Camp... while coughing.

August 22, 2008 - Friday

Camp...while coughing. Current mood: grateful Category: Life I can't believe I've been back from camp for almost a whole week. It seems like only yesterday I was rolling outta bed at 6:00 in the morning with shampoo and soap in hand, flip-flopping my way to the showers in hopes that I wouldn't have to wait in line. It had been a few years since I'd been to camp… I think the last time I went I was still living in Eugene and we took the youth group from Riviera up to Mount Baker for Centrifuge. Fir Point was a little smaller but in a lot of ways it was better. For one, the food was better (thank you, Mercy) for two, there was a pool! (Oy vey. That pool was a GODsend for real.) And for three, I got to meet some really cool staff and students because there were fewer people. The one major negative at camp was that I got sick. Big stinkin' surprise! It's starting to be a habit for me – this sick thing. If it's not my stomach acting up then it's some kind of cold or something. This time I was triple-whammied, though, because I ended up with stomach stuff, cold/flu stuff, and I think a little bit of altitude/heat sickness. I am SUCH a wuss! What the heck is wrong with me? I mean, if it weren't for the actual real life symptoms, I'd call myself a hypochondriac! But you can't fake what's left in the to… well, I won't take you there – and you can't fake this cough, and you can't fake the cold sweat I broke into when my fever broke all three times, and I can't even sing this low, let alone fake speaking this low. Yeah, it's getting old, this sick thing, and I just don't quite know what to do about it other than pray. So, back to camp: I managed to get a rockin' sunburn on my legs and arms, which turned into a rockin' tan. I got to bring my nephew, Jordan, along for camp this year and he had a blast! Cheychey from Glendale painted my toenails teal and blurple (blue/purple) so my toes looked way silly. Lisa and I got to have some quality time talking about adoption issues (we've both got some)… AND SO MUCH MORE! But about the best thing that happened was we had people ask Jesus into their hearts. YAY! And others rededicated their lives to Jesus or came to the realization that they needed to work harder on their relationship with Jesus. WAY GOOD STUFF! For me, it was about getting back to the basics of what it means and how it feels to work with teenagers, and how cool it is to bond with other people who believe like you and love teenagers the way you do. In one of the campfire sessions I made a comment about how awesome it was to have grown up going to church camp and then within a year going from camper to counselor after graduating high school. Camp as a camper gave me those mountain top experiences that I look back on and remember to this day. Those were pivotal weeks, and they shaped the year that came after them until it was time to go to camp again. Camp as a counselor still holds some of that mountain top mystique, but it mainly reminds me to stay young in my relationship with Christ – to keep things fresh and alive by not being afraid to be open and honest with both God and my fellow camp-mates. I find that the sermons and lessons prepared for the campers always have an impact on me as well. The Bible studies always hit home with me in their own way… and the opportunity to "be there" for a student? WOW! What a privilege, what a delight. I especially love it when God presents something to me in the shape of a camper's hurting heart and I immediately recognize it as something I've struggled with or hurt over in the past. God is GOOD! Camp is good. Working with teenagers is good. Life, in it's crazy "looking for a job, moving back in with the parents, struggling with career direction, trying to lose weight, wanting a husband one day but not so much the next, being 37 and feeling 24 yesterday, being 37 but feeling 64 today, trying to get the finances under control, this world is not my home" way, is good. …and just like my favorite song asks, "How could I ask for more?"