Gravity.

Last week I counseled for the adventure teen camp called Gravity. I was really excited to be chosen as the girl counselor for the camp, because there was only one. It was a great week. The kids were great too. Some of them were harder to manage than others, though. Most of them were in middle school but we also had a few high schoolers. There were 6 girls including me. There were 16 boy campers and 3 guy counselors: Casey, Morgan, and Joel Miller. Our fearless leaders were Tim and David Pillers.

I was really nervous going into the week. Both the girls and the boys had 2 tents each. The girls had 5 people tents, I think, while the boys had these really big ones. I got pretty good at putting up those tents and taking them down again. We had to do it like 3 times. On Tuesday, we went off camp after spending the day at high ropes and rappel. I belayed for the two Gravity groups that came to high ropes. It was a lot of fun encouraging them to try it and just helping them out. That was my first time programming at high ropes. We went to a campsite that was about 1 hour and 30 minutes away singing The Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast all the way there. Thanks to Danielle. :) It was an awesome place to camp. The two girls in my tent and I set it up on this grassy area so there was extra cushion that night. A very nice change to the sticks and hard dirt we slept on at camp. The campsite had a river that ran near it. The river was bordered by a lot of trees and there were trails going all through it. A couple girls, one boy and I decided to follow the trails for a little while. It was beautiful in the overgrowth especially surrounding the creek. I wanted to explore more, but we decided to turn back after awhile....we didn't want to miss kabobs. The teriyaki chicken was the best and we followed dinner with s'mores.


The next day we went on a hike for a little over 5 miles up the French Pass. I was with the slower group and a lot of them like to complain. They were all happy to turn back at anytime. It was so pretty up there.


I enjoyed the hike a lot, even with all the complainers. Along the trail there was a big incline. On the way back one of the boys, Dusty, decided to run down it. We all knew he wouldn't made it, but he went a lot farther than we thought he would. He also managed to avoid a lot of really big rocks, even when he finally fell. I was surprised he didn't get hurt, and very thankful.


Thursday was white water rafting. We went with Vessels for Honor, which is the same group we rafted with on the fourth of July. It was a lot calmer than that day though. I enjoyed it a lot. One of the other guy counselors and I ended up being with 4 kids in one of the rafts. We ended up pushing our guide in while in a calm spot. We also pushed a couple kids in too. I liked being able to get out of the tube every once in a while and swim in the Arkansas River. It was a good day....until the way home. I was riding in the passenger seat in the van (I am not allowed to drive campers because you have to be 21 years old) and Joel was driving. We came around this corner and there was about 20 cars stopped in front of us. There was an accident farther up the way and so only one lane was allowed to pass at a time. Well, we didn't have enough time to stop, especially since we were in the van. Joel slammed on the brakes and tried to avoid the car in front of us by going on the side, but there was also a stake with a reflector on it on the side of the road. He barely missed hitting that, but ended up hitting a brand new Mercedes. I felt so bad for the guy in the Mercedes. They had just bought the car and were driving it home. We scraped up the back right corner of it. Everyone in the van was okay.



We pulled the van over and waited for a cop to come over. The policeman was not very nice. He ended up giving Joel a ticket for following to closely. Joel was definitely not. I felt bad for him. He didn't deserve it at all. Well, we finally got back to camp after waiting for more than an hour (I think). The other van had put up the tents for us and dinner was being made shortly after that. We had this really yummy beef stew for dinner along with bread and a hail storm. I had to dig trenches for each tent, so that the water wouldn't run under them. I was very dirty after that. It looked like I had mud shoes on.

We ended the week with a huge water fight. It was awesome, but I think I was one of the main targets...being the only girl counselor and everything. At least I didn't get thrown into the pool, though. The coordinator, Tim, did. It was funny seeing all the campers dragging him to the pool.


From this experience, I have decide that it would be fun to someday work with teenagers. I don't want a career as it, but I thought it would be fun to maybe volunteer in a youth group every once in a while or have them over to my house. Just something like that.

