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

A Plethora of Penguins (my cabin name this week)

On Sunday the campers arose for a full week of camp. This was the second full week of camp, but since I was at VBS last week it was the first full week for me. I had two JS, Amanda and Addie, who hung out with me and my campers. There were seven campers in my cabin this week, so it was a full group in the cabin. I had the older group which I enjoyed since they are the age that I will be teaching in a couple of years. Most were returning campers, but there was one girl who was here for the first time. When all of the campers arrived we played a couple of get to know you games before we headed off to supper. One was a name game where we repeated names a lot so that we could match faces with names so we knew them and the other was saying a true statement about you and we would see who else that was true for. Then we had supper and as a big group played Eagles Eggs. There were so many campers that the game was hard to play without getting caught. Josh gave the opening message at campfire. It was really good and was about keeping the fire in our hearts lit.

On Monday Marty gave us the message at Chapel. He did the message with the mug again and again I learned more. We started our sports camp off as well. There were four girls and about fifteen boys signed up for sports camp. Kade, Steven, Christian and I were the counselors that were doing sports camp. Steven was in charge of what we did for Soccer. He went over rules and had them do some basic skills. They played a short little game after learning the skills and the kids were doing really good. At waterfront I swam for a little while and then read the book I was reading because I was getting really close to the end. We played Outpost for our night game. I was a general which meant that if I got caught by the other team they would get a bigger number of points. I was doing pretty good at staying out of the way of the other team for most of the time. Then near the end of the game I decided that I wanted to venture out from my hiding place and into other woods. About twenty minutes left in the game I got caught. The other team won because they had more points. We had our campfire at the beach and Steven gave a great message about Peter walking on water.

Janet gave the message at Chapel on Tuesday. She did a message about how we are dead in our sin and that it is because of Jesus that we are able to live and do the things we do. For sports camp we played Football and Kade led the campers for this. He told them the rules and taught them a few basic skills. They played a game and it was a pretty good game to watch for this age group. For waterfront I had to work boats. I wasn't really that much of help because my ankle was swollen and it hurt to walk. I was told that they think it was a sting on the back of my ankle that made it swell. So far this summer that makes number 2 for stings for me.. :/ Hopefully it was the last that I get this summer. Rachel B. gave the message at campfire. She had a good skit that represented the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then she told us how we should try to be like them by standing up for ourselves and not giving into the things society wants us to do that is against what God wants us to do even if almost everyone we see is doing what society says we should do.

On Wednesday Beth gave a good message at Chapel. She talked about working as a team. For sports camp we played Basketball and I was the leader for this. I taught them the positions and a few simple things they could do to get open. I taught them a basic man-to-man defense and also a zone defense. We then played having four teams and switching the teams on and off so that they could rest since it was so hot. The first game for each group we had them playing man-to-man and the next set of games we had them playing zone defense. For waterfront I was on duty for swimming. I was at the dock for most of the time and then headed in to the beach for a little while. I took my campers to do the Challenge course. We did the balance beam with a partner, the pole with the tire and the balance plank. They did really well with these and I hope it helped them grow closer together as friends. For the night game we played China Bibles. I caught quite a few kids during this and wasn't as nice as I was the first time we played this game with campers. I took away more chips because most campers were older and I was helping them get prepared for the game the next night. Then we headed to campfire which was a hike to Cross Pointe. Kade gave a great message there and it really had a lot of campers thinking about things in their life.

Andrew gave the message at Chapel on Thursday. He reminded us that we are a chosen people. God has chosen each one of us to be His people. We played Ultimate Frisbee for sports camp. This was kind of a  mix of most of the other sports so that is why we did this last. We had the kids do some drills with the Frisbees. They worked on distance and accuracy. We played a game and it was a really close game. Everyone was getting involved and trying to get the Frisbee when their team was on offense and when they were on defense they would try to get the Frisbee from the other team. I was off for waterfront so I decided since it was really hot that I was going to hang out inside. Since it was so hot we decided that we weren't going to have a night game. We headed to campfire early where Dan gave a very good message that everyone paid close attention to. He talked about us being a living sacrifice and was doing a skit where he was going to be a living sacrifice, but he had Josh come in to make it stop. They kids paid close attention and hopefully took away the message that they should be a living sacrifice by telling others about God and giving up their time to help others. Since we didn't play a night game we had a dance party and watched the movie How to Train Your Dragon. Almost everyone stayed and slept in the main lodge. That was pretty fun, but also wasn't that comfortable because it was on a cement floor.

This morning I woke my cabin up to get ready before breakfast. We had breakfast burritos and it was really good! Josh gave us a good reminding message at the closing Chapel. He reminded us that we need to persevere at the hard things in life. My girls wanted everyone to sign their shirts so we did that when they were packing their bags. At the end of lunch each of the type of camps got to go up to the front and show of some of what they did during the camp. Then when the campers left we cleaned and had a staff meeting. We headed into town after the meeting to watch The Dark Knight. It was really good.

Next week I will be helping with bike camp. I am hoping that it isn't going to be really hot because I don't want to get really exhausted and not be able to do the rest of things at camp.

