Mini Week

Every summer, we have a "mini week" for week 5.  The 4th of July always falls during this week, so we plan the camp week around this.  This summer, mini week was only Sunday-Tuesday since the 4th fell on a Wednesday.  During week 4, I knew that I was not going to be able to be a counselor on site during the mini week, even though there is nothing I would rather do.  I had an impending deadline for my final portfolio for my internship and I knew that I would not be able to finish if I had to be with campers 23 hours a day.  So I asked to be put on work crew.

Normally, work crew is quite a few people and it is hard manual labor for some, and office type work for the others.  This week, however, there were only three of us total.  I got to weed whack for 4 straight hours with the rest of my crew, Cami and Ryan.  That afternoon, thankfully, they needed someone to make sno-cones for the campers.  Cami and I gladly accepted the offer.  The next day, they needed someone to work with a church group that was coming in for the day, again, gladly accepted.  Each morning and evening we did our own worship with the rest of the staff members who were not counseling and we got to eat our meals with this group as well.  Work crew was great bonding time.

The best part of mini week was the fact that I was also put as the health care staff for adult campers with special needs.  Last summer, I worked at this site during mini week as a counselor and it was nothing short of incredible.   I was so happy to see so many familiar faces back at the Sjogren Center.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to not only serve on health care staff, but also to interact with all of the campers at Sjogren.  

Gosh darn it, camp just leaves me speechless.  

Week 4

Updates as promised.

Week 4: York, Nebraska.
Fan-freaking-tastic.  I sadly have no pictures to show from this week, but for a good reason I suppose.  I was so completely invested in this awesome community that I never got my phone out to snap any photos.  My host parents, Pastor Terry and Jill, were pretty darn incredible.  Once again, they were one of those couples.  It was impossible to leave their house as the same person.

They were an older couple, and their love for each other was so precious and inspiring.  Sometimes I think I know what love should look like, then I meet an incredible couple like these two who show me that I should never settle for anything less.  That I should be with someone who still looks at me the same way 50 years later.

Not only was their relationship with each other precious, but so was their relationship with God, with their congregation, and with these two strangers whom they welcomed into their home.  Every morning they would make us breakfast, and wait for us before eating so we could share our meal together and do devotions before starting our day.  They made the best breakfast too--sadly I forgot what they called this delicious creation.  It was a bowl full of dry oatmeal, plain yogurt, apple and banana slices, chopped almonds, raisins, and wheat germ.  Mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Besides Terry and Jill, I got to spend the week with a wonderful, wonderful counselor, Caitlyn.  She and I bonded a lot and worked really well together.  I am so thankful she was sent with me to York and I look forward to continuing our friendship.

Now the campers--the campers were the most polite and well-behaved children I have ever had in three years at camp.  You don't always get that at day camp.  Sometimes the kids at day camp have known each other their whole lives, they are in the same class, on the same baseball team, go to the same babysitter, etc.  So they know each other a bit too well and are sick of each other.  Not these precious children.  They got so into Bible study that we would go over time every day.  How cool is that?

One girl I will always remember is Hannah.  Hannah wears a back brace for scoliosis and was very shy at the start of camp, and couldn't participate in a few activities because of the brace.  She never said she couldn't do things because of her brace, though, she just sat there quietly and said she didn't want to play.  One day, I sat with Hannah at lunch and started asking her about her brace.  I told her that I had to wear a back brace all through high school.  As soon as I mentioned this, she broke out of her shell.  (Funny, because her friends call her a turtle--the brace being her shell.)  Let's just say she opened up.
The first things she asked me:  "Did your pants always fall down?"  "Did your mom have to tie your shoes?"  Yes and yes, kiddo.  It gets better.  The next day, her mom thanked me for making Hannah feel comfortable in her brace.  Mentally comfortable that is.  It is next to impossible for those things to be physically comfy.  Hannah even wrote a rap about her "shell" and shared it with me and we had a special little bond the rest of the week.

Overall, York was fantastic.  Too good to be true, almost.  I am so incredibly grateful for the blessing these people have been in my life.

Coming soon to a blog near you

Summer updates:
-Week 4: Day camp in York, NE
-Week 5: Mini-week at Carol Joy
-4th of July break
-Finishing my internship class
-Thoughts on the rest of the summer

Currently scrambling to finish my final portfolio that is due today.  Tonight, I plan to organize camp things, spend time with the fam, have some much needed TAWG, and finally, sleep!