I also learned some patience this week. While I was belaying kids up for the high ropes course, I had to encourage some of them a lot. It was fun though: watching them achieve what they thought they couldn't. I also encountered Dusty; this little boy who doesn't like to obey authority. He is also the kid who fell down the mountain. It was lunch time on Friday and the parents were beginning to show up. He didn't want to eat because he was worried about his mom. I guess she has gotten lost a couple of times on the way to camp. He was trying to go in front of the Lodge to watch for her, but everyone was eating in the back so he wasn't allowed. He ended up sitting down in the porch area of the lodge. He pulled out his Bible and just looked through it. I joined him and just talked to him as he was looking through his Bible. By this time, all the other counselors were just tired of trying to control him. He has such a problem with authority and it annoys me to no end, but when I was sitting with him, it went really well. He told me what was wrong and I tried to talk to him a little about authority, but we didn't get far, especially, when we saw all the other campers start carrying Tim over to the pool. I was surprised that he answered my questions. I just wish he would learn to respect those in some authority. I feel like he doesn't even respect his parents much.

I had fun that week. I am really glad I got to counsel for Gravity; it was a great experience. Now there are 2 weeks left and I am ready to go home. Don't get me wrong: I love camp, but some of the other counselors have started leaving and more will leave before me. It is sad to see them go. It is also just that time when I feel ready for a new season, a new phase of my life. I have been through 10 weeks of camps and now the repeated food is definitely getting old. :) I am also ready to return to school, but not for the studying. I miss my friends. A couple things have been stressing me out and confusing me lately, so I am ready to have everything settled. I knew God brought me to camp, because he wanted me here and I am 100% glad I came. It has been a great summer, now just 2 more weeks left.

The Summer Continues...

Random bits about my last couple of days.

Hobb Knobbing ... being the host, or hostess, for the evening here at camp. There are quite a number of camps that come to Golden Bell to use the facilities, so if they need something in the evening, we have to be available to assist them. This is why we have Hobb Knobbers. I am not sure where the name came from. We just hang out it the dinning area of the lodge with keys and a radio. If anyone needs anything, it is our job to get it for them or find out information or help them get other assistance if needed. One night when I was hobb knobbing, some girls got locked into their room. I had to call for help and it took quite a long time for Levi and another staff member to get the door open. We also have to cover the pool after it is used, open snack shack (a place on camp where they sell candy and pop stuff) in the evenings if anyone wants anything, sweep/mop the entryway, take out trash, turn out lights, and that is about it. This is what I happen to be doing at this exact moment.

Activity for the day: Tubing. Tubing was quite fun, but it was getting a little old by the 6th time down the river. One little girl (8 years old) named Abby started by herself and then (as far a I know) she got out somewhere only a little ways down the stream. As the lifeguard, I was the last person down the river, so I could help anyone if needed. Well, Abby decided to get back in after all the rest of the group had floated down. However, when she was back in the river, she just yelled for me to help her and hold her hand. I was a little ways in front of her, so I waited and then I held her hand the rest of the way down. Anytime I let go, she would almost have a mild panic attack ... "grab my hand, grab my hand." But when I was holding her hand and we went over rapids, she would laugh and let herself joy tubing. While we were holding hands, we almost ran into a fisherman. It was so close. I had to yank my hand away and then push her away from me, so we didn't make the fisherman topple over. It was pretty entertaining how much she relied on my hand for her to have fun. Also, she wanted to go down fast (as long as I was holding her hand). She would get in front of me on the tube and then say something like "Go faster. Come on, you are supposed to be pulling me." Then, she went for a second time and it was pretty much the same thing over again; she still had to hold my hand the entire way down. I have to say, it was quite the experience. Abby was a part of the first group, or the younger group. We let the boys go twice and the girls go twice, so for that group (in the morning) we tubed 4 times. Since they were younger, we only went in the calmer area.

The afternoon group, who arrived right as we were finishing lunch (good timing), were teenagers. We took them down the river farther, so they could experience more rapids. I kept getting stuck on rocks and I was pretty sure I would fall a few thousand times. It was pretty entertaining, though. Everyone from that group only got to go once, because it got later in the afternoon and we had to return for dinner. I am happy about that...because I was getting tired. The last (6th) time I went down today there was a girl who, I think, was a little too big for her tube. It was quite interesting trying to figure out a way for her to remain on her tube without toppling over. I felt bad for her and tried to help her the best I could. It took us much longer to go down that time, because I kept having to wait for her to climb back into her tube. I was so proud of her, though. Every time she fell she would just grab her tube and try to get back in it until she did. She fell a lot too. Two of her friends were also tubing. At one point, we came up to this rapid area and I saw a girl just sitting on a rock. When I was far away, she just sat there and waved at me. What happened was that she lost her tube and her friend went down the river to get it, so she was just waiting. The friend finally returned up stream carrying the tube with her, which I thought that was very nice. The three of them tried to stay together and ended up bringing up the rear conmigo. I definitely worked my muscles. My arms are in a constant protest right now. Hanging on to rocks all day in a river (with pretty strong currents) can do that to you apparently. I am also pretty much burned to a crisp. It is my own fault, since I didn't put on sunscreen right away. My legs definitely feel like furnaces now though.

