Staff Training

Well, what to say... this week has been crazy. There have been tough moments, happy moments, sad moments, and funny moments. All in all, I can say that I'm going to really love even through the hard times.  So to keep things to the point and interesting I'm going to give a few highlights or significant events of each day this past week.
Friday night: camp arrival
So this day was very hard and very fun. I really had a hard time saying goodbye to my parents. It was a combination of straight up nervousness and being scared because I didn't know a single person around me. So the camp director, Camie, put me straight to work "snuffing snakes" with the craft room facilitator, Lindsey. I now have a new friend! :)

Saturday:
This day was pretty dull. I pretty much spent the whole day doing CPR and First Aid training. At least I can now say that I am CPR and First Aid certified for the next 2 years!!! That doesn't mean I want anyone to go choking on me now!

Sunday:
I experienced a church service and Iron Ridge. This church also serves as a pizza place and a movie theater. It is the owners way of evangelism. I really enjoyed it. Sunday afternoon we did the Staff Jam. This is basically a time to get to know more people in a team setting and to build trust among the other staff workers.

Monday:
I spent monday going over a lot of the staff manuel stuff and learning more tips about being a cabin leader (counselor.)  We camped out and cooked out on monday night. It was great being able to build a campfire and sleep underneath the stars with absolutely nothing between me and the open sky above! It was great waking up in the middle of the night to seeing all the stars in the sky.

Tuesday:
Today we had a trail breakfast. We went up the hill to have heart attack toast, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. Then we went through rotation/instructional hours like bungee trampoline, pony rides, and archery. Then we talked about the different personalities of each and everyone of the staff. I'm a golden retriever!

Wednesday;
We spent this day in prayer and fasting. We started at 8 and broke that fast at 4:30. We spent time praying for our campers, ourselves, and many other things. This was a very neat day because I had never experienced anything else like this before.

Thursday:
We spent today practicing how to share the Gospel with children and teenagers. We were role playing and acting as if we were not Christians to have an example of what a child might say in and experience like this. Then I spent the afternoon in the craft room making binoculars, and sorting jeans!

Friday:
Today we were working with our instructional hour groups. I am an archery instructor. I get to hand children weapons!! ;) And then apply it to the Christian lifestyle. Then we practiced the games that the campers will play during the week. Such as, assassins with water balloons, prosecution, and gold rush! We also practiced for our opening session, closing session, and our Heehaw performance!

Saturday:
This morning I moved between cabins 4 times because I didn't have enough beds for all my campers next week. Then I cleaned my cabin, Then I had the rest of the day off. I went to Walmart and Whippy Dip (an ice cream shop but not as good as ivanhoes) and Subway for dinner. Now, I am in the staff lounge writing this blog!

Prayer:
For the 7 girls that will be in my cabin this week.
For wisdom and guidance as I experience my first week of camp.
For the kids to be openminded to the words that the speaker will say about Jesus Christ.