i'm laying in my own (super comfy) bed while i write this. this week was so nice, but also very tiring. next week, i am working a retreat, so i don't have to hurry back to camp quite as quickly. so i thought i'd take advantage of this and go home for a day. it's been nice and quiet and sleepy.
sunday: i was pretty excited this day. church was nice and worshipping was nice. my voice was pretty much back, so that was also nice. when the campers started getting here, i got excited. the age group i had was the second-oldest girls and anna (the best jr. counselor ever) was in my cabin with me. the girls were all from very different backgrounds. at night, anna and i talked (a lot) and i think we both were a little apprehensive about the week. at this point, i thought cabin unity was pretty unattainable. however, i already could tell that this week would be entirely different from the last. i was spiritually/mentally/emotionally renewed by spending time with jen and anna.
monday: this day was so nice. i memorized Bible verses with anna on the porch (during my off activity period) and was able to do WTP (white tiger palace) in the morning before counselor meeting. i spent the whole day trying to get to know the girls. three of them were pretty out-going...but the rest were quite quiet. i faced the challenge boldly, and proceeded to ask them ridiculous questions about themselves ALL DAY. oh, i forgot to mention earlier that i was captain this week. our team name was team Ewoks. cool, right? anyway, porch talks started this evening. it was so cool to be able to take out a girl that i had in my camper two years ago. she is such a sweet girl and i really really like her. God definitely confirmed that she was supposed to be in my cabin during our porch talk. it was awesome.
tuesday: this day, i became pretty weary. week three of camp is always a challenging week energy-wise, but the fact i had also left the country this summer increased my misery a little.
(so this is a day later. i fell asleep mid-post because of taking melatonin and also because i was just so exhausted)
anyway, tuesday. it was super fun, in spite of my weariness. i got to hang out with the girls a lot during activity time and still had time to write my prayer partner and read and such. i had adam as my prayer partner this week. that was pretty fun because he's the type of person who seems to really appreciate well thought-out letters. we played spoons a lot in the cabin. the girls became so obsessed that they played "ultimate spoons". i really don't remember much from this day. we did go on the mountain hike. that was a lot of fun. i got to talk a lot with tim and we kind of bonded by running down part of the trail. he's so great, it's a shame we've lived on the SAME STREET for like, 10 years and not been friends. the day basically ended with me eating a lot, running a 40-yard-dash (quite slowly) and having an incredible porch talk time.
wednesday: i texted david this day and told him that i basically felt Jesus's arms carrying me. every morning of this week i would be like "i'm not going to make it" and every night i would think "this was the best day ever, praise the Lord." it was such a unique/humbling/empowering/lovely/terrifying thing to be so so so reliant on God's power. He's so good, though, so He always supplies the strength we need. this was the first day of teaching photography with jenny. jenny's awesome, guys. and i really love spending time with her. i got letters from the girls from day camp who called me "Chumbo" and that was so awesome! they drew me pictures and such. so sweet. in the afternoon, three of my campers (elise, grace, and sarah) took hose showers in our bathing suits and sat in the sun. it was probably the most relaxed banquet night ever. it was so nice to just sit and talk with those girls. they are super cute and pretty mature for their age, so the conversation came easily. this night was such a challenging evening. if i wasn't sure of spiritual warfare before, i was definitely sure of it after this evening. camp has been growing and Christ has been so so alive here. because of that, the devil has been hard at work. so much so, that he's attacking camp in terrible ways. the staff has been so unified, but individually, we've all been struggling in different ways. that kind of manifested itself on this night. wednesday night is the night the salvation message is presented, so it was something i kind of expected. the night was so spiritually challenging that anna and i couldn't give porch talks. i knew i needed to do cabin devotions, though. so i takled about "how deep the father's love for us" and how that song correlates with scripture and relates to our lives as Christians. it was so crazy, because halfway through the whole thing, i watched the girl's faces and what i saw surprised me. they were all so engaged and really, truly listening. also, i realized i hadn't been really thinking about what i'd been saying and that it was totally the Holy Spirit speaking through me. then i prayed Ephesians 3:14-21 over them and they went to sleep. then anna and i giggled in the bathroom about our sweet, but clueless camper beth. the late evening started with a lot of tears and pain, but it ended with rejoicing and gladness.
thursday: this day was the day i felt the most tired. i woke up early to process film and the hours seemed to creep by. the whole day i was super reliant on God. i had learned by this time that He was the only thing i had to get me through the day. i also learned that i could ask Him for energy and enthusiasm, and He would totally give it to me. i got two packages from friends, too! that was so encouraging and gave me a lot of joy. this day we did the zip line in the afternoon, which was pretty fun. mostly i just laughed with the campers at the rock wall and put on harnesses and whatnot. taco salad was for dinner. and my cabin did a skit using mostly all puns. unit campfire went really well. it was awesome to see the girls hanging out and really loving spending time with eachother. our cabin unity was so great by this time. one of my campers really opened up during campfire and gave part of her testimony. anna and i took four girls out for porch talks. it was so great, but also pretty draining. both of the talks were with girls from really difficult backgrounds. but they were both encouraging. one of the girls was just so in love with God, even though her life and circumstances would make most people turn against Him. it was pretty awesome/heartbreaking/encouraging/inspiring. anna and i went to the kitchen and ate someone else's reese's while we talked things over. it was our last late-night talk and it was so so so nice.
friday: this was SUCH a great last day. photography went so well. jenny and i wore matching everything (down to our braided ponies!). the kiddos made some awesome photographs. water day went pretty well. but my favorite part was sitting in the sun with those girls again (post hose shower time) and just talking about the week. all of them agreed it was one of their favorite weeks. i was so humbled/flattered to be apart of that. cookout was nice, but i spent most of it throwing a frisbee with riley (the gluten-free hero) and judging photographs with jenny, erin, and miles (one of my favorite campers). bonfire was really great. there were some awesome testimonies. and in the middle of it, rain just POURED down. it was so cool to be apart of a huge crowd of people that was sprinting to the dining hall. we all sat in the pews, happy and cold and wet, and listened to the rest of the testimonies. God is great and has done GREAT works in the lives of His people. our cabin partied and played mafia and went to sleep entirely too late.
saturday: saying goodbye to my girls (and a lot of other campers) was too hard. i am still missing them. i went home and called david yesterday and that was so awesome. i also got to talk to one of the new girl counselors (i was giving her a ride to red bank) and that was so super nice.
sunday (today!): i want to add today to my list of days to write about, because it was like, SO good. it started with waking up from a whopping ELEVEN hours of sleep. i had a nice chat with my dad and went to church. it was so nice to go to actual church and be so filled. at camp you get so empty (because you're always always pouring out) and it's so reviving to be taught. then cara, jason, and i spent the day together. ah, they are lovely people and i have missed them (and the rest of the haiti team). i felt so refreshed as i drove through the rain back to camp.
sorry that was so incredibly long.
i'm gonna go to sleep now!
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