eight things i learned from camp.

As many (read: all) of you know, I've worked at two different summer camps since the summer of 2009. Once you work at summer camp it changes your life. After you leave, the things that you learned just ooze out of your every poor. My life changed just a little bit more every time I came home at the end of the summer. The things that you learn or pick up at camp stick with you for a long time.

I've been thinking of (missing) camp so much over the past couple of weeks, so what better way to commemorate that then make a list of the things I learned from camp. Life changing, gross, you know.

1. A swim in the lake can totally take the place of a shower. It's summer, embrace nature, leave the shampoo in your toiletry bag, and go for a jump of the lifeguard tower. Just do it.

2. Shorts are okay to wear. I went into my second summer of camp counseling having not worn shorts for a LONG time. Bring them, buy them, wear them, love them. You'll be glad you did.

3. Sleep in on the weekends. You've been taking care of 8 children all week long, for 23 hours a day, give yourself a break and recharge.

4. Nothing can compare to weekends at camp. Nothing. Laundromats and Target trips suddenly seem so much more fun to take part in. And while you're in town, stop at the local coffee shop and get your favorite cold caffeinated beverage. You can thank me later.

5. You will suddenly be famished at 8:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 5:30 pm. Like clockwork. Accept it, embrace it. It's wonderful! And indulge in those delicious sweets. Walking by the rack? Grab a brownie. You'll be glad you did.

6. Get away from camp for a whole weekend. While you love your fellow camp staff people, it's always nice to get away, recharge with people who really understand you, and then come back and dive into the craziness of camp again!

7. Talk to everyone when you first meet during those staff training days. Find out what you have in common with people, see who you click with the best, and stick by their side. It's important to find one or two people who you can confide in. It's entirely possible for these people to become your best friends. And it's entirely possible that it will happen within two weeks of knowing each other.

8. You will look back on your time at camp fondly. Not matter the trials you experienced while there and the laughs you experienced. If you allow God to come into your heart and work out the things that hurt you, He will give you a new pair of eyes. Allow the hurts, allow the challenges, allow the healing, and allow the happiness.

here goes nothing.

I've been thinking a lot about how I would start this post, and I really have no idea how. So here goes nothing...

This summer was not what I expected at all. I guess I didn't really know what to expect in the first place, but it was way different than I could have imagined. I won't go into details, but it was a challenge from the very beginning. When I got there I had this picture in my mind that it was going to be great because it was my second year, and I knew how everything worked. But it turned out to be the opposite.

Yes, I had some really great times. Yes, I made memories that will last me a life time. Yes, I learned things about myself that I didn't know before. And I wouldn't know those things had I not gone through everything I went through this summer.

My job description for the summer was "counselor and day camp leader". I led day camp the first two weeks and counseled a grand total of five days. What did I do the remainder of the summer? Maintenance, dishes, nightwatch, lifeguarding, hosting. Was it my choice? No. Did I enjoy it? Rarely. Did I struggle more than half of the remaining 6 weeks? You betcha! Did I consider flying home early on more than one occasion? Oh yeah!

Things happened in Minnesota that I wish hadn't. Tough, life things, that made me have to hold my head up high, even when I really didn't want to.

Life happened in Minnesota, and I honestly couldn't be more grateful that it did. I had to take a step back and really look at my life from the outside in, and determine who I really was. Really figure it out. Dig deep down inside myself, and sort things out that happened in my life when I was a really little girl, all the way up to my 21 year old self.

So, I guess you could say it was a time of self-discovery. Realizing that I was stronger than I ever thought possible. If I was put in the same situation 2 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to endure it. I would have given up and gone home. What would I have learned if I had done that? Nothing. I'm not glad that it happened, but I am grateful. I also learned that I can do things on my own. Not without God of course, but without my mom.

Since being home and reflecting on the summer, I realized that this summer was a time when God came in and took something hard to endure, and just turned it around for His glory. Through the things that I learned about myself over the summer, I know I'm completely different than when I left in May. In more ways than one...

This doesn't mean that I'm done learning, though. This event could very well be something that I could learn from for the rest of my life, and if that's the case, I'd love to keep learning!

i'm back.

Camp is over.
I am home.

Here are some pictures.
Enjoy!
I'll be back with more soon!

13 days and counting.

In 13 days I'll be...

Packing.
Cleaning.

Snuggling my kitten extra lots.

