The first reflective post . . .

I left Barakel. For real. And it hurts.

I'm asked how it was – did I have a good time.

Yes.

But it was more than a good time.

Words aren't large enough, and aren't precise enough to capture the inflections of thoughts and feelings. PG and I talked once about English having only one word for love – the inflexibility of that structure. I loved being at Barakel – I can say it, but what does it really mean?

I enjoyed being there.

I felt useful.

I felt loved.

I served.

Some days I raged and cried.

But always I loved being.

Always it was the place I was meant to be.

And now I'm supposed to sum it up in a couple of paragraphs.

I don't have any paragraphs today - just snippets. 

Maybe tomorrow.

today is a day

The middle of high school week isn't an ideal time for a blog post, but there never seems to be one. So, here is a very abbreviated note on what I've been doing.

Programing is crazy, but fun. This week is especially exhausting because of the amount of work that gets put into a high school week. The campers are older, so everything is different. But at the same time, everything is camp. My list of projects seems unending, but everything (so far) has worked out at the time it needed to. Hopefully that will continue.

It's Thursday, so everyone is looking forward to the overnight. I'll be helping host the East Side chapel-in-the-woods and then spending the rest of my night cutting blockhouses out of pieces of paper. That's the kind of randomness that programming brings to my schedule.

Camp is fun!

Week 2

We're neck deep in week two of summer camp. The first week flew by incredibly fast. With only fifty campers on East Side (my summer home) it was fairly quiet, but everyone managed to have a good time, I think. I was too busy to not have a wonderful time. Programming consists mostly, I've found, of running from one place to another (camera in hand) and solving problems that pop up. Kind of like Whack-a-mole. A problem? Whack! Another one? Whack! It's certainly an adventure. My sister camped last week and sent a postcard home saying it was really fun to see me "hopping" around.

The summer staff appears to be thriving. I haven't seen anyone fleeing the property in floods of tears. Most seem relaxed and enthusiastic about another week. It's certainly fun meeting a new set of campers and getting to know them. One of my former campers is here on East Side this week! It is great to see her. Maybe we'll have another air hockey battle.

Thanks to my wonderful roommate, I now go around humming songs about pink, fluffy unicorns.

And that is my life, currently

Workshop update

We're into the second week of workshop and time is flying. But at the same time it feels like workshop has been going on forever.

Getting to know the new summer staff has been great. I'm trying to keep a balance between reconnecting with old friends and welcoming new ones. This includes tearing myself away from Lydia, much to her dismay. She doesn't always believe me when I tell her that things are good for her.

Sadly, we were less than successful at convincing people that we were twins - mostly due to the unhelpful people around us who kept betraying our trust by actually telling the truth.

Other snippets:
I heard the bobcat in the woods.
I learned to drive a tractor and not hit trees
Lee Brown has replaced me with a newer model
Video editing and I are becoming friends

Chapel tonight - Papa Dave gave his testimony. God endlessly amazes.

Tribes and races

Today is tribe day . . . The one day in the summer that counselors spend gleefully pretending to be the worst junior campers ever encountered.

More visits

My family came to visit and exchange Lydia for Naomi. Lydia is beginning her summer as a YAP.

We spent a lovely evening in the RV park. We were "being hobos" according to Lee Brown. Tons of fun. Gardner girls even showed up for s'mores and a rousing game of something that resembled baseball.