Sunday, June 20, 2010

One Down, Six More To Go!




Well the first week of camp is officially over! I am exhausted, but looking back on it, I had some amazing campers this week. Sure we had A LOT of bumps and bruises on the way, but I think that, for the most part, we made a positive impact on the campers! I witnessed three campers dedicate their lives to Christ, which was pretty awesome to see. We were sure busy last week though. On Thursday we went on the Yuba River Hike and got to spend about 4 hours at the river swimming and enjoying the sun. Then on Friday, Teen camp helped run a Carnival for Discovery Camp (the younger campers). They really did enjoy the carnival and playing with the kids. The snow cones were pretty delicious, so I wasn't complaining! :) I don't really know what it is about camp, but I am hungry all the time. Its like I never eat anything even though I am constantly snacking. :/ Yesterday was my first break day and it was long awaited! I went into San Francisco for the afternoon and had a great night at Pier 39, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the World's Curviest Road! I also satisfied my crepe craving and spent it with some amazing company! As for today, I am just going to be lazy and enjoy my last day of freedom for the week. I am currently sitting at Starbucks enjoying a vanilla latte and some peace and quiet. Hopefully this upcoming week runs smoothly and a lot better than last week!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

My New Summer Job




Ever wonder why people choose to work at camp all summer long? I sure did- until I am the newest addition to The Salvation Army Camp Del Oro Staff in the beautiful Nevada City, CA. (yes you might need to look it up to know where that is) At first I really didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave my family, friends, and yes of course my boyfriend. But I committed to the next 2 months so here I am. My dad and I started the 8 hour drive up to Northern California early Saturday morning and arrived at about 3:30pm. And boy was I was in for a shock when I got here. The camp is very scenic and beautiful, but the accommodations are much like camping, only for the next 2 months. :( But with some help from my dad, we got my cabin looking a little bit more like home. Monday we were going non-stop all day long and the kids arrived in the afternoon. From setting everything up, to meeting the children, we never really had a break all day long. Our weekly schedule is packed full of things for the kids to do, which is great, except for the fact that it leaves very few breaks for the staff. My job is Assistant Program Director for Teen Camp. We get about 24 12-15 year olds weekly. Monday night we took the kids on a Serpa Walk (blindfolded in the dark) to the lake and it was pretty funny to watch them walk tied together and then fall in a domino effect together. Tuesday was another non-stop day! I was able to zip-line however and that was a pretty awesome experience. I won the boy campers over pretty easily from day one, but after seeing me go upside down on the zip-line I was golden! Later that night we played capture the flag and of course my team won! lol (go yellow team) I got to run Tuesday night chapel and I performed a skit that went pretty well. The campers seemed to receive the message and respond to it. Also that night I won over the girls after some girl talk about boys in the cabin and then they attempted to teach me to jerk (a dance- in case you didn't know)! Today is going to be another long day, but thankfully I get to start it out with a much needed break time! Pray for my sanity the next few days and that I will be a good witness to the children!