In the summers, I volunteer at a Bible Camp about an hour and a half away from where we live. I love it. That's probably why I've been doing it for 11 summers now... yikes! How can it be that long already!
I have been home from camp for a week and a bit now. I was there for three weeks in a row. We run camp a week at a time, and have different age ranges. The first week that I was there was mid-teen. The campers are 14-16 year olds, and I was a counselor. I packed up K-Bear and Bean, and one went to my Dad and Mom in laws, the other went to my sister in laws for a whole week. That was a really difficult decision. I have not been away from either of them that long before. Bean is 3.5 years and K Bear is 16 months, so you can see why it was tough!
I felt very strongly that God was telling me I should head up (at church that morning they announced that the camp which was started that day was short counselors. The kids were coming up in approx. 5 hours from when the announcement was made). So, I packed up the three of us in a couple hours, got the girls shipped off, and then drove up to camp.
Right away when I met my campers, I was so thankful that I was there. I had a wonderful cabin of girls, and it was an enjoyable week. There were tough spiritual questions, which is part of why I love my study Bible... but also some great discussions about relationships, which I felt much more equipped to handle being married with two kids, than when I counseled while I was dating and a teenager myself. More than that, I just felt a peace about being there, that I knew was from God because leaving my babies does not leave me peaceful usually.
At the end of the week, DH drove up to camp with my kiddos and sent Bean into see my in the cabin while I was cleaning up (sweeping and such), and I just heard a little voice say "Hi Mommy!" I burst into tears when I saw her and hugged her tight, my cabin girls were laughing and saying how cute she was. Until that moment I honestly didn't realize how much I missed my babes.
We went straight into a second week, but this time we were all down (my whole little family of four). DH was the manager and I was down watching our kiddos, and helping watch some of the other little ones whose parents were down in leadership roles. It was a good week, but stressful in it's own way too.
The third week I was down I filled in as a co-director of a girls only camp. It was awesome! The only not awesome thing was that my dear friend couldn't come down last minute because of her pregnancy complications, which is why I was a last minute stand in. I had such a wonderful time, and the staff were all amazing to work with. Being a girls only camp, it made for a lot of fun interactions like a pj party in the chapel (which would never happen if there were boys around), a slip n slide (a lot safer with only females), and a lot of talking :)
I was so blessed by the devotions. Instead of doing devotions in cabins, and having the counselors do them, my friends who were planning this for months before hand, decided that the senior staff would do the devotions each day on the baseketball court. They had subjects for us, and we had 15 minutes. I have to admit. When they first asked to do a devotion I was terrified! I don't feel like I am gifted in that way, and I don't ever know what to share because I worry about coming across too much like "I know exactly how that feels". I got asked to do the devo on "God's faithfulness through tough times." I felt very ill equipped to handle this subject as I really feel that I have not had the same degree of tough times that many of my friends, and family have had. I was prepping Isaiah 40:28-31 about "mounting up on wings like eagles." But the more I considered this... actually right up until I was sharing my devo with the kids, I changed my focus and talked about Job. I love the book of Job in the Bible! It's one of the books I've read through completely more than a few times. I love the hope it has for believers going through hard times. Job was the most righteous man that God could give as an example to Satan at that time, and he still had to go through trials. Yet, in the midst, he still praises God, and does not sin by blaming God, or cursing God. Even with his three closest friends egging him on, and his wife nattering in his ear, he still chooses to praise God.
When I finished my devo, I felt like I had been all over the place, and totally scatterbrained, but I really feel like God directed my words to hit home because a few friends later on told me that the kids were really listening, and I even encountered a couple campers who were totally excited to read Job afterward!
I head back down to camp in a week, for two more weeks straight, and I am looking forward to the lessons, and blessings the Lord has planned.
I love camp.
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