When I was running snack shack this evening, those three girls came up to order some food, and I said hi to them all by name. They were all a little confused for a while. Then, 3 minutes later, they finally realized I was the lifeguard and that is how I knew their names/nicknames. I thought it was funny. They told me that they didn't recognize me because my hair was down, I didn't have a life vest, I wasn't in the river, and I was wearing different clothes. I think it was partially also because I showered. :) I actually showered twice today. That is like a record for the whole summer. I usually don't shower as often when I am here at camp compared to being in the 'real' world. I just get really busy and tired here at camp. Plus, you get dirty EVERY day.

Levi and Danielle's son Ethan took his first few steps today and I saw it. Levi was showing him a radio that he wanted to get, so he took 4 steps toward it. It was really cute.

I had to sweep the entry way tonight because of hobb knobbing. When I was sweeping it, this little boy came along and asked if I needed help. I thought that was awesome how he just offered help. I was pretty impressed. I told him I didn't need any help, but thanks. He really did surprise me though. I think his parents are raising him right. It was a good thing to see.

On the other hand, yesterday, I had to go to the bathroom. Well, first, I think you need to know that the lodge only has one open public bathroom at the moment. They are still finishing the other bathrooms. (They added on to the lodge and it looks amazing.) Anyways, I went to the bathroom and there was someone in it, so I just stood by it to wait. Well, this little boy comes around the corner and gets between me and the bathroom door. Apparently, he had to go too. He was just standing there, so I finally said to him that I was going before him. He said okay and moved a little farther from the door. Then, another littler boy comes around the corner and stands between me and the door, so the first boy moved closer and a third boy joined the other two. There the three of them were crowding in this small space around the bathroom door. At this point, I was not sure what to do. The boys were old enough to know better, but they still got in front of me. The second boy kept glancing at me and finally told the first boy that the second one (he) was going to go to the bathroom first. I was going to tell them that I was going before all of them since I was in line first, but I finally decided it wasn't worth the fight. I was already pretty annoyed, so I just let out a big sigh and went to the pool bathroom, which is not that far away. I just thought those boys should know better, and it surprised me with how they were acting. Let's just say, I wasn't too happy with them, and I was a little annoyed.

Next week, I am counseling for Gravity, which is an adventure camp for teens. We are going to be living in tents and cooking our meals and doing a bunch of fun things. Right now, I am the only girl counselor for it. There are only 3 girls coming. They are all going into the 7th grade. Last I heard, there were 14 boys planning on coming for the week. I am not quite sure who the counselors for them will be. I am getting nervous as the days get closer, because I haven't counseled yet for teens, but I am also very excited to counsel for this camp. We are going to hike and go white water rafting. I hope I can show the girls who Jesus really is and just help them grow in their faith. That is what I am praying for now.

This Friday a bunch of the counselors and I are going to see the Harry Potter movie. I am excited to get away from camp and into the real world again.

Well, I am getting tired. It is midnight already here, but there were some people having a meeting. They just finished a little while ago, so I am going to bed. I am definitely sleeping in in the morning.

Sweet dreams!

Golden Bell...The Beginning.

Arrival Date: Sunday, May 17, 2009.

As you may see, I have been at Golden Bell for a little over two weeks now. Camp is an awesome place and has been very interesting. Rain has become an everyday occurrence here in Divide. I am not sure how much I enjoy being wet all the time, but there is not much I can do about that. Hopefully, the weather will turn sunny as the days go on.

The official first real work week just began on Monday. The summer has begun. The past couple weeks were full of training, getting to know the staff, and preparing for this summer.

On coming to camp, seven other counselors and I jumped into lifeguard training. We all bonded over swimming 500s, reading through the instructional manual and watching a few hours of videos displaying the different saving techniques. Saving people is definitely tough work. For our testing, we had to "save" a 10 pound brick and swim it about 20 meters, swim a 500, and preform different saving techniques. Some of these situations were quite difficult and I have had my fill of chlorinated water for the next year. Tonight is my first time guarding and I am a little nervous.