~ "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2

Fun for the Family

On Saturday we had a camp for families. A parent or parents would bring their child to hang out at camp and do some different activities with them. There was also a grandparent/grandchild camp during the day. They started out with a little craft that they would then put their picture in at a later time for them at camp. We had finger painting, archery, a nature hike, rope swing, Frisbee golf and a scavenger hunt that they could choose from to participate in and have fun together. I chose to help with the rope swing since I hadn't done it yet this summer. We had waterfront time where they could swim, go on boats or go down the waterslide. Josh had a Bible study for the families to listen to. It was a really good reminder message to me and hopefully the kids took a lot from it. He talked about the story of the mustard seed and how such a little seed can grow into a tree that is around 8-9 feet tall. We should tell others about God and "plant" a mustard seed in them to help enrich their faith in God. The grandparent/grandchild campers left after the Bible study. For supper we had a roast outside at the campfire where we roasted hot dogs. Then we played Counselor Hunt where the families would try to find all of the counselors in a certain part of the woods. I was hiding in a place that wasn't very hidden and quite a few of the groups found me. Then after the game we did a campfire and made some s'mores. YUM! :) Then we went to bed and in the morning we had breakfast together and another little message from Josh before the families went home and before we got ready for our next camp that started Sunday afternoon.

~ "He told them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.'" - Matthew 13:31-32

Last Day of VBS

We went to the Lutheran school again to help do some more cleaning on Friday morning. This time she had us cleaning her toys for the kids and organizing all the shelves. It was pretty fun because it brought back a lot of memories from when I was a kid and played with toys like that. Then she took us to eat and we saw a few of our kids from VBS there and talked with them for a little while. We had the afternoon free so that we could pack up and just relax for a little while. LeAnn and I decided that we wanted to play our guitars. So we got them out and played quite a few of our camp songs. It was fun to jam out with her and learn the songs a little bit better.

It was a really good week at VBS and the kids were awesome! I was glad to go with LeAnn and Zach and get to know them a little better. We had a lot of fun doing everything together. Yesterday was the ending night of VBS. The kids were really energetic and it was so much fun. I had a challenge for my kids to do from the day before and they all did it which made me glad. They really enjoyed the game that I taught them and just wanted to keep playing it. During closing the parents were allowed to come and quite a few of them showed up. We still did closing like we had been the rest of the week. For the last song we had the kids go up to the front of the church and not in the pews so that they could do the actions while looking at their parents. We sang Every Move I Make which was their favorite song because they got to jump. It was kind of scary though because things on the altar and near it were swaying back and forth quite a bit, but nothing broke! :) Then they served ice cream to all of the families and we got to meet the kids' families. Many of the kids gave us huge hugs when they were leaving and that made me feel really good about the week. When that was over we helped clean up and packed our car. We then headed back to camp so that we would be ready for the camp that is starting this morning.

~ "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?'
Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times'". - Matthew 18:21-22

Trampoline fun after VBS

Last night was our third night of VBS. The kids still had a lot of energy. The lesson we taught was about us being a new creation. Things seemed to be running about the same everyday which is good and the kids seem to be having a great time. Their favorite song is Every Move I Make because they love the part where we get to jump up and down. After VBS LeAnn, Zach and I decided to jump on the trampoline for a little while. This was fun because I used to have one when I was younger and would love to go out and jump on it. Then I got to see my friend from college that will be my roommate next year. I found out on Tuesday that she lived only 9 miles from where I was staying. So her and her fiance came and picked me up to go get some ice cream. It was really nice to see them and hang out for a little while with them.

This morning we went to a public school and helped dust the trophies and the trophy cases. Then we took them all out and organized them by year. They had us take trophies from a certain year and back out of the cases because there was just so many and not quite enough room. Then we stacked the trophies back on the shelves in order by year. It was very hot in the school and you think a job like that wouldn't be that bad, but we were getting very hot. Then we had the afternoon off so that we could relax some.

VBS tonight went really well. There were a few new people, but also some of the ones that had been coming gone. Once again the kids were full of energy and it was just an awesome sight. The story of today was that we are a part of Christ's body. For the craft this evening we had the kids paint shirts that at the end of the summer (all the shirts from the VBS this summer) they will be sent to Haiti. The kids were very creative on how they designed the shirts. After VBS we decided that we would jump on the trampoline a little bit more. The little girl from the family that we are staying with jumped with us. Then we played Wii for a little while and that was really fun.

Tomorrow we will be helping out at the Lutheran school again. And then in the evening we will be doing our last day of VBS. The time has seemed to go by really fast, but I have really enjoyed it.

~ "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:33-34

Spending time with the young and the old

Last night was our second night at VBS. The kids seemed to have another great night and were full of energy just like the first night. Our message for the night was that they are valuable. We are all valuable to so many people. We are valuable to our families, friends, those we don't know and we are valuable to God. He created us and has made a place for each of us and a path for us to follow. It is important for us to remember that we are valuable to Him and really important to remember that when we feel like we aren't important. I believe that we should say the most valuable thing to us is our relationship with God. If we don't have a good relationship with God our other relationships are going to struggle. The kids really loved to sing to the music we do at opening and closing.

