Winding Down

So about two weeks have passed since I wrote last which is way better than basically going over a month of not posting at all. So here goes for the last two weeks...

Last week I didn't have a cabin so that meant I had a little more "free time" or "relaxation time." Which didn't really mean anything because I was still so busy the entire day. I did the campfire devotion/message for the kids the first night because it was one that I had done before and I figured since I already had something I would go ahead and do it again. Sports camp was one of the specialty camps this week and so I helped with that again like I did last year. We had 25 campers in it this year and I worked with Jordan and Wes. We liked to have them do a lot of different drills before they played the sport. The sports that we did were: Soccer, Basketball, Kickball and Ultimate Frisbee. It was a pretty hot week and so we had to make sure that we were drinking plenty of water. The kids seemed to be having a pretty good time most of the time except of course there were some complaints about the heat, but there wasn't really anything we could do about that.

Last weekend was our last full weekend together without work and so we decided like a month ago that we were going to go to the zoo on Saturday. Almost all of the staff went, but we broke up into smaller groups. I enjoyed the Zoo a lot because it is something that I just really enjoy going and doing even if I have seen it and been there multiple times.

Jellyfish

So Sunday started the first day of the last week. This week I was blessed to have a wonderful cabin of 5 girls where there were 3 that knew each other well and the other 2 knew each other pretty well and together they all blended awesomely. I did the first night campfire devotion/message again because like I said before I had one already made so I figured it wouldn't be a problem to do it again. This week the specialty camp that I helped with was Bike camp. The other counselor that I got to work with was Ethan and that was really fun because I hadn't really done much of anything with him and it was just a good hilarious time. We had 8 campers that we got to hang out with and go biking around with. We went over rules the first day and rode around a little bit at one of the flatter grounds here at camp on the first day. The second day we went to the sports courts and had them do some really good cone drills with turning and just ride around a little there. On the third day we got to go to town and on a bike trail that we rode on last year. The trials we took totaled up to about 6.5 miles and that was crazy awesome! On the last day that we rode bikes we went on some trails around camp and that was really fun. Ethan took the lead and we went to parts of the forest that I never even knew existed, but it could also be because some of them were pretty crazy and really hard to walk let alone try to ride a bike on. I really had a blast though after we got through it all. Then after campers left today we did some cleaning and then had time to hang out.

It's hard to see that reality is becoming that camp is over and I will be going home one of the next couple days. In the time that I am home before I leave for school I will be pretty busy, but I am really looking forward to the time that I just get to sit and relax and sleep and also seeing my family since it has been a long time since I have seen them. The reality of leaving is so weird because I have been here for almost 70 days. With that though I will end this post. In the near future I will get back to my other blog and finish up the post about my time in Texas and what I did there and also just some finishing thoughts that I have had about this summer.

God Bless,
Justina Marie

Crazy Past Month

So it's been over a month since I have blogged.. That is really crazy to me considering last year I was pretty faithful at posting one time a week and with my other blog during the school year I did pretty good posting about once a week. So obviously there is a reason why I haven't been posting regularly like I would like to. Things have been super busy for me. Here is an update on the whole doctors thing: I am doing better, but they don't know for sure what exactly was wrong. I went through quite a few tests, but they just can't know for sure what exactly was wrong. Praise God though that I am doing better almost all of the time.

His Kids camp: We had our four weeks of His Kids camp and the schedule was pretty much the same each week, but may have changed a little depending on the weather and if it rained. I enjoyed getting to see all of the returning campers that I had met before and meeting the campers that I had not yet met. They were so much fun to hang out with and spend time with while they were at camp with us. Each week the campers continually brought joy to my life with the things that they would do, the things they would say and the attitude they had towards God!