Along with swimming, I have passed my test on how to belay, gone on the zipline and the high ropes course, learned the ins and outs of housekeeping, and experienced other random aspects of camp life. Recently, I have had the pleasure of driving many of the camp vehicles around. I actually like driving them. :) Before Sunday, I had never driven any larger sized vehicles around. Now, I have driven 15 passenger vans, a suburban, and regular vans. Sometime this summer I am hoping I get to drive one of the four wheelers, but we will see if that ever works out.

We even went on a short hiking trip in the Crags near Pikes Peak and it was snowing.

Last Friday, all of the summer staff packed up to go on a backpacking trip. That first day we hiked about a mile and a half and then set up camp. It was awesome just being together in the mountains. A group of us decided to hike up the top of a pile of rocks and the view was gorgeous.

I was a little scared to stand up at the top.

The trip began very nicely. We threw a little Frisbee, set up our tents, and climbed on the rocks. One thing I would recommend when climbing rocks is to keep your camera in a safe place where it cannot fall out. Yes, my camera was in the front pocket of my hoodie ... and ... although it wasn't destroyed, it fell out when I was in the process of climbing a rock. I ended up stepping on it and now it supports a couple of cracks in the screen. So far it I can still take pictures ... I am hoping it just stays that way.

We had dinner and then headed to bed after using the BIF...(Bathroom In Forest)...That is always quite the experience, to say the least. That night I shivered more than I slept. It got to about 32 degrees F. The entire night I would wake up and just lie there trying to go back to sleep and to stay warm. I ended up cuddling against Arielle who was sleeping next to me in the tent. At first, she thought I was the tent so she started moving away from me. It didn't help that we were on an incline. She finally realized it was just me and let me cuddle against her. It helped a little bit, but I was very thankful when morning arrived. I stepped out of the tent and hurried to the fire, after struggling to put my contacts in, of course.

Well, a group of boys gathered around the map and decided that they were wrong about how long the trail was. I was pretty sure I read a sign saying it was 6 miles long, but they told us it was 11. That meant we had to hike 8 on Saturday. It was going to be a long day. We packed up camp and started off.

We had hiking buddies...this is Laura. She was mine. :)

The hike began well. Along the way, we shared our life plans. It was nice to get to know people more and it helped pass the time. By lunch time we made it to the summit. It was a relief to know that the rest of the way was mostly downhill. I like going downhill a lot more than uphill. :) As we ate lunch the clouds started to build around us. The distant thunder reached our ears and we could see lightning jutting out of the clouds.

While hiking down, we had to climb over many fallen trees and avoid the water that overtook the path. When we had just about reached our new camping sight, someone came down the mountain with news that Arielle had hurt her ankle. We set up camp while a group continued to help her down the mountain. I could not set up my tent yet, because I did not have all the parts, so I just hung out, waiting, around the fire. Then, it started to rain. The group arrived and they were soaked. After a little while, I noticed that everyone in our group was either cold, but somewhat dry, or in the rain, but somewhat warm. I was in the latter group. Finally, Levi announced that since it seemed not everyone was prepared for the rain and the chances were very high that it was going to get below freezing that night, we were just going to return to camp. Arielle, with the help of three other amazing girls, started down the path, while the rest of us broke camp and followed after.

*Side note: The guys had figured out that the trail was only 6 miles, like they previously thought.

The trail was very wet and cold. At places where the trail crossed a river, we had to walk over soaked logs that were laid across forming a bridge. The scenery was marvelous; however, since I had my poncho on and we were trying to go quickly down the mountain, it was very difficult to enjoy it. By this time, my jeans weighed 10x as much because they were soooo soaked. It was a joy to reach the end of the trail and the vans, just in time to discover the Suburban would not start. But that's Golden Bell. :) We sent people back to help the rest of the group. After jumping the Suburban and regrouping, we all jumped into the cars and headed out. Once we were back at Golden Bell, we all got dry and then went to the lodge for pizza. It was delicious.



It was a relief to not have to stay that night on the trail. I cannot even imagine how cold I would have been considering I was freezing, but dry, the night before. But with everything that happen, I would definitely go again.