Today our schedule was filled with going to nursing homes and assisted living places. In the morning we went to a group at an assisted living place and did a few exercises with them. Then we played a few songs for them. Next we went to a nursing home and visited with a few of the residents. Some were very welcoming and others didn't really have much to say. I had a good time and some great laughs with LeAnn and Zach. After a few visits we went to another nursing home and helped about 15 residents make ice cream in a bag. They seemed to enjoy this and it looked like fun and looked like it tasted good. We played a few songs for them before we had to leave for our last visit of the day. We went back to the nursing home that we had came from before and played a concert for some of the residents. LeAnn played the keyboard, I played the guitar and all of us sang. There was a lady that asked us after we played if we had a recording. We told her that we didn't and she told us that we should. It was so sweet of her. :) Then we headed back to our host family and LeAnn and I decided that we wanted to try and make the ice cream like the residents did. So we got out the ingredients that we needed. We started making it and noticed that it wasn't really getting thicker like we had seen at the nursing home so we decided we were just going to drink it. LeAnn had a sip and spit it out and I didn't know why. She told me to taste it and so I did. Turns out we put salt in it instead of sugar. The funny part was before we put it in LeAnn said she was going to laugh if it was salt.... Well of course it was salt so we laughed a lot. We decided that we wanted to try it again so we made sure to taste the sugar first to make sure it was. Yes we found the real sugar and made the ice cream. It tasted pretty good.

Tonight we are off to our third night of VBS. After we will be having a little devotion/meeting with our teen helpers. And yesterday I found out that I am staying just 9 miles from my roommate next year so she is going to come see me for a little bit. We aren't quite sure what is planned for us tomorrow, but I am sure we will find out sometime tonight.

~ "Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples." - Psalm 96:1-3

Something different

I enjoyed my break hanging out with my family and seeing friends. It was weird though not having a lot of people around like what I have been used to at camp. My family enjoyed a couple nights of fireworks, a night of mini golf and then a day at the zoo. After the I enjoyed a meal at Pizza Kitchen with my family then headed back to camp. Campers arrived on Sunday afternoon. This is the first full week for the typical campers. I helped in the kitchen preparing supper, feeding the kids and cleaning the dishes after the meal. Then I went out to play Eagle's Eggs with everyone else. The game was crazier than it has been because there was so many people. Then we had campfire where Dan had a good opening message.

On Monday I helped Dan do a little maintenance work in the morning. Rachel B. had a good chapel message about being thankful to be alive. Then as I mentioned in the title I did something different than what I have been doing at camp. This week I headed off with LeAnn and Zach to help with a VBS. There were two VBS that were going on this week so we needed two teams instead of just the one. I volunteered to go and see what this experience would be like. We met the pastor and our host family before VBS started. I am teaching the 5th and 6th graders this week. We got to know the kids a little and had an opening before we set in to do the various activities. Then we had a closing and headed back to our host families house. 

This morning we headed to the Lutheran school in Hampton to help the principal/1st and 2nd grade teacher with some things she needed done. Zach helped her clean up the bushes/trees around the front of the school. LeAnn and I were inside her room making copies, cleaning, organizing and doing many other things for her. This was our first mission project. Tonight we will be doing our 2nd day of VBS and tomorrow we will start our second mission project and that will be at a few nursing homes. We aren't exactly sure what we are doing yet, but we will find out later. 

~ "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" - Matthew 19:14

Last Mini Camp Before Break

On Sunday afternoon the last mini camp before our break for the 4th of July started. The campers showed up and we hung out in our room before we headed off to eat supper. I had 2 JS, Amanda and Bailey, for the week. We stayed in the same cabin as Rachel A. and her campers and JS. There was a total of 10 of us so we just hung out together and got to know everyone since we were all staying in the same cabin. When they got there everyone made a little poster with their name on it to hang by their beds and then we got to playing get to know you games. Rachel had a few games that we did to say everyone's name a lot so we could get the names and faces in our brains so we knew who was who. Then we did a game where you are in a circle with one person in the middle. The person in the middle says a truth about them and whoever else that is true for has to go into the middle and try to find a spot around the edge. Whoever doesn't get to a spot around the edge stays in the middle. And then you repeat for however long you wish. This is a fun game because you get to see who has things in common with you. Then we headed to supper and then to our first night game. We played Eagle's Eggs again. It was pretty hot out, but I still enjoyed playing the game. Then we headed off to campfire where we enjoyed music and a great opening message from LeAnn. After campfire we went back to our cabin and had candle power time and talked some before bed. It was fun and we shared a lot of laughs.

Rachel A. and my cabins

Monday was the only full day for the mini camp. I woke up early to go run a little bit with Amanda. It was kind of difficult because of all the hills and I hadn't truly just went on a run for awhile, but I enjoyed it. Then we had breakfast and off to Chapel where we heard another great message by Leann. For YPI I was in charge of basketball and Courtney, a JS, helped me out. The kids shot around for a little while then we had them play 4-on-4 for a little while so each team could have a sub. Then Courtney and I decided we wanted to play so we joined and played 5-on-5 with a sub. The kids seemed to enjoy it even though it was hot out. We had lunch and a nap before we went to snack time. Then after snack time we headed down to waterfront. I hung out with the kids while swimming and went down the waterslide a few times. Then we went to supper before we headed to night games. We played Capture the Flag in the woods. It is a little different than what you are probably thinking of as Capture the Flag, but most rules are still the same. Then we headed as a group to the beach to have our campfire. Kristin gave a great message about being alive. Then we had smores and they were delicious. Then a short candle power time before bed.

