Many, many moons again Ellyn and Keefer introduced Camp Tecumseh to Wolf Shirt Wednesday. Since then it has taken off and become a staple of every Tecumseh Wednesday.
We weren't sure how many counselor's would have wolf shirts today but we're excited for a whole pack of friends and a tiger too.
Our chapel was in Kampen this morning and we got to hear the story of the Starfish. Grandpa Todd was on the beach one day after a storm when hundreds of starfish had been washed on the shore. A little girl came and started throwing the starfish back into the ocean one by one. Todd asked her why she was doing that because she could never save them all, never make a difference. But the little girl threw another one back in the water and said, "It mattered to that one." We can't solve all of our campers problems this summer but if we can make a difference in the life of one camper then what we're doing here matters.
We got to perform the CILT cheer again at lunch today and Katrina, Renee and Mel all danced around the room while we sang. They definitely took things up a level.
In the morning and afternoon we worked on RFAJWD ideas and planning and clues. It's a special activity that just the CILTs do.
Sorry, we can't tell you anything about it...
Tonight the guys all went on The Call, aka the Man Hike, and the girls went on The Journey. We started at the LV chapel with Katrina before moving on to the next spot. We always blow bubbles along the way because they're fun.
At the Deep Woods Council Ring we did a puzzle activity that illustrated how important it is to have many pieces to make the bigger picture. We are not one-dimensional counselors or one-dimensional people. God created us with many gifts and many talents to share with the people around us.
This week I'm spending a whole lot of time with Arielle, Smoon, Ellyn and Claire. I'm a really big fan of all of them. If Ellyn's around you can bet we'll be laughing the whole time.
At River Village chapel we talked about Katrina and Tom's garden. They spent so much time planning and planting their garden. Then Tom got an entire truck full of manure from the horse barn to spread all over their garden. With nitrogen and sunlight and time the manure helps the plants to grow and be even richer. In our own lives, there are times when we're covered in manure. But with time God can use that poop in our life to make us even better and richer than we would have been without it.
We ended at the Day Camp Pavilion in the OT for a banquet dinner. The ladies of camp set the tables and hung lights and potted plants so everything looked so beautiful.
It was so nice to just sit and talk with Alli, Claire, Erin, Abby, Suzanne and Mama Kat. After a day of rain and clouds, the sun finally came out to shine.
We started a new tradition tonight. The counselors were all called forward by name to accept the challenge to bloom where we're planted this summer. The ladies of camp gave us the gift of a cross bracelet to wear as a symbol and reminder of the challenge. We'll continue wearing these bracelets all summer and when we come back against next summer. Next year the new counselors will be invited to join the sisterhood.
I loving getting to be on staff with friends who used to be my CILT counselors. Girls like Erin O'Awesome are on res now and are going to be phenomenal with their campers. Once kids arrive I'll be sucked up in the CILT life and won't have nearly as much time to just play with these friends.
I'm thankful for nights like tonight when we just get to play and laugh and hang out. Molly and I have been great friends for years and this week I love becoming friends with Suzanne. They're partners in Catawba this summer and I plan on hanging out with them a lot.
I'm so glad that Anna Rademaker is back again. She was one of my campers in 2009 and will always have a chunk of my heart. She's one of my cabin counselors this week during training which is really cool.
I brought my JamBox to play music during the dinner and we turned it back on while we waited for the bus. Dance Parties are absolutely my favorite thing and we sang on the bus the whole way up to LV. From One Direction to TSwift, MKTO and Jackson 5, we screamed and danced until the bus was bouncing.
Ellyn helped the boys take the flag down Lake Village style before we played Taps. Everyone else went to practice planning meetings while the CILT counselors talked with the camp ladies and Ellyn made us all laugh.
Campers will be here in four days-- hugging old friends, moving into the Longhouse, sweating in the all camp picture, coming up with a theme for opening campfire, sitting in our first devotion and falling asleep to the sound of a dozen fans.
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