Texas: My time in Texas was spent doing things for the National Youth Gathering. I will write about this in my other blog sometime soon: http://foreverhopeinhim.blogspot.com/

Typical Camp: We have had four of these so far, but three of them have been mini camps and so they didn't last for very long. I was around for the first mini camp where I had 6 girls in my cabin. They were a very fun group for my first cabin of the summer. I enjoyed getting to know them and it was crazy how fast the time flew to the time that they left. Then for the second mini camp I didn't have a cabin because I had to leave early so I could head home and pack for my trip to Texas. It was a very short time at home, but I was glad I got to see my little niece for a few minutes. I missed the last mini camp altogether because I was down in Texas at that time.
This past week was our first full week camp and I had a cabin of 7 girls. It seemed like a very long week because it was the first full week that we had and coming back from Texas it was something quite a bit different from what I was doing there. It was fun getting to know my girls and doing the different activities with them and with all the other campers. I did Bible study with my girls everyday and there was an evening where I gave a campfire message about Giving to all of the campers. The week seemed long, but it also seemed to go by pretty quickly. The campers were full or energy and didn't really seem to slow down until the last night. It was a pretty good first full week of camp. It is crazy to think that there is only two weeks left of typical camp until the end of summer at camp. I don't know quite where the time has gone because it seems like I have been busy, but that it shouldn't be this late in the camp year quite yet.

~ "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." - Colossians 3:23

People, Music and Praising God

I know that I didn't post that long ago, but before I get busy again with getting camp ready and the volunteers get here and then the campers get here I thought I would post just a little bit about the past days since my last post. An update to me at the Doctors: I did another test today and we are waiting to get those results back from the doctors, but I have been feeling alright most of the time. Last time I blogged was in my free time the day that camp was starting.

So the second week of His Kids started Wednesday evening. It was so great to see some of the returning campers and to meet the new campers. We had different Bible story that we would go over in Chapel and then have a Bible Study in our color groups within the next couple hours following Chapel. There were also crafts during that time and different activities consisting of: T-ball, Archery, Kickball and outside manipulatives. We also have waterfront time where the campers can choose to swim, boat, play a sport, just sit there or play a board game, card game or color a picture. The first day I canoed with a camper and her buddy and that was pretty tiring, but I enjoyed it. The next day I just hung out under the shelter and played a couple board games with some campers. During free time I played more board games with a few different campers and checkers a couple times with a camper. We had a closing on Saturday and all of the campers left to go home.

I had a great weekend with my family here at camp. I ate at a Mexican restaurant with a few of them and the food was delicious and being with them was really fun. Last night was the best ending to a week that I could ask for. There was 9 of us hanging out at camp and so we went and had a campfire. We had some s'mores and a great time bonding. When it was getting pretty dark we had 5 different instruments out there and we had someone starting a tune and the rest would join in. Every single one sounded amazing. Then we started playing some camp songs and some other songs. Praising God with some awesome music at the campfire with some amazing people was totally a great way to end the weekend.

Back Again

Well it is summer again and I am actually back at camp for the summer! I have been really busy and so this is why I am just now starting posting for the summer. We started back here 2 weeks ago and things have just been really crazy. I was here for the first 5 days of training and we did a lot of bonding which was really fun. We didn't have a lot of jobs like we did last year to get the camp ready before campers so we got to hang out and get to know each other. Each day would be at least one new activity that we would be doing that would help us get to know each other. We also started going through a process to help us remember things that were important in our life that helped us become who we are. It is based on a book and at first I was really unsure of how it would go, but as we went through the beginning I started to become really interested in it. We didn't get that far into it, but will continue doing more.

I went home for the first weekend so I could travel to Chicago to see my niece get baptized. That made me really happy to be able to attend since I am a sponsor for her. She was born in April and I had only seen her for a week in the evenings when she was 3 weeks old. When we got back from Chicago I had to stay at home for a few days because I was going to the doctor to try and figure out what is going on with my body. We are still waiting for some answers, but I got back to camp on Friday and I have been here since.

So since I missed out on like a week of being here I missed out on most of the first His Kids Camp. I made it back for about a day of it though. It was nice to meet the new campers and see the returning campers again. We worked on cleaning some of camp on Saturday instead of having our day off because we had to get ready for Camp Luther Sunday. On Saturday night and Sunday morning we got everything ready for Camp Luther Sunday.