Today we slept in a little bit before we headed up to breakfast. We had a good breakfast and then hung out playing the card game Mafia. It was pretty fun. We then had our closing chapel with the group where Dan gave a good message to the group. Then we had a little down time before lunch where the girls packed up their belongings. We finished off with a group picture and a meal with some of the family members of the campers that came to pick them up. After the campers left the counselors did some cleaning of the main lodge and the cabins and then we had a short meeting. Then most of the counselors were headed on the road for varies destinations for our short break. I am home and headed out with my family to see some fireworks! :)

~ "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1

His Kids Camp - Week 4

Wednesday night the campers for the last week of His Kids Camp arrived. This week was the younger group of campers. I was paired up with a volunteer, Jessica, to be our campers' buddies. When the campers got there we took their things down to the cabin we were staying in and then went back to the main lodge to wait for supper. We then headed on a wagon ride to the campfire for smores and singing a few songs at the campfire. Since we had so many people we had to go in two different groups. When we got back to the main lodge we sung a few songs in our opening ceremony. Then we headed to bed to rest up for the first full day of camp.

Jessica, Dacia and I

Thursday and Friday are very similar to the past weeks. Thursday we did outside activities and our buddy was flying a kite for a little while. It was fun to see that happen because I haven't seen a kite be flown in quite a while and the past 2 weeks I have seen one flown a couple times. I finished the book I was reading during nap time and that was fun because now I can read the second book of the series. During swim time we went swimming. I swam to the dock a few times with my camper and it was fun seeing her make it there and back a few times. She also wanted to go down the waterslide so we did that a couple times. I have gotten better at finding the right angle that I need to go down so I can go faster. The dance was really fun and we had freestyle dance and it was fun to see what people would choose to dance if they chose to go to the middle of the circle. There were some really really good moves on the dance floor. Then we settled down by watching The Incredibles.

Friday was a very weather changing day. In the morning we had gotten halfway through our activities then it was raining pretty good so we stayed inside and hung out before lunch. Then when we headed down for a nap it had stopped raining so that made us happier for swim time. During swim time we mostly just stayed in the shallow end but did swim out to the dock a few times. Then all 3 of us went on a canoe and that was fun. We looked for turtles and saw one at the back of the lake. Friday night again was the talent show. It was fun like always to see what talents this group of campers had. Some of the talents were: playing the drums, singing, dancing, playing checkers, showing a drawing, comedy, rapping, football and a skit. It was very entertaining and we closed the night out with a freestyle dance again before a circle prayer. On the walk back to the cabin we saw a very beautiful sunset.

The beautiful sunset

This morning we had our closing ceremony for the final week of His Kids Camp 2012. We gave out awards and sung a few songs. Then we cleaned the main lodge and a little bit in the cabins. A few of us went to Columbus to hang out. For supper we went to the Brewery and I had a very good hamburger and fries.


Tomorrow another mini camp will begin around 4. I will have a cabin with a couple of girls. After the camp we will have a break for the 4th of July. Then when we come back we will be having camps the rest of July for typical students.

~ "The joy of the Lord is my strength." - Nehemiah 8:10

Firm Mattress (The name of my cabin this week...)

Sunday afternoon the kids for the mini camp showed up. I was teamed up with Kendra to have a cabin along with two JS, Kim and Lauren. I was really excited because this was my first cabin of typical children this summer. We had 7 girls in our cabin. When they got here on Sunday we had supper and then we played a game called Eagle's Eggs. It is similar to capture the flag, but a little different twist to it. There are two teams with a center line. On the back boundary line there is a hula-hoop which we call the eagle's nest and in the hula-hoop there are three swimming footballs that we call the eagle's eggs. The teams can cross the line, but if they get tagged they have to sit on the ground where they got tagged and wait to be saved. In order to be saved a person from their team must make it to them safely and tag them then the two must skip back across to their side of the field. The goal is to get the eggs from the opposing teams' nest into your nest. Then we had a campfire with a great message by Steven. Our theme is alive and he did his message on us being like a tree. Trees need wind in order to grow bigger and stronger and we need God to grow stronger in our faith. Then we went to our cabin and had candle power. We talked about the campfire and our days. It was pretty fun listening to the girls' thoughts.

Monday our girls woke up earlier than we had planned so we went on a nature walk before breakfast which ended up being really fun. We stopped by the lake and just watched it blow in the wind before we headed up the hill to breakfast. Then we had Chapel and Kade gave a message that was relating the Avengers working as a team to Christians working as a body of Christ. Then the kids got to go to a "you pick it" (YPI). Some of the staff are assigned to do one of their YPI ideas and the kids get to do what they choose at this time. After that the kids played some games with the JS. Then it was lunch time and after lunch time for a little nap. After the nap we got to go to Trading Post for a snack and then we went to waterfront. I had a good time at waterfront swimming with some of my girls. Then supper and a night game of Counselor Hunt. This is a game in the woods where the counselors hide in  the forest and the kids try to find them and get their signature. It wasn't really dark so it wasn't that bad for the kids to walk through the forest. I found a tree that I climbed up and it was actually pretty fun. I happen to be reading The Hunger Games right now and as I sat there I thought about the main character, Katniss, who sits in a tree during the games and uses a belt to keep her from falling while she slept. While I was there and waiting for kids to find me I was reading my book and thought that it would be a great reading nook. I will be going back there more often to climb the tree and just read while I am sitting there enjoying the forest. Then we had another campfire where LeAnn did the message. She did a very good job with designed a skit to go with the message she was teaching. Then we had the long trek back to our cabins and it was really neat because the fireflys were out and the moon was lighting our path. We did candle power again and then sang a few camp songs before going to bed.