Telling my mom I love her more than usual. 

Dropping my car off at my Dad's house for the summer.
Eating my last meals at home for three months.
Sleeping one last sleep in my own bed before I head over 2,000 miles away from home.
Having the attention span of a three year old. 

Checking and double checking the lists that still have to be made. 

More importantly I'll be...

One day away from another one of the best summers ever. 

Reunited with friends from last summer. 

Exploring the Twin Cities with one of my best friends.
Laughing more.
Finding out more about myself and my identity in Christ.
Ministering to little children and letting them know that they are loved.

Living in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.
Watching the sunset over the lake every night.
Making new friends. 

Experiencing new things and meeting new people. 

Playing. 

Trusting.
Loving.
Listening.
Comforting.

This will be my life for three beautiful months. 

I'll be a camp counselor, and really, there's nothing I'd rather be.

experience the magic.

Because Wednesday's are always my busiest days of the week, I never have any time or energy to write something of importance, so I will leave you with this video.

It was all filmed last summer, while I was there.

Keep your eyes opened:

During the campfire worship scenes. I was leading that campfire with one other person.
For the kids that are jumping around down near the 'beach' after a dip in the lake. Look out for a girl wrapped up in a pink towel.

This video captures the beauty of camp so perfectly, and it makes me so much more eager to get back there.

i love camp because...

...I get to spend my summer with new friends. Camp is one of the most amazing places to make new friends because, as a new counselor, you are extremely vulnerable and so are your fellow counselors. If it is your first time counseling you have something in common with half of the staff members you're working with. This leads to open doors, which then leads to fast friendships.

...of the euphoric feeling of the first week of staff training. It's true. Camp is a magical place, and in the beginning it feels like nothing can go wrong. It may have felt like this especially for me since I am coming all the way from Florida, so my whole environment is new. Whatever it is, I love the feeling.

...it feels like I'm doing something worth my time. Camp is a wonderful place for both the counselors and the campers. When you enjoy what you're doing, the campers will notice and will have a memorable week. Something I told myself all last summer was "This is these campers only week at camp. It's your seventh, but you need to act like it's your first to make it memorable for them." How true that is. When you put your all into the week your campers, as well as you, will enjoy the week a million times more.

...you can make a game out of pretty much everything. Sitting at the water fountain getting your kids hydrated? Play "What's in Kaitlyn's backpack?" Camp counselors backpacks are a treasure trove. A TREASURE TROVE, I tell you!

...the little things are treasured in the everyday. When you're exhausted, you can slip into your own pity party more often than not. That's when you start being thankful for the little things. Like those sweet words spoken from a second grade camper. Or the silly stories that your campers make up. What about thirty minutes of quiet time with your cabin after lunch...that will inevitably turn into nap time for you. The most special of all is when you are doing a bible study and you just know one of your campers is listening and taking it all in. 

...somehow, someway, all of these things come together and are worth every drop of blood, every bead of sweat, and every tear that falls down your face in the heat of summer camp.  

yes, it's true.

 

If any of you two readers out there have stuck around here long enough, then you know it's no secret how much I love working at summer camp. 

At the end of last summer I wasn't sure that I would go back because Minnesota is a really long way away from home, it costs quite a bit to get there by plane, and I thought that I would end up taking classes this coming summer, anyway. 

WRONG. All wrong. 

At the end of January I had a complete change of heart basically overnight. I had this crazy urge burning deep within me to go back. So much that it hurt. So I applied. The fire was dying out over the month, then was replaced with doubt, then replaced with peace. Complete and utter peace that one could only receive from the Lord. 

Over the weekend, while I was on my camping trip, my mom called me and told me I had an envelope in the mail from camp, and she opened it for me. Turns out it was my letter of call to go back for this summer as a counselor. I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to see why I'm being brought back and what God will teach me this summer. I can't wait to be reunited with my friends from last summer, and certainly can't wait to see some of my campers. I can't wait for the beautiful sunsets, the worship services, the campfires, the games, the laughs, staff training. I can't wait to be back in Minnesota and enjoying everything that wonderful state has to offer me. Who knows...I just may jump off a cliff or two again. I'm so ready!

The rest of the summer...

I said at the end of last week that I would update this past weekend on the rest of my summer, but time slipped away from me as I was spending time with my step-siblings. It had been three months since I last saw them. Life took over my blog, and I'm totally okay with that. :-) I've thought and thought about how I'm going to do this and the best way seems like the way I did it while I was still at camp Update week-by-week. Here we go...

