Camp Countdown

20 pictures on my camera

19 pieces of trash we picked up after a raccoon ransacked the place

18 cicada vibrations I heard before I fell asleep

17 times I listened to the peanut butter and jelly song

16 times I thought about the camp I went to as a youth

15 bandannas we used to tie up a fake fracture

14 average age of all the girls there

13 things I now have to wash the smokesmell out of

12 number of bugs I killed

11 songs they sang with the IPOD before it was taken away

10 people in our skit group

9 practice first aid stations we passed off

8 times we played ‘dip’ after dinner

7 piggy back rides I gave

6 girls who wouldn’t wake up in the morning (you bet they got steamrolled)

5 years off the girls were when guessing my age :)

4 burns on my fingers from the dutch oven

3 desserts I ate (smores, cobbler, floats)

2 piece tankini Junior size. yikes. (I forgot mine)

1 night at girls camp

0 number of showers I took (gasp)

Girls Camp. It was a good experience.

My first time as a leader. I didn’t know whether to be the girls’ friend and confidant, or their taskmaster. In my heart I feel like I am still one of them, yet I also know that I’ve already gone through some of what they are going through… and I want to dish out some wisdom. I know I love these girls and I want them all to succeed. I’m just not sure yet how to help. It is an interesting experience being a leader in the Young Women. I don’t know how to act. I suppose “just be yourself” is the best policy. Maybe I’m still figuring out who exactly “myself” is…

My first time camping in Illinois. It was beautiful, and more ‘woodsy’ than I had expected it to be. It was held at a large Boy Scout camp about an hour away. There were tall trees and bugs and small streams and a pond. Since it is finals week, I was only able to go for 24 hours. I recalled a lot of things I had forgotten, and learned some things for the first time. I thought a lot about the camp I went to as a Young Woman. It sure was spectacular. I have so many wonderful memories of it. Some of my greatest ‘testimony-building moments’ happened there.

I’m thankful that my dad taught me how to camp, how to love nature, how to see the beauty and feel the Spirit in the forest. Some of those girls were so squirrely and afraid of getting dirty or smelly or living without gadgets… they couldn’t see the forest through the trees (forgive me). :)

I’m thankful for the leaders here who put forth so much effort to make it a good experience for all the girls. I’m thankful for all the girls who toughed it out even though they were miserable, and the ones who were examples to others who needed friendship.