This is where we did our bible studies.

Today our girls weren't wanting to get out of bed so we didn't get to go on a walk or play any games before breakfast. We brought them up to sing some songs with the JS before breakfast. Then we had chapel where Marty did the message. It was about us being like a cup. We can have things fill us up but then it can just be poured out. And if we get broken we are just pieces and not one piece is better than the other because not one piece could do the job that the cup did. Then we had a bible study with the girls before we headed to lunch. The families that picked up the kids came for lunch and then they were off for home.

Tonight we have training for the last week of His Kids and tomorrow the campers will arrive to enjoy their time here at camp.

~ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. - Romans 6:13

His Kids Camp - Week 3

Wednesday evening we started our 3rd week of His Kids Camp. We had quite a volunteers for the week so I was assigned to be a cabin angel. This meant I was to help those in my cabin if they needed something and make sure everyone got in bed on time and all the things like that. One group had to leave a little early so I became a buddy Friday after lunch. On Wednesday night we had our opening and it was very enjoyable just like all the others.

Melissa and I

Thursday and Friday were quite a lot like the previous weeks since we do the same things each week with the campers. The weather was really hot so our campers really enjoyed being in the water at waterfront time. We watched the movie Up on Thursday night. I enjoyed that because it is a favorite movie of mine. Since we still had the campers here for horse camp those of us on staff without buddies were able to go to the last campfire that the horse campers would have before they left Friday after lunch. It was fun to hang out with the kids and see a great message by Josh.

Friday was a pretty fun day. I enjoyed watching the campers do their games. I enjoyed waterfront with my buddy. We went on a canoe and then went to the shelter because it was so hot and played 4 games of Sorry. She beat me 3 of the 4 times. This was a game that she loved and beat almost everyone every time. We had the talent show on Friday and it was probably the most entertaining I think. My buddy did her famous surprise talent of a play. Her play was in a way Pocahontas and I was playing the part of Pocahontas. She was directing us to go where she wants to go. It was pretty fun to act what she wanted us to do. I hadn't watched the movie in quite awhile so I didn't really know what to do. At the end I had a very dramatic slide to stop my father, which was my buddy, from killing John Smith. The crowd laughed a lot at it because how dramatically I slide onto the stage from stopping this from happening to end the play.

Today the campers left around 10 and we cleaned a little and then I headed to Omaha with Rachel B. to see her family and do a little shopping. It was fun to meet her family and shop. We went to different stores and I got a few things that I really really liked and wanted.

Tomorrow I will be helping with the mini camp that we have this weekend. We start tomorrow afternoon around 4 or 5 and then we finish Tuesday morning. I think it will be a fun experience because it is my first time working with typical kids at camp. The little time I had spent with the horse campers made me really excited for this experience.

~ "In this life / I know what I've been / But here in your arms / I know what I am" - "Forgiven" by Sanctus Real

Thrifting, fathers and horses

Saturday we got our first paycheck and decided a long time ago that we were going to go to thrift stores the day we got our first pay check. So this is what we did, well most of us anyway. We piled into 3 cars and headed to Columbus to do some shopping. There was a variety of things that were bought. I bought a game of Scattergories for $1. I had always wanted the game and since it was that cheap there was no doubt that I was going to pass up that offer. There were a few buttons/pins that I thought were really cool and were very cheap so I got 4 of them. Other things that were bought by some of the staff include: records, clothes, cds, computer games, nerf gun, books, recliners and many other things. It was a really fun time out.

Sunday was Father's Day and I asked my cousin, since he lives close, if he wanted to go to church with me and he said yes. After church we went out to eat at Jimmy John's. I wished I could have spent more time with him, but I needed to head back to camp so we could get ready for the campers that were coming that afternoon. We pretty much had the afternoon off so I decided I would read my book for my class. I ended up finishing the book that night before I went to bed and now only have the last big paper to complete this week. After I turn in the paper I will not be thinking about school until I go back this fall. The staff played a game of Eagle's Eggs with the campers and that was pretty fun. We also had an opening campfire with the campers. Zach had a good skit and opening message and we sang some songs.

Today we had a work day because the campers were off to Horse Camp. It was very hot out, but we managed to get a lot done. We got some pews at a campfire fixed back in place, planted some bushes by one of the cabins, got barrels under the boat dock that needed to be put back where they belonged and a few other jobs. The campers came back so we went to snack time with them and then all of us had time to rest before supper. We had another campfire tonight with the kids and I was the one doing the message this time. I used a Rubix cube as part of my object lesson. The Scripture I talked about was 2 Corinthians 5:17-20. Tomorrow will probably be a day of work in the morning/afternoon and our next set of volunteers come in the evening for training before our 3rd week of His Kids Camp starts on Wednesday.

