CAMP

I wish I had the time to post all of the pictures I've taken over that last week or so. The kids are beautiful, the games are fun, the people are funny, nature is amazing. Unfortanately I won't have time to do that until I am home. Fortunately I will be home in 4 days.

This was my first ever time being a camp counselor. I go to camp every year but I'm still a camper (and will be for 4 more years!). The kids were going into grades 2 through 6 and we had a little under 40 kids. We split up into two teams, the Tomohawks and Lancers (T's were camp winners). We also split up into 'cabins' even though we are sleeping in our own tents. Courtney and I had the older girls which turned out to be a group of six. Bethany and Maggie took care of the two younger groups. Dayne had the oldest boys, then Ben had the middle group, and Kyle and Jonathan had the youngest boys. It was a learning experience for us all. We woke up at 7am and went to bed at 10pm, which seemed very late for the young campers. Between wake up and bed time we did things like raise and lower the American flag, hear a fabulous story about a missionary named Bruce Olson, play ships and sailors, do crazy skits, sing funny songs, do quite a few push ups, and memorize Bible verses. It was a very full 4 days and in the end it was difficult to know whether kids had been saved for the first time and which ones rededicated their lives. I learned that with kids so young they hardly say the same thing twice and they're never quite sure which time they're telling the truth. It can be very frustrating at times but that is when we just leave it up to One who knows all. Another lesson I learned was how we are to be like young children. I got my face painted for the first time in forever and we slid down this big slip n slide. How fun to be a kid again!

Junior high retreat started yesterday and I realized how I get along so much better with the older kids...they already have become so precious to me and I've hardly known them 24 hours. I love hearing their stories and how they've come to know Christ. It's dinner time and the whistle is about to blow so I must go. Keep praying for the campers and I will write more upon my arrival to the mainland.

ALOHA!