The Goodbye Waves In The Driveway They Just Resonate

The one thing I hate about being at camp all summer is saying goodbye. It is hard to finally start getting to know people just to watch them leave. I know I will have to do this many more times this summer and I do not look forward to it, but I am so thankful for many new friends.

Week Three

As most of you probably already know from my facebook status, I solo guided my first white water rafting trip on Friday. I also fell out of the boat on the first rapid. We hit a rock and from there I don't really know what happened. I just know that I was in the water, which by the way is a lot colder when you entire body is submerged in it. I felt like I couldn't breathe the water was so cold. I floated down the river for a little while, the people in my boat pulled over to the side, I swam to them, and got back in the boat. I was pretty tense for the rest of the trip. Every time we hit a big rapid or a rock everyone in my boat would turn around and look to make sure I was still there. It was quite funny. It was a good trip and I learned a lot of things. I am excited/nervous about the trip we will be taking this coming week. 

It is interesting to see how each group is different. We had one group at the beginning of the week and another one came Wednesday. They were all middle schoolers, but completely different kids. I guess it has a lot to do with what they have been exposed to or the way they were raised. I am not totally sure. The second group seemed a lot harder to reach. At times I was really discouraged, but by the end of the week some of them really started to open themselves up to God. It was really cool to watch and cool to be a part of. We are getting another group today. I think it is going to be a mixture of middle schoolers and high schoolers. I am excited about this because, although, I have had some good experiences with the last three middle school groups, I fell drawn to high school students. I'm excited to see how lives are changed this week. Please continue praying for us. 

Cramps,Rafting, and Cookies

In my family people tend to get muscle cramps quit often. By muscle cramps I don't mean something that causes a little pain for a moment and then goes away. The kind of muscle cramps we get cause pain that can last for hours. When the cramps first hit we tend to scream so loud that the people around us stop everything they are doing to see what is happening. Since I have been at camp I have experience several of these. For some reason they have all taken place on the river. The first few times I was on a river I experienced mild foot cramps. They weren't bad, but not good to have when trying to guide through a white water rapid. Then yesterday I went tubing with the group that is here. We went down the river four times and in the process I got two leg cramps and two foot cramps. These were not so mild! I screamed bloody murder and the people that were with me just laughed. I am sure if I was them I would have too. While I was stuck on a rock, trying to push myself off, I experienced one of the worst leg cramps I have ever had. I stuck my leg straight up in the air and just screamed. I tried for several minutes to work it out, but when you can't stand up because if you do the water will rush you downstream, it is kind of hard. I did end up getting the cramp out and getting myself off of the rock, but the tightness the cramp caused stayed in my leg for several hours. Needless to say I ate a banana and yogurt with lots of potassium for breakfast this morning.

Today I offically guided my first white water rafting boat...with a little help from Bill, of course. No one died and no one fell out. I take that back. The leader of the group actually did fall out, but it was all him. It had nothing to do with me. All in all I think it was a successful trip. I am nervous about guiding on my own and I have a lot to learn for sure, but I am really excited about it!

Another cool thing that happened today was that I recieved a package in the mail from some great friends. Billy, Megan, and Gabe sent me cookies and a picture Gabe drew. It was so sweet and brightened my day a whole lot. I am so thankful for the great friends that I have been given.

New Friends

I love making new friends! I guess that is good because it seems as though I am going to get to do that a lot this summer.
The first day I was in Bryson City I went to church with Bill and Edith. Some girls about my age introduced themselves to me and got my number. They said we should hang out. I assumed that meant we are going to talk about hanging out, but it probably wouldn't happen. I was wrong. This past Monday I went to eat dinner with Bill and Edith at their pastor's house. Those same girls were there. We got to hang out and learned more about one another. I ended up hanging out with them again last night. I went to Sylva, which is about forty five minutes away, and ate dinner with them. After dinner I went to their house and watched a movie with them and ended up spending the night. We had such a good time! They were such and encouragement to me. I feel like I really clicked with them. It seems like I have known them for a lot longer than I have. I was talking to Bill about these girls and he said that sometimes we feel that way because the Jesus in us knows the Jesus in them. I think he is right.

Today I Was Reminded of Why I Am Here

I went out on the river today. It was just Bill and another guy with me. They were teaching me how to guide. It was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. It was actually a lot of fun and I am looking forward to guiding for groups. Rafting led to us watching an old camp video. It was the 2005 camp. For all of you that think you might have been there...it was the one when Davey Kimbro got whacked in the eye. Wow, was it fun watching that again! I love watching camp videos. I am so glad we watched the one today. It helped me remember why I wanted to be on staff here in the first place. Camps here were always so amazing! A lot of that can be attributed to Steve and I am so thankful that I had him as a youth pastor. Icthus is a great place and I am really excited about the rest of the summer!

Be Still and Know

We had our first group last week. They left Thursday. We don't have another one  until this coming Saturday. It's really weird being at the retreat center all alone. It's been more difficult at times than I would have imagined. I am really learning about being still. 

P.S. This is for you, Steve...we went tubing last week. My second time down the river, I got jacked up. I fell off the tube two times and just fell on some rocks another time. I have a couple of sweet bruises!