Goodbyes, Women's Dinner, Campout, etc.

     I hate goodbyes. I don't think I'm alone in that. They just suck. I said bye to one of my closest friends the other day. Alex has played a big role in my life. A lot of people don't understand our friendship, but that's ok. He's as close of a brother to me as he can be without actually being related to me. Anyway, I don't really feel I need to defend our friendship anymore. It is what it is, and I love him like he's my brother. He's the person who got me to camp. He also played a pretty big role in helping me figure out what I want to do with my life, and has encouraged me in my weaknesses. He annoys the crap out me sometimes, but that's ok, after all, what are brothers for. ha Anyway, we've worked together for 2 summers now at camp, and I had to drive him to the airport the other day so that he could go home and then to training for journeyman in France. It was a harder goodbye than I expected but I know that we'll always be friends even if we go through spells where we aren't in communication as much as usual. If you think about it, pray for him as he prepares to go to France for the next 2 years.
     Watching Alex have to say bye to camp and all the people here made it all the more real that I'll be saying bye as well in just a couple of weeks. I feel like I talk about that a lot, but I can't help it. This place has meant so much to me. I'm going to miss these people so much. Over the past few years I've built relationships with these kids and fellow staff members, and it's going to be so hard to say goodbye. Some of the senior camper girls (just finished 9th grade), wrote Alex letters before he left, and he read them to me on the way to the airport. One of them made me cry because it is just so cool to realize how much of an impact we can have on these campers. I was a part of sending a package to one girl, and in her letter to Alex she said that she wouldn't have near as strong of a relationship with Christ if it weren't for that package we sent her. I've said it many time before, but I love that this is a relationship based camp. I feel very strongly that building relationships with people is the best way to reach them. I'm not limiting God by saying that he can't use other ways, because he can, but I definitely feel like relationships are the most effective because Christianity is all about having a relationship with Christ. Therefore, I feel that building a relationship with someone, and showing them how much you care is one of the best ways to demonstrate Christ's love for us.
    Anyway, after dropping Alex off, I came back to camp to Women's Dinner, which is one of my favorite nights at camp. It wasn't quite the same for me this term because it's hard to jump from saying bye to one of your best friends to jumping around dancing and singing to songs with a bunch of girls, but it was a great way to lift my spirits. I was talking to some of the senior camper girls (Lexie and Ashley), and they were saying that women's dinner was just what the needed to lift their spirits. It really is a lot of fun. All the girls dress in pajamas and get tiaras while we leadership wear jeans and a black shirt and serve the girls. The food is delicious and it's just a fun night. 
    Last night was campout. I like campout, it's just the sleeping part that can be rough out here for campout. Last night wasn't too bad though because I took some benadryl and was out. I think campout is a good experience for these campers because most of them don't get outside enough. By the way, if you've never tried roasting a starburst over a fire you should try it. Trust me, it's delicious. Overall campout went smoothly. The chili judging is always interesting. Every cabin makes chili and you just never quite know what it's going to taste like. Not all the chili is hot, some are quite sweet, some are quite spicy...some cabins make up great presentations before serving the chili. It's fun, but my stomach doesn't always like it so much. ha Well, I believe it is naptime for me. Hope you enjoyed the update. Pray that these last 2 weeks go smoothly for me. It's going to be hard to let go, and say bye at the end of these 2 weeks but I know it's time. Pray for me as I travel, and readjust to being back at school. 


Pictures Descriptions:
1. Alex waving the American flags we gave him before he left.
2. Me with some of my old girls at women's dinner.
3. With two of the senior camper girls, Lexie and Ashley.
4. Some of the leadership girls at campout in our matching tanks...well I didn't have a black one, so blue had to do.