Well, that is it for now ... I am just waiting to see what other adventures come my way this summer...

Jail Time

Last year about this time, I was talking to one of the girls (Annie) on my floor about a ministry that she was involved it: Mission Possible. Although they weren't actually able to go last year, the ministry focused on going in the Kankakee jail and ministering to the prisoners there. From that conversation, I was compelled to join the ministry. I think God pushed me in that direction. :) So, I decided I would go to the jail once just to experience it. Well, I started half-heartily attending the meetings at the beginning of this school. We were not allowed to go into the jail yet because they still had a couple of kinks to work out. At the end of the fall semester, we finally got the go ahead.

One Thursday morning, spring semester, two other girls and I went to jail for the first time. Jail: a place where walls talk and give you directions, doorways look like illusions, and every door is locked, but they open automatically for you. That first day I was nervous and did not know what to expect. It is hard for me to share about Jesus with other people. I am just not used to it; I guess. Well, Annie and I sat down with two girls on the B side. There are four round tables in a common area with four hard, stationary seats at each one. It is really hard to describe. Anyways, we started to talk to these two girls, Tiffany and Lisa. It turns out that they were in there because they separately robbed different places in order to get more money for heroine. I sat next to Lisa, so I started talking to her more. Looking at Lisa, you never would have expected it. She was saved last November and turned her life totally around in jail. Pretty much every week after that (when I went) I would find Lisa and talk to her while I was there. We got pretty close and her faith still amazes me. She has gone through a lot in her life and still has problems she has to deal with that were caused from her addiction, but she is strong in Christ. It was hard saying goodbye to her a week from last Thursday. Since that first day, Tiffany has left the jail and moved to a treatment center. Lisa is just waiting to be transferred to a camp where she will start treatment and finish out her time.

As some people know, it has always been more difficult for me to continue correspondence with people when I am not around them, but it is my goal to continue writing Lisa for a very long time. She told me in a letter that she is afraid of people forgetting her. I don't want to be one of those people. I don't know if I will continue going to the prison next semester. It will still make me nervous, especially since Lisa is no longer there, but I am very glad I went this past semester. I am very glad I met Lisa. She is a wonderful girl who is ready to start a new life in the real world. A life where she is free. I want to be a part of her new adventure and I am hoping God will help me remember that.

It's been a while...

Hi All!


--Me, Rach (my roomie this year and next), and Corrine (my roomie next year) at a Olivet production.--

It has been quite the semester. Time has definitely sped by. I have two more weeks left for this semester and then I am off to Colorado once again. Two weeks of classes. That's it. It is very strange! This summer I will be working at Golden Bell Camp in Divide, Colorado. I am looking forward to all the new experiences and meeting new friends, but I am dreading leaving Olivet. Over the summer, I will be missing quite a few people here. No school work will be wonderful though! I can't wait to be surrounded by the majestic nature around the camp! Speaking of nature: HAPPY EARTH DAY! I love the mountains and can't wait to see them again. I will also be happy to see my parents; the last trip to Loveland seemed very short.

This semester has been difficult with time management, but I have had a lot of fun and stressful moments. I went snowboarding in Galena, Illinois, which is where a couple of my friends live. We went with a big group. It was great getting off of campus for a little while...I am here waayyyyy too much!

A picture of the group who went to Galena:

This semester I have also been more involved in intramurals. It has been a lot of fun! I have played soccer, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. I am not very good, but it is just fun to get out there and try. I play a lot of ultimate at other times as well, including 6:30 am on Friday mornings. It is crazy; I know. However, I like having that start to my day and it is fun to go to breakfast with everyone afterward.

This was taken after a muddy ultimate frisbee game on a wonderfully, warm Saturday afternoon. The weather this semester has been crazy, but that day was definitely welcomed!

For the breaks that I didn't go to Colorado, I went to my roommate, Quel's, house, otherwise known as Rachel. :) I like going to her house, because we just relax and get away from campus for a little while. These pictures are from one of those trips:

At a park...

My boyfriend Andrew and I at Raquel's house...

We also went to the Museum of Science and Industry one weekend, where we dissected a cow eye. This is my roommate Quelly and I there...

The cow eye dissection...

Abby and I at Andrew's Birthday/Smoothie Party...

Well, like I said, it has been busy and that is about all the time I have right now. I still have homework to do and a volleyball game to play at this evening. Thanks for reading!