As of this past Tuesday, I have officially been at my favorite place on earth for one month. Whoa.
My first week here: May Staff. We did trash runs, bleached the guys’ bathhouses, stained decks, stocked housekeeping closets, and got to know the handful of people that were here pretty well.
Second week: staff training. Intense sessions, overwhelming amount of information about schedules + program strategies, and a boatload of counseling techniques. Oh and 200ish more people than were here the previous week. (Side note: I still have not met every person who works here. This place is huge!)
Third week: Week 1 of #wilds2015! The first two weeks of camp are less full, so for this particular week I only had four campers. They were delightful, making me laugh and hanging onto my every word, promising me I was the best counselor ever, and making me promise to never forget them as my first ever cabin at the Wilds.
Fourth week: Week 2. Incredibly challenging week even though I only had five campers. One of them got saved on Tuesday during our “pow-wow” in Cool Beans which was an answer to prayer, as I’ve been looking forward to and praying for the opportunity to lead someone to Christ! Three of the girls were very stubborn when it came to opening up or even just listening during the services. They were very disruptive during devotions and God&I Time Follow-up, and were constantly running away from me. However, in spite of the challenge it was to love these girls, and the many times I was afraid that I failed as a counselor, the youth pastor of those particular girls assured me that they were each changed; and that one girl in particular, who was my most difficult camper, was a completely different person. So even though maybe I didn’t see literal decisions made, or the girls didn’t come and tell me what God had done in their life, I’m grateful for the chance I had to influence them even in some small way.
Fifth week: Week 3! I was nervous about having a slightly different schedule as well as twice as many girls in my cabin, but God gave me the strength to maintain energy as well as adapt to the new challenges of the week. My junior high girls were each totally different, and I had a blast getting to know them.
I’m amazed at how much God is teaching me while I’m here. I’m so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve here, but I’m equally thankful for how God is breaking away pieces of my self and teaching me to rely more on His all-sufficient grace. He is good, and only does good things.
So there’s a miniature update! It is Monday morning, almost 10 am, and we have a lot to do before campers arrive in a few hours. Pray that God would do a great work in the lives of campers this week, and also for the staff here as a stomach bug has taken out many people over this past weekend. I look forward to what God is going to do this week in the lives of both the campers and staff!
bethany rebecca 