~ "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

His Kids Camp - Week 2

On Wednesday, we started our second week of His Kids Camp. We pretty much did the exact same thing as the week before. Except on Thursday it was raining on us, so for most of our activities we were inside just doing whatever to keep busy. And for swim time we had to cut it short because we heard thunder and we wanted to get out campers inside. Thursday we watched Madagascar 2. The talent show on Friday was really fun. We had a lot of different talents and they were so fun. I got to go swimming this week and I had a lot of fun swimming back and forth to the dock several times. It was good exercise that I needed.

My buddy this week was Sara. We had a good time together. At times she just wanted to sit there and not do anything, but we still enjoyed each other's presence. She enjoyed everything that we did at camp and is really excited to come back. I enjoyed being her buddy and doing the things she liked to do. I asked her what her favorite things were and she said everything so I think she had a great time. She enjoyed the dance and danced like the whole time having fun. For the talent show she sang Jesus Loves Me. She gave me a great big hug before she left.

Sara and I

I had a great time this week with all of the campers and volunteers. I am excited for the shopping that I will do today with the staff. We have a few little camps that will be happening starting tomorrow before our next week of His Kids! :)

~ "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:9-10

We are young, so we’ll set the beach on fire

I went home for the weekend and got back on Monday around noon. There was a camp going on at the time so I jumped right in with helping at activities. The kids were playing different games before lunch. Then the kids had a nap time after lunch and I was off with Dan, Zach, Kristin and Rachel B. to do some maintenance work. Our job for the day was to clear the beach of the grass that was growing on the beach. We were working for about 10-15 minutes using our hands of shovels. Dan comes up with the idea to try and just kill the grass by lighting it on fire. So we went and got supplies needed to set the beach on fire. We put down some gas and lit it on fire. The area that had the gas burned, but the rest of the area that we wanted to kill the grass at didn’t burn. The fire burned out, but it wasn’t on everything we planned to burn. So now there is a black line near the beach and we will continue to work on this at another time to hopefully get all the grass out of the beach.

Dan and the line of fire

Then we had waterfront time with the kids. They all wanted to be in the water today and had fun swimming, boating and going down the waterslide. We played an evening game in one of the woods. The counselors were the bad guys that the kids wanted to run away from and the Junior Servants (JS) were the good guys. They ran through the woods trying to get chips from the JS and ran away from the counselors because we could take them away. Campers were with a buddy and wanted to get 3 chips so that they could get a Bible. Then we went to Calvary for a campfire and sang songs and had smores after. :)

Tuesday we will do a few activities with the campers before lunch, and then they will head off. And we will get ready for training with the next groups of volunteers for the second week of His Kids Camp.

~ …his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. – 1 Corinthians 3:13

His Kids Camp - Week 1

Our first week of His Kids Camp started on Wednesday night. For those of you who don’t know what His Kids Camp is, I will explain. It is a camp for people with special needs. They have a staff member buddy and do many activities and we share the love of God. We met our buddies and had supper and a message time with them. Thursday and Friday were similar in schedule. We had Chapel on Thursday and Friday and heard great messages. We played a few different games in our groups and did crafts. After lunch we had nap time for a few hours then headed to get a snack at Trading Post. Then there was time for the campers to go swimming, boating, play games or just watch others both afternoons. We had a hayrack ride to the waterfront area and back. Campers seem to love this and I enjoy it myself. :) Thursday night we had a dance and watched Finding Nemo. At the dance we did square dancing, the chicken dance, the YMCA, the bunny hop, Hokey Pokey and a few other fun dances. Friday night we had a talent show. There was a variety of talents that were shown in this show. Some campers sang and others danced. A few did their own unique things. Including making meowing sounds and putt putt golfing. It was very entertaining and fun to watch.

My buddy’s name was Lori. She was really fun to hang out with and be around. I would tell her people’s names and the schedule and many other random things and she had a pretty good memory about almost all of the things I told her. She liked to color and participated in many activities. At the talent show she sang Jesus Loves Me. There were many memorable moments with Lori, but too many to tell. So I will just tell of my favorite moments. She woke up early the last day and was ready by about 6 am. She was packing things up for about an hour because the rest of us were still sleeping. We got out of bed at around 7 to start getting ready and she kept telling us to hurry and that we were being slow pokes. I had a great time with her and can’t wait until the next camp.

Lori and I

~ I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:3-6

Waterslide Complete

Today was a full day of work. We had many people working on the waterslide before lunch so that we could get as much done before camp starts. Then after lunch I went to help Dan and Matt finish the slide. Janelle also helped us for a little while. I could have choose to rest like everyone else, but I had worked on it from the very beginning and wanted to see it through. There wasn't a whole lot left to do, but it did take some time with only having a few people working. Kristin had joined us to help do the last few pieces. It was getting close to suppertime and we were so close to being done. We decided that if we finished we would have enough time to go change into our suits and each of us could go down. After it was completed we were finally ready to test the slide and see if it was going to hold up like we thought it should. We each went down a few times and it was pretty fun. Very satisfying that it worked after all the hard work that we had put into it. There will be a picture or two of the final outcome at some point once I remember to take my camera down to get a picture of it.

We had our first set of volunteers come to camp tonight. So we went through some camp training tonight and will finish that in the morning with them before camp starts tomorrow night! The staff has done a great job getting everything ready for camp. I am so ready for camp to start!! :) The buddy that I had for the weekend I helped during the summer will be here and I can't wait to see her again. I may not post much the next few days, but when I get a chance this weekend I will wright about the first week of camp.

