Saturday, December 31, 2011

A year of celebration, joy, and the very best friends

Some of my favorite things about the year 2011. (I couldn't stop at just 10)

In an unprecedented move, the CILTs of 2011 had a Spring reunion. Back in the River Village I loved every second of the weekend and was floored as I saw how God was working in these kids' lives.

Maggie, Alli, Katie, MaryClaire, Avery, Emily, Annie

I get to lead Young Life with some of my very best friends and most inspiring people I've ever met. These people love Jesus and love High School kids and are living out that love in real and tangible ways.

Tyler Bender, Tom, Jake, MaryEllen, Sarah, Sarah, Mark, David

One of my favorite things about living in Indy is getting to see CILT girls and be a part of their life in the "real world" outside of camp.

Bridget, Molly, Megan, Kaitlyn, Avery, Emily, Emily, Carly

One of the best things about being a returning counselor is watching my old campers transition into being a counselor.


This summer one of my dreams came true as I got to be both a CILT and resident cabin counselor alongside Arielle, my fellow camp kid and friend for our entire lives.



Being a CILT counselor was my favorite part of the year. Spending six weeks with 124 High School kids is certainly living the dream.

 Session 3 CILT girls

I've got so lucky to be part of this counseling team this summer. I laughed with, learned so much, was supported and encouraged by and grew close to Evan, Arielle, Mel and Kraft everyday.

Fratopher, Arielle Face, Six Eyes, Bike Chain


Wolf shirts were the trend no one could have ever predicted and will forever remind me of this past summer.

Meg, Molly, Sarah, Miriam, Arielle, Maggie, Annie, Mel

Honest friendships and intentional conversations are two of the most special things about Camp Tecumseh. Erin and Annie are experts in those areas and two girls that have taught me so much about being a counselor and appreciating the people around you.


 Although I spend most of my time with CILT girls, so many younger kids that I've known for multiple summers have a huge part of my heart. Getting to hang out with them is always a high of the day.

Kierstin, Sarah, Caroline, Alex, Abby, Olivia

When a new session begins we get a list of names of all the kids that we'll be living with for the next two weeks. I love the transformation that happens over that short amount of time that allows those kids to become the main characters of our summer. Friendships with these campers are why I'm a counselor.

Maddie, Emma, Erin, Kathleen, Sarah

At this point in my counseling career I've had the honor to have been a counselor to so many of my fellow counselors. One of my favorite nights off of the summer we had a devotion together because we missed sitting in a circle together at the end of each day.

Michelle, Maggie, Molly, Sarah, Colleen, Chrissy, Annie, Mary, Annie, Sarah

One of the best parts of switching to resident camp this summer was getting to teach hip-hop and country-line dancing clinic everyday. I still miss dancing in the party room every morning. Performing on Friday nights at Trading Post and Closing Campfire was incredible because of the looks of pride and joy on our kids' faces.

Carolyn, Krafty and the hip-hop kids week 9

Getting to be every day kind of friends with camp counselors is one of the most special parts of the summer. They see us at our best and worst. From sleepy eyes at flagpole every morning to staying up late talking on picnic tables, camp friends are there for every moment. This summer I'll remember camp friends helping me move, attempting to go to a TSwift concert, watching fireworks from inside my car, sharing our highs of the day, and sleepovers on the weekends.

Maggie, Annie, Sarah

Meg, Arielle, Emily, Mary, Sarah, Rachel, Chrissy, Carolyn, Paige, Colleen, Lesem, Grace

Grace, Lesem, Chrissy, Mary, Sarah, Emily, Colleen, Rachel

Adventures like the Leader Summit in Kentucky this Fall are the best because of the people I get to share them with. Our team closed out the dance floor this night and we impressed ourselves with amount of sweat we each produced.



Never before have I lived so close to camp friends. Being real life friends and living only a couple minutes away is a highlight of the year.

Emily, Eric, William, Sara, Sarah, Rachel, Dani


Emel and Colleen, my roommates have been two of my favorite parts of this semester. I love that they're either already talking or singing when I wake up in the morning and that they make me laugh every night.

Emel, Colleen and her Huddles dance

It's so fun to have a whole new generation of camp girls to get to know better this year in Indy--and there are SO many of them. I'm glad they'll still be here for the next year and a half.

Kathleen, Sarah, Maddie, Erin


Baby Lincoln Wright DeKoster was born September 30th. Our family is in love as Katie and Nick have become parents, Mom and Dad have transitioned to being grandparents and I'm so excited about being Auntie Sarah.





These Junior and Senior girls have become the reason I love Monday nights. Conversations in our Campaigners circle up in the Miller's guest room are some of my favorite talks every week. I'm so thankful I get to show up in their lives during the week.



Sarah and MaryEllen are two women that I deeply admire and respect. It really stinks that Sarah moved to Chicago so we can't see her everyday but I love when we make visits happen and we're all reunited for awhile. Friends like this pair that make me laugh till tears, understand me so deeply, pray for my life and care about what I care about are hard to find.

MaryEllen, Sarah, Sarah


The St. Louis City Museum was another favorite Young Life adventure of the Fall and I can't wait to go back and climb again. Kraft and I have been friends since we were sixteen but this semester was the first time we've lived in the same place. He joined the Carmel Young Life team and I loved getting to see him so often and be real life friends. We'll miss him now as he's leaving to be an Air Force Officer.



These girls bring a smile to my face every single time I interact with them. Saying hi in the hallway, singing during FBC, talking on the way to lunch, remembering when they were students in my laugh, running into them at a concert, having the HS girls run into FBC screaming, or talking during SLT these girls have changed my life and my heart as a teacher.



The 4th Annual CILT Reunion was a huge success with over 100 CILTs representing the 3 sessions from 2011. It was a grand homecoming of counselors and campers that I just didn't want to end.

Krafty, Mel, Sarah, Maddie, Arielle, Erin, Evan

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