First off, sorry for not posting within the past week, but I will explain why in a minute. Before looking at what has happened since my last post let's have a look at what is to come for me. Well within the immediate future, a couple of college ministry meetings, hopefully some lunches with friends, and lots of sitting around the house. All of that will be happening until Saturday when I get to make one more return to camp for the summer. As I stated before, camp has been one of the most life changing experiences that I have ever gone through. Being surrounded by about 65 people who you see eye to eye with almost all of the time can do that to someone. I won't be there for a whole week, but long enough to soak it all in and spend some time with amazing friends and share God's love with some campers.
After I am done with my time at camp, I have to rush back to Raleigh to pick up family at the airport who are all arriving for my sister's Graduation and coincidentally my 21st birthday. The most exciting of all is that our cousin Aly is finally making a trip to NC since we moved here almost 12 years ago. Aly and I are the same age, only separated by a "whopping 5 weeks and 5 days" (what I would say when we were kids to show that she was no better than me just because she is "older"). To the right is a picture of Aly (on the right) and her older sister Erica (on the left). Both are awesome and I wish that I could see them more often, but living in states almost 15 hours apart can kind of do that. But none-the-less Aly will be here next week and we have lots to catch up on. The last time I saw her in person would probably take two hands if I can remember correctly. When she gets here we'll show her around town and I'm sure that she'll want to go shopping to see what NC has to offer. And of course we will definitely go out to ring in the hour of my 21st. There will be celebrating at the house with family and friends of Carly's graduation and my 21st. We are going to have lots of fun while the family is here and I cannot wait for everyone to arrive for the celebrating to begin. And as soon as the celebration is over and the family begins to leave I as well will begin my summer adventure to Charlottesville, VA to start my internship with
Heritage Theatre Festival. Check it out because we have an amazing season this summer!
So, back to the reason why I did not post last week. I was back up on the most amazing mountain in the world working a retreat with a group of kids from Delray Beach, FL. I had no idea what to expect with these kids, but I knew that we would have fun, especially with the staff that I was working with. There was Vincent, who I met last summer, and I have so much love for since he's so awesome and doesn't have a care in the world. Then there was Julia, who was on New Staff with me during our first summer in 2009. She and I have become great friends, especially sharing a few games of Bananagrams from time to time online. And last, but certainly not least was Sarah. She was a returning staff member during my first summer and she has been a great friend to me ever since. Sarah and Vincent are back at camp this summer (which I am envious of) and Julia and I have work/school. But, regardless of that last bit of information we were all ready to have a great time together for a week.
Like I said last time we did lots of great things and went to four different outing spots. On Monday, we spent the day at camp playing some games, interacting on the Group Interaction Course, and watching everyone climb the
Challenge Tower on site. I was able to climb on two of the elements, which were the rock wall (that one I climbed very quickly) and an element we call Donkey Kong, as you feel like you are crawling like him to get to the top. On Tuesday we had a trip to our first two outings in Pisgah Forest. We did a creek walk up to Looking Glass falls which was absolutely beautiful, but I did not have much time to pay attention. I was rather putting my lifeguard/First Aid skills to use as one of the kids suffered a cut on their ankle. He was a trooper about it and the whole incident barely phased him. Lots of fun was still had on the creek walk. We had lunch at a place called
Pink Beds that had an amazing view of the mountains and a great place to just lay out and have our bagged lunches. Then we were off to Sliding Rock, where I continued to be a lifeguard and stood in freezing cold water for over an hour and to what I later suffered a slight cold because of it (but worth it in order to make sure the kids stayed safe). Then it was back to camp for Campfire #1. We sang some songs and the counselors performed some skits. Wednesday was another day on site where we spent almost the entire morning playing Capture-the-Flag with the kids. The enjoyed it and it was great to see a little competition come out between them all. That afternoon we spent doing service projects around camp which included: sweeping out Unit Lodges, raking leaves, moving bunk beds to Platform Tents, digging trenches, and spreading mulch. We split all the kids up and accomplished all of this in one afternoon.
This is my tangent that I have to go on. Now if you have looked up where this group was from you may know where I'm going. These kids are from a place that is very well off where they have a lot of things handed to them. Nothing against having "stuff" because I hope that one day I can provide my family with "stuff" as my parents have provided somewhat with me. But the problem was that these kids really did not understand why they had to do what they called "Child Labor" (which is far from what we were doing). Sharing with them that we were giving back to God by cleaning up his wonderful creation was a concept they really did not grasp. There was a lot of complaining about having to do this work and it was frustrating at times. Unfortunately not too many of the kids worked hard all afternoon, but I do feel there were a few that got something out of it. That is all that matters, and I hope one day that all of them will realize the impact that had on the camp and what they did. The staff and campers this summer will be most appreciative for it all.
Okay, so then on Thursday we had two more outings to go. We had a hard time getting going that morning, so our second outing was cut a bit short. But we did a hike up to a place called John's Rock which was located above the
Pisgah Forest's Fish Hatchery. It was another time where the kids were not used to doing much beyond just playing video games on their couches at home, so needless to say that this was a difficult hike for some, but they all really were happy once we made it to the top with the amazing view that was provided.
We had such a great time up at the top. The view was great and it was great to see nothing but God's creation for miles upon miles and no signs of "civilization." After we got back down, another bag lunch was had and we got a chance to go inside the Fish Hatchery for a few minutes. We then ventured down to Dupont National Forest and got to take a look at
Hooker Falls and stick our feet in the water for a few minutes. It was relaxing, but we had a long day and were ready to get back to camp. After dinner we had our closing campfire with more songs and skits, plus some s'mores. The kids left the next morning after breakfast and while we were sad to see them go, we were happy to have a little time together as staff before we had to part ways for the summer. I finally mustered up the courage to leave late that afternoon and stopped in Greensboro to have dinner with Andy, Loren, and Zack. We went and saw Fast Five (the latest installment in The Fast and The Furious series) and were pleasantly surprised with how amazing the movie was. The ending lead the audience to believe another movie was in the making, which is exciting because the story has continued to develop in a nice format. I finally got back to my parents' house on Saturday and immediately went with them to see The Hangover Part II. It was a little awkward to see that movie with them due to some of the content, but the movie was still great.
Ever since then I have just stayed in the house preparing for my departure on Saturday back to camp. While all that happens I'm still getting ready for my summer in Virginia and putting things together to have a smooth transition up there. Can't wait for what all the next two weeks has in store, as I anxiously await the events that are to perspire.
Then later we will open to more shows, but I'll fill you on those a little bit later. The other really exciting thing is that tomorrow my parents arrive. I cannot tell you how excited I am to see them. It's always nice to be able to talk to my parents on the phone every few days, but to see them is really the true treasure. Unfortunately, Carly won't be joining them as she has to be at camp for the rest of the summer and cannot really get away. But that's okay. I know she's having a great time even though I don't get to talk to her much. I'm still excited to see my family this weekend. I learned a long time ago how much I really should be appreciating what my parents tell me and the time I get to spend with them. I remember after my first week with a cabin at Lutheridge calling my parents to tell them I was sorry for anything I may have said or did in middle school to cause them stress. It comes with the age of that child (and I was prepared), but being able to see what a middle schooler finds funny and remembering what I thought was funny was just a great experience. I don't often get to see my parents with the kind of schedule my job has for me (even during the school year). But I know that they love and support me in everything I do. I hope that I cherish every moment with them this weekend and within the next year. Before I know it I will be far away from them and they won't be able to make a quick drive to where I am at the whim of a hat. That I will miss. But until that moment arrives I will remember every experience I have with them.