Week 4: Day Camp in Clearwater, MN. Rejoice Lutheran Church.
Day camp is our program where we go into another town. We're assigned to a church and we spend 5 hours a day with the kids. Do bible study, worship, arts and crafts, and play games. Lots of games. This week was one of my favorite weeks. I was with Kris and Eric, and honestly can't imagine being on a better team. We all meshed really well, which was surprising. I don't, or have I ever, spent a lot of time with guys. I just don't have a lot of guy friends. So I was forced (for lack of a better term, because I didn't feel like I was forced) to spend a whole week with these guys. It was weird at first, I won't lie. By day two we learned how each other operated. We had a lot of laughs, and generally just got to know each other better. The kids were really awesome, too. A lot of them were really young. Pre-school to Kindergarten age. We had a couple who were older, but they were all really well behaved. We had about 20 kids. After we were done with day camp we were able to go back to our host home, relax for a couple hours, and plan for the next day. Our host family was great, too. We all got our own room (I would have had my own, anyway), and they provided breakfast for us every morning, which was awesome. I could go on and on about the great things that happened this particular week, but I'll have to stop here for now.

Week 5: Andy's Gang. 5th and 6th graders.
This week was really awesome, too. I had 8 girls in my cabin, and they were really great. This particular week I was in one of the cabins furthest away from everything. We had to use a bathroom that could have been growing a tree right in the middle of it. We had to walk up a bunch of stairs, over a couple hills, and through the woods to get to our cabin. We had to make that trek more times then I liked to throughout the day. I wanted to complain about it so bad, but my campers weren't. They were just so awesome that way. Once one did, I said "It's okay. Go ahead. I've been complaining inside my head every time I have to walked up these blasted stairs. Let's have a complaining session right now, and then figure out a way to minimize our trips up and down here for the rest of the week." They took it and ran. I thanked them so much for the their willingness to cooperate that week. We shared a lot of laughs, and created some lasting memories. I was weary of this week, too. It was my first week coming back to counseling after my nightmare that was week two. I just didn't want a repeat. I'm grateful it wasn't. This was my biggest growing week, too. My style of counseling changed, through my learning. Choosing your battles was the biggest thing I learned this week and for the rest of the summer. It helped me a lot, and allowed me to have a lot more fun. This was also the week of adding injury on top of injury. By the end of the week I was covered in bruises, scrapes, cuts, and a lot of incredible memories. On Friday after the campers left, I looked down at my legs and cringed. I looked like I was beaten up. I wore long pants the rest of the day, did my hair, and put on make-up. I just needed to feel like a girl for a little while.

Week 6: Half blast (4th and 5th graders) and maintenance.
Half blast is designed for campers who aren't quite ready for a full week of camp. They come on Sunday and leave on Tuesday. This week was a challenge for me because I didn't have a very good attitude about it. It's such a short time, and you just don't get to know your campers at all. They leave right around the time that you would normally start building those bonds with your campers.I also had a lot of other things going on that week that were a distraction (hate saying that). While I was on maintenance after my campers left we pulled a lot of weeds down by the beach, and painted the storm shelter. It looked so cool! I had a lot of great hang out time with my fellow counselors at night, too.

Week 7: Andy's Gang. 5th and 6th graders.
I worked all the weekend before this doing a family camp, so I was exhausted. I didn't have a break at all. Working from 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM ...I was drained. I was not in the mood to deal with 9 kids for another hole week. It had been my second week with no break on the weekend at all. I was bitter at the beginning, but ended up having a great week in the end. I had a few homesick campers, one who slept walked right out of the cabin into another one. That was quite possibly the scariest thing I've ever experienced. It was emotionally and physically draining like any other week, but I got over my pity party and told myself "This is these girls only week here. Quit your complaining and do this for them. Once I did I had a lot of fun. It was a good last week of counseling.

Week 8: Day Camp in Hutchinson, MN. Faith/Christ the King Lutheran Church.
I was on a day camp with Annie and Eli. Annie was my best friend at camp, and Eli was one of the first people I met. He picked me up from the airport with one of my APD's. We had a great week, overall...atleast after we were done with the kids for the day. We had 39 kids. We should have had another person with us. The kids were all high energy. For everyone it was as if there were two. Awesome. We made some great memories, though. We had some great adventures. It was a good last week in MN, even if it was stressful during the day. It was so good to get to spend my last week at camp with Annie, too. We shared so many this summer, and I'm so glad I had her to confide in. It was definitely a special thing to spend my last days in Minnesota with her. My heart is aching right now just writing about this.

