Week 9

This past week I was on work staff which I was a little bummed about because I had not counseled Jr. High camp before and that’s what last week was, but it was nice to have a break from counseling. The group on work staff this week was super fun and we worked really well together. It’s still a weird feeling being on work staff while everyone else is counseling and you have no interaction with the kids except during meals which isn’t much at all. I had to keep reminding myself that I was still serving Christ even though I was not directly with the kids. The work staff splits into two smaller groups for cleaning up after meals and our group renamed ourselves the A Team and we were total boss. We were quick and efficient and yet had a super large amount of fun. Our group consisted of Kimberly Oyler (DJ for the week and mischief master mind), Ethan Aldefer (hunting extraordinaire and pots and pans king), and Laurie Hildebrand (dishwasher destroyer and floor fighter). Our boss for work staff’s name is Leah and she was super great this week. We had some free time each day after getting all our work done which was super nice.

Three of the counselors left this past week which was really hard for all of us. We know the summer is coming to an end, but seeing others leave just makes that end seem so much closer. Kimberly left on Wednesday a while after supper and it was sad to not have her on our work staff group anymore. We hung out a lot the last few days and did some funtivities. We went on a walk to see the “glorious spot” and the “wedding location,” and one day we thought it would be super fun to create a poop log to put in the bathrooms of the boy’s and girl’s dorms. There are different columns to be filled out which consist of: date, color, shape, amount, plunger or not, and kernels or not. The log has been filling out nicely (and I won’t forget to show it to you sometime Kim!!!!). The night that Kim left she thought it would be a wonderful idea to put packing peanuts in my bed and in each of my drawers, such a great friend you are KimJ

The rest of the week went well and camp finished up strong. On the weekend Bethany and I decided it would be fun to clean out the program office and so we did. It took a while but it was well worth it and it looks a lot cleaner and neater than it did before. Friday I rode the bus in with the little tykes and then we ate Chinese and headed back to camp. That night we had a barn party (but it was in the loft not the barn) and we played Texas holdem’ while listening to Country music. We all had on plaid, cowboy hats, and extra tuffs. Saturday morning Ethan, Laurie, Brittany and I thought it would be fun to give the full time staff members breakfast in bed so we made coffee cake and had fruit and yogurt to go with it. It was cool to be able to serve the staff after they have been serving and taking care of us all summer. After lunch Kathleen and I wanted to make knitting needles so Ethan helped us. We made them out of spruce wood from arrow shafts that were left over from when the boys were making arrows. I’m almost finished making mine but we still have to put a finish on them. After that all the counselors and Nick and Matt went across the bay/ocean to a beach/creek called Antler Creek. It was such a beautiful place. The beach had fine white sand and there were mountains surrounding us. We ran around barefoot and took a bunch of fun pictures. Then we played ultimate frisbee in the sand, but the tide was coming in so we had to quit the game once the water started covering one of the end zones. Then we made a fire and roasted brats and hotdogs for supper. We just hung out for a while and then rode back over to camp. When we got back a few of us started the movie “True Grit” but were super tired so we didn’t watch all of it till Sunday.

Sunday we talked about being one body with many parts. It was interesting to think about because I had just been on work staff and was feeling a little out of the loop with those that were counseling and felt like my job was not as important as theirs because I wasn’t on the front line with the kids. But I was reminded that every job is important and the without the hard work or work staff the bathrooms would not get cleaned, laundry would not get done, food would not be prepared, and other jobs would not get done to make camp run more smoothly. The Bible says we should be working so closely as a group of believers that when one suffers we all suffer and when one rejoices we rejoice with them and not feel sorry for myself that I did not have something good happen to me. It also says that God has arranged the parts in the body, everyone of them, just as He wanted them to be so we should not complain about the gifts and abilities we have or those that we lack because God has given them to us for a reason and only He knows why. Later that night Brit and Laurie and I slept outside under the pavilion on the beach. It was really fun to do that with them and talk with them about different things and grow closer together.

This next week is the last week of camp which is really sad to think about, but yet it will be good to go home and get back into the swing of things. Thanks again for all your prayers and support this summer and throughout my whole life!!!