Camp: Round Two.
Since August, I have been silently counting the months and days until I could make this post. I don't mean that I had a countdown written down, but I certainly thought about this post periodically.
What post, you ask? Why, the beginning-of-camp post, of course!
That's right. I am back at Haven on the Rock for a second year of growth in Christ and learning about myself, others, and Jesus. This time, I brought Michael with me and I am pumped to see how God changes both of us as individuals...and as siblings.
We drove out to Wyoming on Saturday morning with the entire family along with my cousin, who is good friends with some of the people who work here. The 11-hour drive was long and I was running on about 2/12 hours of sleep, but I didn't nap at all on the way because we talked the entire time. 11 hours of conversation with your cousin and siblings is pretty fantastic, if you were wondering. After dropping us off and getting a brief tour, my family met a few people who were already here and then headed back towards Iowa. We unpacked and I proceeded to fall back into camp life routine.
Since Saturday, I have been a mixture of productive and lazy. Getting here early was a great way to do this. I have watched several episodes of a TV show I am starting to get hooked on, but I have also gotten up at a fairly decent time and done plenty of cleaning, organizing, and painting. I knew I loved doing dishes at camp, but it is even more fun to come back to it after an 8-month break. People from last year have begun to arrive, and we have a few newbies coming as well. I am missing some friends who are unable to return for the summer, but God knows what He is doing.
Training officially begins tomorrow morning after breakfast. I have farm chores already, but that is the way it should be so that I can become more productive before I fall into a habit of laziness. I am so excited to go through training with old and new friends in order to become a better camp worker, as well as a better friend to other staff members. I honestly think the latter is what I tend to get more out of, simply because of what my role has tended to be here at Haven.
I realize I didn't write about my last month of school, and that was on purpose. It was a beautiful time of solidifying friendships and learning more about each other during projects and extended mealtimes. There are a great deal of things being planned for next year, which I will gradually explain more about as the time comes closer to go back to Northwestern.
I also chose not to write during May due to the negative side of my final weeks. Sleep deprivation and depression are pretty ugly things to throw into the pot together, guys. Add stress and struggles with spiritual bondage to the mix and you've got yourselves quite an icky stew. A little too chewy and a lot too painful to swallow.
With that being said, I have to clarify that I also simply did not know what I would have written. I did attempt to begin a post more than once, but I could not bring the words out of my head. Now they are coming more freely and I honestly think that it worked out the way that it needed to. I came home fighting tears for the loss of schedule and time with friends, but looking forward to some space to process how the year went.
The plan--in theory--is to continue the habit of writing at least once a week, which is what I practiced last summer. I have no idea what these posts will be about, but it should be an interesting summer with plenty to talk about. I can promise there will be vague posts because it wouldn't be Justine writing if you didn't have to read a vague post or two. Please be praying for all of us here, specifically for our staff training, which begins tomorrow and runs through next week.
Now I should sleep. Because camp beds are fantastic.
God loves me, and God's love is enough.
What post, you ask? Why, the beginning-of-camp post, of course!
That's right. I am back at Haven on the Rock for a second year of growth in Christ and learning about myself, others, and Jesus. This time, I brought Michael with me and I am pumped to see how God changes both of us as individuals...and as siblings.
We drove out to Wyoming on Saturday morning with the entire family along with my cousin, who is good friends with some of the people who work here. The 11-hour drive was long and I was running on about 2/12 hours of sleep, but I didn't nap at all on the way because we talked the entire time. 11 hours of conversation with your cousin and siblings is pretty fantastic, if you were wondering. After dropping us off and getting a brief tour, my family met a few people who were already here and then headed back towards Iowa. We unpacked and I proceeded to fall back into camp life routine.
Since Saturday, I have been a mixture of productive and lazy. Getting here early was a great way to do this. I have watched several episodes of a TV show I am starting to get hooked on, but I have also gotten up at a fairly decent time and done plenty of cleaning, organizing, and painting. I knew I loved doing dishes at camp, but it is even more fun to come back to it after an 8-month break. People from last year have begun to arrive, and we have a few newbies coming as well. I am missing some friends who are unable to return for the summer, but God knows what He is doing.
Training officially begins tomorrow morning after breakfast. I have farm chores already, but that is the way it should be so that I can become more productive before I fall into a habit of laziness. I am so excited to go through training with old and new friends in order to become a better camp worker, as well as a better friend to other staff members. I honestly think the latter is what I tend to get more out of, simply because of what my role has tended to be here at Haven.
I realize I didn't write about my last month of school, and that was on purpose. It was a beautiful time of solidifying friendships and learning more about each other during projects and extended mealtimes. There are a great deal of things being planned for next year, which I will gradually explain more about as the time comes closer to go back to Northwestern.
I also chose not to write during May due to the negative side of my final weeks. Sleep deprivation and depression are pretty ugly things to throw into the pot together, guys. Add stress and struggles with spiritual bondage to the mix and you've got yourselves quite an icky stew. A little too chewy and a lot too painful to swallow.
With that being said, I have to clarify that I also simply did not know what I would have written. I did attempt to begin a post more than once, but I could not bring the words out of my head. Now they are coming more freely and I honestly think that it worked out the way that it needed to. I came home fighting tears for the loss of schedule and time with friends, but looking forward to some space to process how the year went.
The plan--in theory--is to continue the habit of writing at least once a week, which is what I practiced last summer. I have no idea what these posts will be about, but it should be an interesting summer with plenty to talk about. I can promise there will be vague posts because it wouldn't be Justine writing if you didn't have to read a vague post or two. Please be praying for all of us here, specifically for our staff training, which begins tomorrow and runs through next week.
Now I should sleep. Because camp beds are fantastic.
God loves me, and God's love is enough.
Comments
Post a Comment