I may write about the time in between if I'm feeling ambitious. Pictures will come, too. :-)

I suppose I'm way past due for an update. I promise I will have a blog post up about my summer by this weekend. Count on it! Until then, I leave you with this...

This week has been my week on day camp. The one thing that I wanted to do really bad this summer was day camp, and I'm grateful that it came during a week like this one. It was a huge week at camp this week with a mega-church from Maple Grove, MN coming in. Myself and the other two guys I'm on day camp with this week were pretty much the only three people who didn't have to endure the insanity of this week. Instead we have 20 kids for 5 hours a day four days out of the week. We've got the cushy job for the week, definitely.

I've been able to come back in the afternoon and take a 1-2 hour nap every afternoon. It's nice. It's a great way to regroup and ease back into what the next few weeks will consist of. Not only that, but I've been feeling a bit under the weather since last weekend, and am happy that I've had the opportunity to rest and take it easy instead of being with kids 23 hours a day. Hopefully I'll feel great by the time Sunday comes and am ready to take on counseling again fearlessly. :-) Well, I think it's time for bed. We've got a beach day planned with our day camp kids tomorrow, then we will join the craziness back at camp. The musical, the banquet, the kids, then we clean like crazy people on Friday and it's the weekend. This is all just going to fast. I want to cherish my last month here...

Just figured I would stop in and write up a little blog while I've got a few minutes before we start preparing for the kids to come at 2 P.M.

We finished staff training on Thursday afternoon. It was a very mentally, emotionally, and physically draining  week and a half. It was awesome getting to meet and bond with my fellow staff members, though. We shared lots of side splitting laughing attacks, and have created memories that I will cherish forever.

I've learned a lot about Minnesota and the people here. I ate my first tater tot hot dish. Jumped in the frigid lake for the first time and my toes turned blue. Experienced some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen in my life. Been drawn closer and closer to God each day that I'm here. Did my first vow of silence in my life. It was beautiful. Accidentally stuck my gardening glove in goose poop while doing a service project. Got hit in the face with a frisbee and got a fat lip. Slipped and fell on a puddle of water in the dining hall and bruised my tail bone. And I've gotten more bruises all over my body then I care to count.

A lot has happened within the past couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to what else will happen during the remaining 8 weeks that I'm here. Here goes nothin'. Can't wait to meet my cabin full of girls!

this is it.

The time has come. My suitcases are all packed, my room is cleaned, and I am ready to fly tomorrow morning.

At the beginning of the week I was dreading saying goodbye to my mom. Don't get me wrong, I will miss her, but my whole perspective has changed. This is quite possibly the most amazing opportunity I've ever had so far in my life. I'm about to go experience something that I know will be life changing. I'm excited to see where God takes me on this adventure.

It will probably be pretty quite on my blog until I get back from camp. Mustering up the energy to write up a blog every once and a while at camp may be harder than you and I think. So I bid you farewell until August...

This is it. The homestretch. Sort of...

Four days until I hop on a plane and go head first into my adventure. I can't lie...I'm nervous. I'm scared. I'm going to miss this place I call home. This is the biggest thing I've ever done in my life. Quite possibly one of the most life changing things I may do in my life. This is preparing me for bigger things. The grown up world, I suppose. Even though I'll be chasing little kids around all day. I'll be on my own, far away from home. It's exciting, but scary at the same time.

I couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic when I curled up in bed with my mom tonight and she scratched my back. It's almost as if this is four more days of being mommy's little girl. I know I won't come back the same. That's exciting, but like I said, scary at the same time. I just don't even want to think about it. After wondering how I would be feeling my last week at home before I leave, wondering if I was going to be feeling these things, it's here...and I am. I was really doing okay this whole weekend, but I just had to say goodbye to four people who are near and dear to my heart for 2 1/2 months. My step-siblings. Love them so much. I don't even want to think about that either.

So this is where trusting and leaning of God comes in, doesn't it? Here we go...! Here.we.go.