~ "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." - Romans 8:28

Challenge Accepted

Well I said last night that we were going to work today, but that didn't happen. We had Pastor B.J. from Deshler, NE come and talk with us. He has worked at camp before himself and he gave us some advice on how to lead our bible studies with the campers. He also went over the bible studies that we will be doing this summer. We have gone over them as a group, but he gave us a different side of the scripture and gave us more examples that related to the passages. There were 2 really good demonstrations that he did that I hope to do either with my campers and/or at other events that I help out with.

Then as a staff we went to the challenge course on camp and did the different challenges. The first was a balance beam where we went in groups of 2 and we had to go from one end to the other end without touching the ground. Those who weren't going were spotters and we could have them help us a little along the way. We also couldn't use a strategy that someone had already used. The next challenge was on a teeter-totter that was close to the ground and could hold all of us on staff. We had it set up as a rescue challenge and we all had to get onto the boards and keep it balanced. Then once everyone was on the teeter-totter we had to save a pet from each side of the teeter-totter.

Next, our challenge involved a very tall pole that we couldn't reach the top by standing on top of the tallest person's shoulders and a tire. We were told to lift the tire up, get it around the pole and the tire back to the ground. Nothing could hit the pole. There were long sticks lying around that we were trying to get the tire up high enough to get the tire around the pole and back to the ground. This attempt didn't work. We tried having Rachel B. stand on Kade's shoulders, but she still couldn't reach the top. She was close to the top so we tried to give her a stick, but it just didn't work out. It took some time before Josh stepped in to tell us how to do it. He simply picked up the tire, walked around the pole and set it back on the ground. He taught us a lesson on this and none of us had asked any questions to see what the limits were.

Then we went to another teeter-totter type challenge. There were 3 4x4 planks of wood that were in a triangle. They had 1 side on top of the next and 1 side under the next. They were about 1 foot of the ground in the middle. Our challenge was to have 3 people at a time get on and balance the beams. We all did this fairly quickly. The group that I was in took the longest because we had such a varying weight different between us. I was the first one standing on the beams waiting for them to get on and I was flailing at times, but we managed to get it. Our final challenge was the trust fall. We didn't have to fall if we didn't want to, but we were all there to catch those who wanted to fall. The first height we fell from was about 4 feet off the ground. I was scared to go, but I wanted to face my fears so I ended up doing it. Then a few people wanted to go from the highest platform we had so we all moved to catch them from the tallest. This one was about 6 feet tall. I decided that I would go from this height as well and I loved the adrenaline rush that I got even those I was scared before I went. Josh recorded a video of it so at some point I may upload it for you to enjoy.

After supper we had a free night so I decided to take the time to get some homework done since we will beginning camp soon. I got everything finished for this week. So only 2 weeks left! :) The volunteers will be coming tomorrow evening and we will be doing training to get ready for the first week of His Kids Camp! So ready for camp!! :) I am pretty sure that my buddy that I had during the weekend that I helped with will be here.

~ "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." - Psalm 28:7

Camp Luther Sunday

Today was the 45th anniversary of Camp Luther. It was a very early morning with waking up at 6:20 to be at the church in Columbus by 7:30 so we could get ready to sing at the church services. We sung "How He Loves Us" and it sounded good. There were 2 guitars, 2 ukuleles and a cello as our instrumental crew. Then we hurried back to get ready to do our jobs for the day. There were games, face painting, families touring the camp, food, a silent auction and a quilt auction. We also had a little praise service with the staff singing songs and some of the crowd singing along and a good message by President Russ Sommerfeld. Many beautiful quilts were sold and I bought one myself. There were many different church groups that made the quilts and donated them to the camp for us to sell. We also rededicated the main building, Henry Gerwick Lodge. A short dedication service was held by the sign in honor of the dedication. There was laughter and fellowship throughout the day.

It was a long day for us and after we finished and cleaned the Lodge most of the staff went to Pizza Ranch in Columbus. This was the first time I had been to Pizza Ranch. I probably ate more than I should have, but it was good. We learned some various things about each other that were random, but that isn't new with us. We always seem to be random about our conversations, but it is so much fun! :) Now we are back and some are already in bed and others are hanging out in the lounge. Tomorrow is another day of work. Still some jobs to get done before the campers show up on Wednesday. So excited! :) 

~ "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:15-16

A relaxing day, but not so relaxing

Today was our first day off and we got to sleep in for the first time since we have been here. It was nice to lay in bed until close to 10 since we have been waking up at 8 everyday and working really hard. I got some homework done. It feels good to know that I am halfway done with the course! :)

I haven't been out to see the whole camp yet, so Kendra, Rachel B. and I went to explore. It was a good thing Rachel was with us because she has been here before and was familiar with the trails. We went on almost every trail except for a few that I had went on yesterday. It was fairly hot and we were wearing jeans so it was quite the workout. We were out for about 2 hours and I enjoyed taking pictures of the places we went.

Kendra, Rachel B. and I

Many people went into Columbus for the day and when they got back a few of us decided to go swimming. It was the first time that I had gone swimming in the lake. The water felt pretty good, but had a few cold spots. Rachel B. and I swam out to Calvary and it was quite the swim with how much walking we had done before we went swimming.

