100 comments Party!!

Hey everyone! Thanks again for checking up with us via the blog. This blog has been up and running for over a year and we think that this deserves a digital celebration. So if you are reading this blog please take a minute to leave a party comment. This is a way for us to see who all is out there and a way for you to let us know what you think. Our goal is 100 comments in response to this post so tell your friends and family to come leave a comment. Feel free to be funny, serious, and crazy but please no making fun of my beard. Tell a story or a joke or just share your thoughts on the blog. Improvements needed? Let us know.

Im making this up as I go but im really starting to like it. I think we can do 100 comments, dont you???
We want to hear from you so Speak up!
Once we've achieved our goal of 100 comments I will do something crazy and drastic...like post an update.


Lets get this Party started!!!!!!



( oh we will also be putting our newsletter through the us postal service and would love for you to recieve one. Please email us your address johnny.bertram@gmail.com )

check this out. A little article on our website about our internship program.

Summer is here----->

Hey everybody, sorry for the lack of updates. Its been a busy couple of weeks for us here. Our summer camp is going strong as we wrap up our second week. Emily is taking her first class at Jackson State university. Johnny is playing drums at church. Our softball team fell to 0-6 last Tuesday but hey, were having fun. This weekend Emily goes to Seattle for an americorps conference. Shes looking forward to meeting up her mother and aunt who will be traveling up from portland to see her.
I ( johnny) am really loving what im doing. I love these kids! Everyday I get to go around to all 45 of them and tell them how happy i am that they are at our camp and how special they are.
More summer camp stories to come.

side note- I caught a foul ball last night at the Mississippi braves game.

Love you all.

Matt, " man I want to be that hot dog guy"

Jerrod, remember when we used to meet at coffee shops in the morning to work on our movie script "room mate", I miss those days.

A year in the life

I don't know that I've ever felt this busy. Emily and I are officially running the Summer program here at the Perkins center for the next 2 months. That means 35-40 children and a staff of almost 20 interns, five days a week. We've been putting the interns through orientation this week and camp begins on Monday. Tomorrow morning we will be having a parent orientation where the parents will meet the staff and here about our plans for the summer.
I guess we're kinda learning how to be leaders. For me that means delegating responsibility and trusting that the goals will be accomplished. Im not sure what it means for Emily because she seems to be taking it very well. Meanwhile I have an ulcer and a stomach full of anxiety. I never prepare well enough for anything.
All this is happening at our one year anniversary of being here in Mississippi. What a year! I cant even begin to explain the things we've learned and felt. The pain of the people becoming our own, the desire to quit and leave, the seeds of love sprouting in the lives of our young friends, the mistakes, the unexplainable joy of seeing Deanthony learn to read and dream of what he could be. So much in a year. How can the next even compete? How do we keep from becoming complacent? How do we run a summer camp?