A few things I have been enjoying for the past month before I leave:

1. Swimming in the pool and beaching it up with my mom.
2. Thursday lunch with my Grandma (and the extra cookies and peppermint York patties after lunch).
3. Relaxing and reading multiple books. I've read 4 books and am working on the 5th in the past three or so weeks.
4. The anticipation leading up to my departure.
5. The fact that my suitcase was packed two weeks before I leave.

Dislikes (not many):

1. The fact that my suitcase was packed two weeks before I leave (It's been sitting in the middle of my room since).
2. The tornado that has ripped through my room through my busyness, and the fact that my suitcase is still sitting in the middle of my room (This is apparently a huge factor in the messiness of my room).
3. The goodbyes that I'm still dreading, but the good news is that I'll be back before we all know it. :-)

Let it be known...

...that I have the best friends ever...

Jason, Mindy, Jaclyn, Lori, Gina, and all of the other downhomies that weren't able to contribute to this - thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Your kind words mean more to me than you could possibly know. I'm so grateful for the family that I have found in all of you through the One who is higher than us all. I will read your notes often while I am gone, remembering that I have people all over the nation praying for me. Thank you for seeing me for who I really am in Christ when I have a hard time seeing it myself. I love all of you so much. 

Jesus, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Thank you for leading me on the pathway to Minnesota for the summer. Thank you for seeing me as worthy to minister, once again, at a summer camp. My biggest prayer is that you use me however you want while I'm there. Let me not stray from what you are calling me to. Thank you for proving time and time again that you've got me and my life in the palm of your hand. Thank you for showing me that your plans are greater then mine, and that I need to trust you and what you are doing. Thank you for always coming through for me even when I fail you. Lord, thank you so much. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Whew! The past couple of weeks have been crazy. I had been wondering two weeks ago how in the world I was going to get through the next month, because I figured it would be low key and I wouldn't have anything to do. I'm laughing now that I even thought that. Between taking my GED on the 28th and 29th of April, to doing my first hip-hop performance on the 1st of this month, to my brother graduating this past Saturday, to finishing up Awana, to preparing to jet off to Minnesota and making sure I hang out with all of my friends before I leave, it's been busy busy busy! Honestly though, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd much rather be busy then just waiting for the day to come. I'm happy to be back at my little spot here on the internet, and hope to blog a bit more before I leave. Probably won't have the time or energy for that at the end of the day after chasing 2nd-5th graders around all week long.

When I look at what I have ahead of me I can't help but get super excited. I'm realizing more and more as the days go by that this really is where I'm supposed to be this summer, and also realize that there will be challenges, but that I will need to lean of God and trust Him through the process of adjusting to a new environment. And being thousands of miles away from home. Minnesota isn't anything like good old South Florida. I'm grateful that God is showing me these things before I leave, rather after I get up there and I'm completely uncomfortable. Knowing that it will be a challenge makes me excited for the work that God will do inside of me and through me this summer. I hope to blog a bit more about what I'm feeling and doing before I head off for the summer. Stay tuned! :-)

yesterday i wrote a blog. a blog that was hopeful. a blog that clearly laid out that i was putting all of my trust in God, because that was all i could do...having no idea what was going on, or what the future held for me.

today i'm writing another blog. this one contains my plans for the future, because God let me know yesterday. as of five o'clock p.m. yesterday i found out what i had been waiting two months to hear. after spending hours upon hours of researching summer camps out of state, not even knowing if it was what i was supposed to do, but doing it anyway because i didn't want to miss out on it if God wanted me in summer camp ministry again, i got a call back from green lake lutheran ministries in spicer, mn. i'm hired.

it hasn't quite sunk in yet, but i'm pretty sure i jumped about five feet in the air yesterday after i got off the phone. there was a whole lot of squealing, jumping, and blabbering of a bunch of mindless jibberish to my mom. needless to say, i'm so excited. when do i leave? well, i would like to leave right now, but i really have to be there before june 6th. the last day of camp is on august 14th. ten weeks. it's going to be ten weeks of a whole lot of awesome.

...and i can only thank Jesus over and over again for His faithfulness.

lizz came to visit.

My friend Lizz from camp stayed at my house last night and we hung out today. It was a great time. Laughing into the wee hours of the morning until we literally almost passed out. I haven't had that for awhile, and it felt so good. Lizz was my one friend from camp, who I knew I could totally and completely confide in, no matter what. It's good to have people like that in your life. I'm grateful for Lizz and our friendship. She's definitely a friend for life.