And somehow, it all comes to a close. It's hard to believe that I'm sitting here at 11:45 on our last night of camp. Our last night of hearing all the shouts and laughter from the campers. Our last night of lights out. Wow.
I'll start with last week I guess. It sure has been a busy last two weeks. Week 6 we had 96 campers total, our largest all summer. And as large as it was and more stressful than the others, I loved it. So many dynamics and the group grew together so fast. We had almost zero problems with adults or campers and that was fabulous. I loved going out on site visits, I even got to jump in on a devotion time and have lunch with some campers! Our campers were such a blessing and even in our cozy little program space God moved like never before. I got to watch kids surrender to the Lord two times last week and every time I'm blown away. The power of God is way beyond what I expect. Every. Single. Time.
We did have a lovely visit from the Dr. Workcamp himself, Toby Rowe. One of the best things about this job is that we have such wonderful support from Group in Loveland. Toby is no exception. Some people might feel strange about having your boss just show up and visit your work but I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. Toby is just one of those guys that is so easy to related to and is so real with people and he has an incredible sense of humor. WHSAN considers themselves lucky to have been graced with a full 24 hours of Toby's presence. It was a good pick me up to go into our last week and 1/2.
We ended last week completely exhausted however, Kaitlyn physically being sick and myself being emotionally drained. Thankfully we got two nights in a doubletree hotel room (thanks to Toby) and got to "relax" on the weekend with SeaWorld, Lucha Libre, and a day at Mission Beach. I can't get enough of San Diego.
This week was set up to be a challenge. Even before the group got here I knew they would be different to work with. This week was a (dun dun dun...) CUSTOM CAMP. It's like a swear word. I wouldn't be surprised if God loved putting customs in my way so that I am tested just a little bit further. This group was so kind and definitely have the right intentions there's just a significant language/cultural barrier. We had a Korean group from Irvine, CA. Basically they were so laid back that it seemed to me that they didn't care and didn't listen to anything I said. They switched things around all the time, I never could keep track of how many campers were actually present because people kept coming and going, and they were late to EVERYTHING. Like seriously, I know you're laid back but lights out means you're asleep at 11. Don't mess with my sleep.
I think I realized though that it didn't really matter. If they were having a good experience why did it matter to me that they were late, or didn't think their girls could actually do any physical labor, or kept switching crews without telling us. Their decisions only affected them so if they wanted to serve seaweed at breakfast, why not?! I definitely didn't feel a part of this camp because they were already in community but even just our few touch points I found connections and commonalities between us. They were difficult to work with but a pleasure to talk with.
Low point of my summer? Hitting a palm tree. Yes. I hit another tree. Although this time it's just a scratch. But then the following day (today) I got a ticket for "texting and driving" aka using my phone at a stoplight, I guess that's illegal in California. Needless to say, I was a hot mess.
Best God Sighting I've heard so far? Week 6, the salty pea.
Me- Do you have any God Sightings today?
Camper- So today we were at the garden and we ate some peas and I got this pea that was SO salty. I mean I put salt on all the other peas and they still tasted normal but this pea was SO salty.
Me- (Not even trying to hide the laughter) And how did you see God in that?
Camper- I mean, it was the ONLY salty pea. I got the only salty pea! (He was seriously so excited about this)
Me- Well if you saw God in it that's great... Thanks for sharing.
Other great God Sighting: "Today we saw a dog and realized that dog is God spelled backwards."
My response: I'm glad you learned something today.
My thought: Wow...You're so observant. I'm glad you can spell...
More to come, I promise.