This is Calvary from the back side. You can see in the distance
the beach that we swam from. Then we swam back.

The whole group practiced the song that we are going to be singing tomorrow at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Columbus. They have two services and we are singing at both then coming back to have our Camp Luther Sunday.

~ "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come." - Genesis 24:42

Tricycles, Basketball & Huntsman

Today we did just a little bit of cleaning of some of the buildings to get ready for the festivities this weekend. We walked paths to try and clear some trees that had fallen on the path. There wasn't much work done on the slide today, but we did get a little work done. That is all we did which was really nice because we got a break from working.

Then a few of us went to play basketball. Rachel B. and I were the first to get down to the courts and we saw the tricycles sitting there. We wanted to ride them so we figured out what the lock code was and started riding them on the court. Then we got the basketballs out and started shooting layups on our bikes. They were really fun to ride, but kind of scary because having 3 wheels the balance seemed to be different. Then we played eliminator once the others came down. It was really fun and at times hard to shoot because we were laughing so hard.

Rachel and I shooting hoops on the tricycle

About half of the staff was gone for the afternoon/evening and those of us still here decided to go to a movie. We decided to watch Snow White and the Huntsman. It was a little interesting, but a pretty good movie. Rachel B. wore her footie pajamas to the movie. After the movie she didn't want to walk back to the car because the ground was a little wet so I carried her to the car and basically dropped her in the door. On the way back Rachel B. said she wanted to go swimming and we were telling her we didn't want to go because it was cold. Josh, my boss, said that if she went in her footie pajamas that he would go with her. She was super excited and so all of of went to the lake and they ran in together. The water was really cold, but they both managed to swim to the dock and back. 

Rachel back in the cabin after she got out of the lake.

The VBS team is now back and so those of us here are just sitting in the lounge talking about random things and ready for the day off tomorrow. :) 

~ "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." - Proverbs 27:17

Long day of work

There was a lot of work done around camp today. There are a lot of staff members leaving tomorrow because of a wedding so we were trying to get as much done as we could so those of us here over the weekend could just relax for the most part. A few people worked on making a sign post to hold the big sign at the entrance of the camp and it looks really good. Others worked on painting, trimming trees

I chose to work on the waterslide again today because I have had fun doing the work that needs to be done for it. This morning we started working again on making the posts. We had a bit of trouble because our drill battery kept dying. Even with that we had managed to almost get all of the posts done before lunch. After lunch we worked on it some more and had finally finished all the posts and a couple people got cement poured in the holes to fill them and they are now in place.

This is the posts that we were making. 

This was the bottom post. We used the barrel
to support the post while the cement dried.

Then we started placing all the slabs of wood that is the frame of the waterslide down over the track. We secured the frame into the posts that we had made. There is still more work to do on the waterslide, but at the rate we are going it will hopefully be done by Monday.

This is the view of the frame from the top.

Another good bible study tonight. We talked about our faith and deeds. Off to watch another movie. We are continuing our theme and watching Captain America. 

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

It's the beginning

Well I have never done this before, but I am going to attempt to blog my experience this summer so those of you who want to know what I am up to can read about it. This one is longer because it is about the first 5 days I have been here. In the future, the posts will get shorter. A little over 2 weeks ago I had no idea what I was going to be doing this summer. Then I was offered a job at Camp Luther where I had volunteered for a weekend for a class. I really enjoyed the time I spent at camp that weekend and so it took a short amount of time to say yes to the job. So now I knew what I was going to do for the summer and was really excited. I had only 11 days to get everything ready and hang out with people back home before I left. I am also in an online class for the first part of the summer so I was trying to get some homework done as well. 

I enjoyed time with family and friends before I left for camp. I arrived at camp on Friday, May 25th for training. I drove to camp and really had no idea what I would be doing and really didn't know anyone that I would be working with. I didn't really care at that point though because I knew that there was a plan and that I would learn about the rest of the staff and also about myself and of course learn more about God. The first few days, we did a lot of training, maintenance, bonding and bible studies.

Bonding has been a crazy experience. I don't know much about many of these people, but in a short period of time we have all fallen into a great relationship with one another and it is just an amazing feeling. Especially considering that we have only been here a short amount of time, today being the 6th day. We have watched a few movies the past couple nights and that will continue tonight. I have also played basketball a few times with part of the staff and really enjoyed that. The bible studies have also been a great experience. We have praised God through song and are going through the studies that we will be doing with the campers this summer. We have laughed and cried and have been reminded of how much God loves us and how wonderful our creator is.

On Saturday we had a few families that were willing to help us out so we had various jobs to do. I chose the job of painting some doors because I enjoy painting. Surprisingly I didn't get but a few drops of paint on me. That is a shock since every other time I paint I have gotten it all over myself. Monday was the start of our water slide renovation. There were many of us hard working to try to get as much done on it as we could. We dug the trench for the base of the slide a little deeper and a little wider than it was. Then we had to dig post holes so that we could later place in the posts to help with the structure of the slide. Tuesday I got to mix cement which was a pretty fun experience and help lay a few of the posts in place. As I am writing this it is raining outside and I am hoping that we won't have to dig the rest of the holes again later to finish the project, but have a feeling that we will. 

This Sunday is the 45th anniversary of the camp so we will be helping out with those activities. Then the first week of His Kids camp starts next Wednesday.