sure we probably would never make it into the ad.

As we were leaving, two of the crew members ran up to us and said we needed to sign a contract. Except this contract was in French so we had no idea what it said, but we signed it anyway! Probably not the best idea, but it seemed legit. 

A month or two later, this advert pops up on youtube and we are actually in it!! Well, three and a half out of five of us are in it (the half being Ellie's mouth. Some of my friends are tall). The saddest thing is that Kathryn got cut out of the frame and never got to be in it, and she was the one who was pioneering our being-filmed-adventure! 

So, that's going on my CV (for your viewing pleasure, click here). And the video has over 1 million views! 1 million people have seen my eyebrow raising acting skillz! 

Bethan

a.k.a french advert star.