"i've got a river of life flowing out of me!"

well two more weeks of camp are past.

two weeks ago was "CEF week" where they come in and run a camp to teach kids how to do five day clubs. since they run the camp all we do is staff stuff and bond as counselors =D. it was a lot of fun. we had a lot of free time to spend having alone time with God and it was awesome to be able to sit next to a mountain stream and read psalms about how God created mountains and streams and loves me too. that was definitely a highlight of the week. we really got to know each other better as counselors and we got to have the annual counselor's campfire on a raft on the pond! it was cold out there...but the fire kept us warm and it was great! the boys all slept out under the stars and the girls all slept under tents with screen roofs and it was gorgeous! the stars are so bright here! we got to spend a lot of time working together in the kitchen which was nice cuz i think working staff like that someplace really makes it feel like it's "yours" and it gave me a huge appreciation for the kitchen staff! we got to have lots and lots of time around a campfire under the stars the nights we were there and it was wonderful...campfires like that are one of my favorite parts of camp and we got to have one every night! the first night we got there one of the counselors had been hunting frogs in the pond with a bow and arrow and he ended up getting one accidentally so we got to eat wild frog leg that he roasted over the campfire! twas a good week!

this week was our first junior week so we had 4-6th graders. i only ended up with 5 girls in my cabin which was really nice. they were a really fun group and really good too. they were crazy hyper a lot of the time...they loved to yell and be really goofy but they did pretty well settling down when they needed to also. i had one girl who just seemed a lot younger than the other girls and had a lot of trouble paying attention and i got to have one on one time with her by the end of the week and found out that there's a lot she doesnt understand about salvation and Jesus. so we got to talk about that for awhile and i think most of it went over her head but i was still encouraged to know that she had at least heard, even if she doesnt understand it all yet. but if you think of her and want to pray that would be wonderful. one big praise there was that all week i had to get on her about talking during prayer and just not being respectful about it and it finally dawned on me partway through the week that it looked like no one ever really bothered to sit her down and explain it very well. so we got to talk several times about why we act the way we do during prayer and i finally had to take away her snack time one night for talking during prayer but she started changing and at the campfire the last night she told everyone that her favorite part of camp was praying. so it was encouraging to see God working there!

i was reading philemon this week and paul kinda tells him to be active in sharing his faith so that philemon will understand how much God has given us. and i feel like that's where i am as a counselor...the thing about "the best way to learn something is to teach someone else" has really struck me this week. trying to teach these girls makes me want to understand better things that i've kind of taken for granted and it's been good. i've enjoyed getting to know the other counselors so far this summer too...we get to have a meeting at 6:45 every morning and it's one of the best parts of the day to sit there and share prayer requests and sing together. and one of the nice things is that at camp time doesnt matter...it's all relative so being up that early isn't bad at all.

another big praise is that this was the week of kids kamp back home. the week that i look forward to all year and that i debated so long over when i was deciding if i should come out here. and i was concerned that i would be very sad and distracted this week, but i wasn't! i'm still very convinced that this is where God wants me this summer and i was even happy to be out here this week even though i had to miss a year with some of my very favorite people. so that was a very big answer to prayer!

thanks to all of you who have been praying! i appreciate it so much and i can see ways where God has been working that don't make any sense apart from Him working and that's so exciting to see. we sing "spring up o well" a lot here at camp and i love the part that talks about "he makes the lame to walk and the blind to see." and to know that's still the God we're praying to when we start praying for the campers who need to be at camp the most but are getting so sick they're about to be sent home or when we share prayer requests in the morning meetings. it's been really encouraging to see Him answering prayers like that!

so that's my super huge update for now...my california family and i are all going up to oregon to go spelunking this week! and then we have kids come to camp thursday through saturday and then more monday through friday, so we're planning to not even come home next weekend. so we'd definitely appreciate prayer for His strength the next couple weeks especially. we're starting with 1-3rd graders and then the second week will be 4-6th again. should be great...i'm looking forward to it! hope you're all having a wonderful summer! thanks for keeping in touch with emails and mail and phone calls! it's really meant a lot for me to hear from you back home!

happy july!

first week of camp!

well we went up to camp for the first time this week! it's gorgeous....pine trees in the mountains with blue sky in the day and bright stars at night. i learned how to do cpr on dummies with no arms and legs and hopefully it'll work the same on people with limbs too if i ever need it. we even got to play with "training" defibrilators so i feel very prepared now =P. the whole staff worked together one day to muck out our pond...by hand. it was really fun and messy...i'll hafta put up pictures someday. we got our first group of campers this week and it was good. i got to work with a co-counselor and we had 5 little girls. our youngest was 5 years old and it was a fun week! i mostly know my way around camp now i think =P - only got lost a few times haha. it's so pretty there. and i got a fun new superhero cape for "the phantom farmer" and i even have a super power now....i transform into different farm animals and plants haha. we presented our first lesson this week in my group and it seemed like it went pretty smoothly. the times with other counselors have been so good....theyve been so helpful and welcoming and fun and its just been such a good time. theres such a focus on the Bible and even taking kids back to it whenever we're walking around with them or disciplining or anything like that and its been good. the counselor devotions in the morning and the meetings where we have like 15 college-ish kids gathered in a little room singing and doing motions to little kids songs are some of the best memories so far. God has blessed me so so much out here. it's been a very good week. i'd appreciate prayer this coming week for rest and focus and love (the patient kind =D) and thanks agains for all of you who are praying. it means very much and makes a difference too =D. hope you're all having a good week! and it's time for me to go now and have another meal prepared by some favorite cedarvillians. much love to you all.

i'm there =)

my flights went well and i made it into california wednesday night. we spent the night at mel's sister's apartment and thursday we came up here to her house. that night we got to meet the other counselors and our camp director and nurse and assistant director. we had lots of fun (and rug burn!) playing games getting to know each other and then getting to meet with our teaching teams to plan out our lessons for the summer! the rest of the week mel, lance, ben, and i have been hanging out with melanie friends and some of the other counselors. we've gotten to go shopping to buy fabric for the super hero capes that our assistant director is making for us. my super hero is the phantom farmer...i disappear! and my cape has cowprint fabric! so we've been hanging out around mel's house...swimming a lot in the pool and having water fights - we just went back to the dollar store today to buy more squirt guns! the cashier knows us already ;) - and stargazing because it's gorgeous out here! we can see the mountains from the deck in the back and the sky is huge and bright and it's amazing! we sit out there for breakfast and work on tans while we eat our cereal! today we went out to the lake and went sailboating for awhile. so we've had a great trip so far. tonight ben and i are making pizza-y creations for supper and tomorrow we all head up to camp for training! thanks so much for all of your prayers! i appreciate it very much! we have our first group of kids (the little 1st-3rd graders) coming in this week so that's one specific thing i would appreciate prayers for. so that's the first week update...talk to ya in about a week after i'm an official counselor! much love,

"let's pack up and move to california"

senior trip was lots of fun!
so was seeing or hearing from a lot of midwest friends before i head out for the summer.
i'm leaving on wednesday! i'll have internet on the weekends so hopefully i can keep most of you updated that way =). one prayer request i have already is for thursday nights at 7. that's the night that my team and i will be teaching the lesson for our hero theme...ours is from Hebrews 12 and i think that i'm doing the part about "fixing our eyes on Jesus" so if you would keep us in your prayers around that time i would really appreciate it! thanks lots! hope youre having a wonderful night!