Camp Luther Sunday was huge. There were a lot of people that came and it was awesome. I was at the gate greeting people with Ellie and I got a sunburn from our time out there. We then had a re-dedication for the Chapel and a blessing/dedication of the staff for the summer. We then had a very long, but good quilt auction with many of quilts being bought. Monday was our day off and we had a fun day just hanging out and we went to a Tavern in Columbus for supper. Their burgers and fries were really good. We then ended the night with watching a movie as a staff. On Tuesday we worked on the water slide and got it up and working and then we did some cleaning before we started training. The campers will come here in a little over an hour and I will begin my first week of His Kids Camp this summer.

Me and Ellie

Alive

This summer I had a wonderful experience. At the beginning I was really unsure of how it was going to go and even what it was that I was really going to be doing. I met some really amazing people who have become great friends, or yet family. I can't find the words to describe how wonderful these people are. Each person has taught me something about life, God, or myself. Since I can't put into words how awesome these people are, I guess I will start talking about what I have learned and my thoughts on things.

Life. What does it mean? Our theme this year was being alive. So I heard a lot about being alive in each of the wonderful messages. There are many things I learned about life and I think the biggest is that we tend to take being alive for granted. There are so many things that God blesses us with and we don't even think twice about all the stuff He has given us. There are people in other countries who have lost their life because their beliefs in God and even though we are in a free country I feel like we often time forget how much of a blessing life really is. Sometimes we take for granted the little things that we are able to do like walk and talk. Some of our His Kids campers struggled with those things, but we just do them like it's no big deal. With our life we need to be thankful for everything we are given because we don't know when we aren't going to be given anything anymore. We need to share the love that God has given to us and spread His word to others. Life. It is being alive and living in the most Christ like way that we are able.

God. Who is He? God is our creator. He made everything and made each one of us the way we are because of His purpose for us. We each have different talents and gifts from God. These help us work together to get things done and makes it easier on us because there are others that can help us with the things that we are not that great at. We at times have to persevere through things that are challenging us in certain ways, but we are never alone! God is always with us and He won't ever give us something that we can't handle without His help. He is always by our side and will never let us fall. God is our Heavenly Father. He is always looking over us and protects us. He is almighty and all powerful. God is our Lord. There is no one else that we should put before our Lord. We are showered with so many blessings from God and we should never forget all the things that He does for us.

Myself. Who am I? I am a sinner. A messenger. A believer. A child of God. I am all of these things and so much more. Even though I am a sinner, God still loves me and does so many things for me. We are all sinners, but God sent Jesus to die for us so that we could be forgiven and one day live with them in Heaven. Every one of us is supposed to be a messenger for God. We are to share His love and His word to others so that they know the good news about God and might too believe in Him. I am a believer in God and that Jesus died for us so that we can live with them once our time on earth is done. I believe that God placed everyone that I met this summer at the exact time that they were there for a certain reason. A reason that we will never be able to understand, but a reason that we need to trust is exactly what He wanted done. I am also a child of God. He is my Heavenly Father and I have done everything in my life that I have done because it is part of His purpose.

My relationship with God has definitely changed this summer. It has grown immensely and has been strengthened. There isn't anything else that I would have enjoyed doing more this summer than the experience  I had at camp. Thank you to everyone who had a part in my summer at camp. I'll leave you with a poem that I wrote the last night that I was at camp.

Summer has started again

And I've got nothing to do

And no place to be

But that changed because of You

I didn't understand the things

That happened that led up to this

But it was all a part of Your plan

Something you didn't want me to miss

So I packed up a lot of my things

And left not knowing a whole lot

About my journey ahead

But knew it was what you sought

At first I felt like I didn't belong

I didn't feel like anything was going right

But I had to keep reminding myself

That this is what you had in sight

It took a little bit of time

But things started to come around

You picked me up from the bad things

And placed my feet back on the ground

I grew closer to the other people

But more importantly I grew closer to you

And I started to realize

That this experience is what I needed to do

I learned so many things

And learned more about me

I don't want to go back to who I was

I want to try to continue to be like Thee

I began to look at smaller things

And realized that sometimes

They mean the most

To those with silent chimes

Now I'm leaving this place behind for now

But I am taking everything with me

I want to live the way I've been

And I hope that others can see

Looking back at everything

There is no where else that I would

Have wanted to be this whole summer

Even if at the beginning I thought there should

~ "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Camp Cleaning

Friday night we ate as a staff at Pizza Ranch. I ended up at Dairy Queen with Josh, Kendra and Rachel B. We got ice cream and sat outside while we ate. The company was really nice since there wasn't a lot of time where all four of us were around each other at the same time. We had a lot of good laughs and thought of some pretty funny things. When we got back to camp I hung out in the main lodge for a little while before I headed to bed.

