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I have always felt that music was a big way for me to connect with Church and friends. I can play guitar and some piano and pretend I can sing.

But I also think as far as leading and being able to teach I am very go with the flow and make the best of the hiccups. I don't want to say I do best procrastinating (because thats definitely not a gift) but I am good with change and making things work even when they shouldn't.

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This will be my 6th year at Affirm I believe, but definitely my first year staffing.

I would say I'm most excited about being back at Affirm after 2 years and being able to give back to such a huge part of my life growing up.

My Favorite affirm memories were always the ride to Affirm texting everyone I had missed all year to figure out when we would get there and see each other again and start the fun again! Also the dance...I love the Affirm dance.

Picture from 5 years ago...

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Spiritual Gifts: Main one is leadership, which hopefully will come in handy this week, as Doug and I "lead" the 11 of you as Small Group leaders to our 51 youth!

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This will be my 8th year at affirm and my first time staffing. I'm so excited to experience affirm from the other side and meet all the brand new kids. I can't wait to see them fall in love with affirm like I have every year. My favorite unit I did in affirm was definitely YAYMI. I got to be with all my friends that I'd known since genesis and learn to be leaders together. Like Noah, the best memory I have was painting our faces for all the volleyball games and bonding with everyone in our unit. Affirm is home.

Spiritual gifts: I'm great with playing with kids and making up stories or games to play. I'm very open and feel comfortable speaking in front of crowds. I also love working with and getting to know people! Also, I'm very sorry it took me this long to introduce myself! Here's a picture of the PDA patrol at the dance last year.

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This will be my 8th affirm! I've been coming since I was a Genesis, so it's mind blowing to work with where everything started in my faith journey, and with such young and faithful minds too.

A favorite memory of mine (I have many!) would be when I was in YAYMI and, as a group, we worked together using all of our different gifts and spirits to pass a blindfolded maze rope challenge. I'll never forget-we watched ourselves on video after, and it was mind blowing to me the beauty in working together.

I am most looking forward rekindling friendships and making new ones! And I can't wait to work with the kids and see them coming out of their shells!

GIFTS: I can sing and play guitar, I'm kind and a good listener! I'm a poet writer, and a student of spiritual studies and world religions, I'm playful and a have lots of energy, and an open heart!

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I love working with young people.  My degree is in elementary education.  I am patient and welcoming.  Much like Maggie, I too love music.  I sang in choir through high school and college and much enjoy singing at church.  I feel like I attribute to creating a warm and loving environment, accepting of all people.

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I teach Chorus so I feel that music is a pretty strong gift of mine. I am very organized and will get a job done regardless of the challenges. That makes me the one to push forward through things instead of getting stuck on tangents (for too long, who doesn't love a good tangent?) I don't like leaving things unfinished. I love being a listener for anyone but especially kids. I feel like I can draw a story out of them and make them more comfortable sharing.

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Well I can play the guitar, and I've always felt at home at Affirm so I think I'd be good at getting kids who are a little reserved at first to come out of their shell.

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Faith, I don't reamber the others

I have Faith in most things that I do.

I have Faith that this year at a Affirm will be amazing

I been told that I have good leadership skills and I am Calm in sitions and I know that kids listen to me sometimes and I know I was Calm when It was my first time on staff and my Partner and I small group a lot of our small group were very difficult, most of them didn't want to do anything at all it was hard but I stayed calm and by end of the week I felt we got through to them

so I guess I have all of them as my gifts.

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Umm.. I always have a hard time thinking of gifts for myself.

I've been told that I'm energetic and know how to make the kids feel more comfortable in what may be a new and scary environment for them.

Also, I play a little bit of guitar and like to sing.

I usually have stage fright, but at Affirm I really let loose and don't mind being the center of attention.

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Calm/patient - I'm SO calm and patient that sometimes I think it is more of a curse than a blessing!

Explaining scripture - so I'm told!

Prophecy - I actually got this gift on a spiritual gifts "test" several years back. It sounded scary and fundamentalist-y. But when I learned about it, it actually just means that I'm good at being able to look at what's going on and see where it will lead and how it will end. And indeed, I can.

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This is my 3rd year staffing Affirm. I can't wait to be back!

I am most looking forward to hanging with kids and hearing how God impacts them everyday. I love seeing what they take away each year back out in the world.

My favorite Affirm memory...there's so many of them. One of the best was when Kelly Jannett and I both got sick while staffing Worshiptivity. She got bitten by bedbugs and I had some sort of cold awfulness. The kids cared for us the whole week, making us see and feel God's love.

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This is will be my second year staffing Affirm.  I'm excited to be back in Genesis this year.

My pastor always encouraged me to attend Affirm as a camper, but stubborn-headed me refused to go.  I served as interim youth director at Reformation Lutheran in Greeneville, Tennessee last year so I could not send my precious darlings all the way to Georgia alone.

My favorite Affirm memory was when a camper (a particularly quiet one) asked Nicole and I if he could sit between us during the final worship service.  I worked all week to connect with this young man but he hardly said anything.  The act of him asking to sit with us made the whole week worth it.  He and I still talk from time to time.

I am looking forward most to reconnecting with old friends and forming new, lasting relationships.  Is it June 12 yet?

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This will be my 8th Affirm and first time on staff!

I am most looking forward to seeing all my Affirm friends again and making many new ones.

My favorite memory from Affirm is from last year's Affirm when I was in YAYMI. For each of our volleyball games we painted our faces and all had bandanas on. We really came together as a group, and I will never forget those times.

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My picture is a photo of me with my 2 nephews, Brooks & Brady, on Easter Sunday. They are two of my favorite people in the world.

This is my third year at Affirm, all on Genesis staff.

My favorite memories from Affirm ALWAYS happen on Friday mornings, where each of us pray and affirm each youth (and leader) who has been in our small groups. There is always laughter and tears and many emotions in between, but it is just such a meaningful time for me as a leader to see what each youth has to say about their other small group members.
I am most looking forward to “leading” you guys!  This is my first year as Unit Director, so my main focus is on YOU this year, and encouraging YOU to create relationship with the youth.

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This be my 10th year coming to Affirm , third time on staff and my Second time on Genesis staff.

I am looking forward to meeting new kids and seeing kids from previous years.

My favorite Affirm memory is when I was in Revelations and we were a tight group we went every where together and we won the volleyball tournament, we started the first Affirm flash mob. It was an amazing year we had the best group leaders and small group leaders.

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This will be my 8th Affirm and my 3rd year on staff with Genesis.

I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting my new small group.

My favorite Affirm memory came during my first year on staff. On the last day, we send off the kids with kind words. I was overwhelmed by how much the kids in my group had grown over the week and I was sad to see them go. I knew that the positive influence this camp had on them would bring them back for many more years.

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This year will be my third year at affirm. I have staffed the two previous years in Genesis as well.

I am most looking forward to seeing kids from previous years.

My favorite affirm memory is when I had a camper tell his mom he was definitely coming back next year after she made him come that year. I saw him grow in just the few short days we spent together.

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This will be my 4th Affirm, all of them in Genesis.

I'm most looking forward to having a huge group of my very favorite kids from my home church in Genesis this year!

My favorite Affirm memory is a skit my 1/2 small group made in 2012. They had been so incredibly difficult that we ended up having to split them as to not hold back the rest of the group. I felt for four days like I couldn't get ANYTHING through to them, and on the last day, they made me so proud!