God is doing big things around here. Last night at the end of campfire everyone prayed together. Right after we said, "Amen" the boy in front of me said, "That's the first time I've ever prayed." This morning as we were walking out of chapel two of my first year campers were talking. "Wow, that was actually really fun. I thought it was going to be boring but that was cool," they said. Tecumseh's not a "church" camp but kids are getting introduced to Christ and seeing faith lived out.
I'm back in the clinic life for one more week. Molly Henry and I are teaching Fearless Advanced Braceleters aka FAB first with so many rock stars. I get to hang out with Erin Williams, Erin Dickett, Celia, Daisy, Meg and a whole crew of new friends. This will be a fantastic week of making friends one bracelet at a time.
Next up is Country Line Dancing and my camper Mary Cate is with me. This girl is a total rock star. She partnered up with two different Catawba girls and was incredibly patient and positive with them. Today Mary Cate told me that when she grows up she wants to be a CILT and then a counselor. I'm already confident that she would be fantastic at both things.
CLD is packed this week and Molly, Becca and I are ready to teach them everything we know as well as sing a lot of Taylor Swift.
Then for 3rd clinic I'm teaching Clay with Karisa and Dan Wetzel, two great friends. I get to have sisters Kendall and Liza in this clinic as well as Erin Williams, Meg and Ella so I'm pretty pumped.
Today we worked on pinch pot creations and tomorrow we'll make something else. Dan has taught this every week so he is definitely the King of the Clay.
One of my favorite parts of the day is hanging out with kids before lunch starts. Today I found myself on a bench with this group of awesome Blazer girls. I knew Erin and Lauren last year but the rest of them are new friends.
Erin was in Choctaw week 9 last summer with Ellyn and I. We're so glad that she's back and that she brought her friend Meg with her. I love every time I get to see her-- her positivity and joy is so contagious.
All 29 of us are very excited about being in Choctaw this week.
Nothing like having a sleepover with all your best friends, Annabelle and stuffed animals for a week.
I didn't have to be a watcher at the pool today so I hung out with my friends Alice and Erin the whole time. I've known both of them for several years and we always look forward to being reunited at the end of the summer. Alice is up in the LV now so we're making the most of the time we have to hang out.
We were serenaded by Dan and Nart's perfect serenade to "Love is an Open Door" this afternoon that had 30 kids incredibly entertained.
After we learned the Choctaw cheer we went into the office to show Mama Kat, the boss of Camp T.
Ellyn gave all the girls a history lesson when she read the plaque for the Wright Way to them and then quizzed them about the important facts. They passed the test.
We had hobo dinners tonight with two other Blazer girl cabins. Creative food highlights included french fries and a fire toasted strawberry pop tart.
I've done Adventure Hikes with Blazers and Braves for years, but tonight we wanted to take things to the next level. Ellyn made all the girls stretch out before we started hiking.
Going on an adventure hike is something that most kids will never do at home. Almost all of our campers come from cities and suburbs where they are nowhere close to a forest. I love that we get to take kids back into the woods where they can slide in the mud, climb over tree branches and run up hills.
At the end of every CILT Session we take all 40 campers up to the Gish Adventure Outpost one morning. Tonight the 11-year-old campers of Choctaw hiked there and back. We were so impressed with them.
I'm so thankful that Ellyn and I were both on tonight to have this adventure together. Everything is more fun when Ellyn is around. She's been such an important part of my life for several years and I love that we've gotten to be partners in Choctaw twice. There will be a void in my life when she goes back to IU and I'm in Indy.
Our last activity for the night was to paint the Choctaw mural for the week. We let the girls figure out their plan together and then they all dove into the paint.
They were super creative and did a great job of all contributing. You can tell by their hands that this is an awesome. Can't wait to show you the finished product.
We did the thankfulness devotion tonight and wrote lists of things we love. Tonight my list consisted of all the people who have been stars in my life this summer. When I think back on these 10 weeks I think of all the campers and counselors that lifted me up, laughed with me, shared their story, did something brave, became my friend and lived the dream right with me. It's the people that my life overlaps with that make it meaningful.
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