Saturday morning I got up really early so that I could go with Rachel B. and Josh so that he could take some of her senior pictures. It was a really early morning, but I was glad to go along and watch the photo shoot. Josh wanted to try taking pictures underwater and Rachel agreed so they were in a pool taking under water pictures and it was really cool to see how a few of them turned out. Then we headed back to camp so that we could get ready to do our jobs for the day. Before lunch we cleaned the main lodge and the cabins and had a staff meeting. Those of us who were staying decided that we wanted to continue to work after lunch so our job was to weed a hill by one of the cabins. There were volunteers there doing a job already and they were using all of the shovels. So this meant that we had to find other tools to weed the hill. We had an ax, a hatchet, a putter and clippers. This was fun to do with these tools. My parents had showed up to camp not to long before we finished the hill so once we were done I went with them to town to hang out. My cousin met us to eat and after my family went swimming at the hotel pool. It was nice to swim in pool water after a summer of lake water.

On Sunday morning I went to church and sat with the remaining staff one more time before we all went home. After church LeAnn came with me and my family and we ate lunch. Then I headed with her to her house to visit her family. It was fun getting to know her family and spending time with them. I had a great time and a lot of laughs. We watched some of the Olympics with was awesome since we hadn't been able to see any of that yet. When we were back to camp we watched Holes with the rest of the staff.

Monday morning we had job cards with several jobs to do in an area. We had a short little meeting then we headed off to get our jobs done. I chose the card with the picnic shelter area. My jobs were to pick up trash around the shelter, take the trash up to the dumpsters, sweep the shelter and place railroad ties that were lying nearby on the correct spots so that they were stoppers for the parking spots. Once I was done with this I tagged up with another group of people and we cleaned out a shed and organized it. When we were done with that we headed up to the office and painted a few doors there. Then we made our way back to the main lodge to see that basically every job that we were able to do was done. After we grabbed some supper at camp we went into town for shakes at Dairy Queen. They put on the Olympics for us and we enjoyed watching that since we don't have a TV at camp. Once we got back to camp we watched The Dark Knight.

By Tuesday there wasn't very many people left. Those of us that were left our job was to clean the main lodge really good and clean the cabins. We split up so that we could get to work and get the jobs done. After we finished up those things we hung out for awhile. I went into town in the afternoon with LeAnn to meet up with one of her sisters for supper and do a little shopping. We took her sister back to camp with us and we watched Horton Hears a Who. After the movie we took her sister back to town. Then when we got back to camp we cleaned up our side of the cabin a bit and then thought we were going to bed. Randomly LeAnn said she wanted to go stargazing so we headed up to Gerwick field with blankets and looked up at the sky for awhile. We talked about the summer and about the future. We also saw a shooting star in the sky! :)

This morning we got up and finished packing up our things and said goodbye to Magnus. Then we cleaned our side of the cabin and headed up to Gerwick to hang out for a little while before we left. We talked with Josh, Matt and Sue for a little while and ate some breakfast. After a while we decided that we should head out and make our trip home. It seemed like a very long ride because I hadn't made that trip for awhile and I was thinking about everything that had happened this summer. I will post again soon with things that I have learned and the overall experience I had being away at camp all summer.


~ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. - Psalm 23

Burgers and Biking

On Sunday the campers showed up for the last camp of the summer. It was another week of specialty camps. This week we offered horse riding, cooking, dancing, biking and space. I was helping out with bike camp and there was only one girl signed up so she was my only camper. Rachel B. and her campers were in the same side as my camper and I so we combined with them when we did Bible study and candle power. Campers showed up around 4:00 p.m. and when all of the campers from our cabin showed up we went to the rope swing. This was my second time there and some of the kids were really excited while others weren’t. They wanted me to go on it so I decided I would and it went just about the same as the time before that I had went on it and I got rope burn on my legs and a bruise on my thigh. After supper we played Eagle’s Eggs for night game and then we headed off to campfire where Steven gave a good opening message.

On Monday Marty did the Chapel message and he did his message about us being like a coffee mug. I learned something new each time I hear him do that message. For bike camp Magnus and I were the counselors and a JS, Ryan, helped us. The first day we went over the rules and talked about bike safety. The kids probably didn’t enjoy it all that much, but it was something that we needed to do. For waterfront time I was supposed to have sports courts, but I figured since it was so hot none of the campers would want to play anything. So I took a book with me and I finished it. For cabin choice we decided to do archery. It was really fun watching the girls do this. Kristin gave the message at campfire and it was about perseverance.

On Tuesday Josh and Kade had a very funny skit during Chapel. It was probably the funniest skit of the summer. The kids really enjoyed it and the message he gave after it was really good for all of us to hear. There are things in the world that try to get us to do certain things by telling us a certain things that aren’t true. For bike camp, we put on water bottle holders and got the bikes to fit each camper. Then we took them to the sports courts and had them go around cones and practice their skills. For waterfront I didn’t have to do anything so I hung out in the ac because it was really hot out. For cabin choice our group did mercy meals. We filled little bags with certain foods and seal the bag. They will be sent later to people who need them. Rachel B. did the campfire message and it was the same that she had done before. Once again I learned something new that she had talked about. Since it was so hot we decided that we didn’t want to play night games so we decided to have movie night instead. We watched Toy Story 3.

On Wednesday Kade gave the Chapel message about us being the body of Christ. He used the Avengers theme. For bikes we traveled into town right after Chapel before Bible study. We were going on a trail in Columbus by a lake. After a few miles we stopped and did our Bible study together as a group. Then we traveled a little bit more. We figured that we rode about six miles. This was probably the most miles any of the campers had done, but they seemed to enjoy it. For cabin choice we decided that we wanted to do the challenge course. We were headed there and Rachel B. somehow hurt her ankle when we were close to the first challenge. I decided that we needed to take her back to the main lodge so I gave her a piggy back ride back there so she could get it looked at. So we decided we were going to stay in the main lodge and hang out. For night games we played China Bibles. My camper had a loose tooth and her mouth was hurting her and she didn’t want to play and I didn’t feel like running so I got to do the part where I sat at the sports court and campers would come to me once they had enough “money” to buy a Bible. At campfire I gave the message. I talked about Peter walking on water and I tried to walk on water, but obviously I couldn’t so I ran into the water. I talked about how we sometimes doubt Jesus like Peter doubted Him and listed some things that we doubt. Then I read them a verse about Christ living in us that we should look at when we are in doubt.

On Thursday Rachel A. gave the message about Chapel about perseverance. We sometimes struggle with things, but we have to be patient and work through the hard times. For bike camp we decided that we wanted to take the kids on a few trails at camp. Then we had to take off the water bottle holders. We then cleaned the bikes up. For cabin choice the campers decided they wanted to stay swimming. They swam for awhile before we went back to shower. For night games we played Outpost. This was way more fun for me this time because I actually got to try to catch the opponents and not stay hidden because I wasn’t worth a lot of points and I had more than one life. The campfire was the last campfire of the summer. Dan gave the message that was the same as last week about him being a living sacrifice. It was a favorite of the campers. It was a sad campfire because I was thinking about the whole summer and how many we have had and the fact that that was the last campfire of the summer.

This morning Beth gave the message at closing Chapel. It was about the theme of our summer. ALIVE. She talked about so many things that are huge and they were really mind blowing. And she talked about Christ being alive in us and that we need to share His word to others. After the campers left we cleaned a little bit. Then we had a staff meeting and talked about things that were going to be happening these next few days before we all head home. Tonight we are going out to eat as a staff.

~ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:4-5