What a week. I feel like I say that every week...but each one is filled with its own challenges and accomplishments. We had two of our staff out of town this week and another few who were gone a day or two. We are blessed to have such a large staff this year, but we could definitely feel the difference with not having them. Each person contributes so much and even their seemingly small tasks that they help out with have a ripple effect through the whole camp. (I can't wait to have everyone there next week!)
On that note, team dynamics are important. Even when a few are missing, the willingness for all the rest to step up and share the load is impressive. Our group this year is filled with people who are true servant leaders and who love God and each other. It's really fun to be a part of leading these interns and I feel like I can never truly express to them how essential and valuable they are to camp and how thankful I am for their contributions.
To paint you a better picture: we have 3 who come earlier and leave later than all the other interns every day to transport kids to and from camp. They deal with van difficulties varying from shattered windows to kids missing the bus to no AC. They always deserve a shout out. We have a few others who take turns staying late to help make dismissal a little smoother, giving up a portion of their personal rest time for the day, and all of them have committed to loving these kids despite bad attitudes and being under appreciated by campers. These interns are seeking the Lord to learn how to best discipline kids so they can leave camp better people than when they came and handling the tougher issues like champs. They are hardworking, loving, and pure-hearted people who make camp what it is. They also encourage me, make sure Josh and I rest, and never complain about the heat.
Our campers are pretty amazing too though. They chip in and help out in more ways than we could ever expect. Coming up on a flooded blacktop this morning, the kids jumped on board grabbing brooms to make sure we had it cleared off before breakfast could be served. They took turns, encouraged each other, and even little first graders helped out. We also had some guys who took it upon themselves to fix one of the broken soccer goals. They worked hard and manufactured some pretty clever ingenuity to get the job done so that all of camp could enjoy soccer with 2 goals instead of 1. They are full (most of the time) with smiles and hugs and the most random complements you could think of: "Miss Emily, your hands are so soft." Even though they struggle sometimes and make some bad choices, they almost always are able to turn around, forgive and accept forgiveness, shake hands, and move on. It's easy to focus on a few kids who struggle more than others, but big picture, our kids are beautiful, wonderful, and smart kids. I am so thankful for each and every one of them.
A Day in the Life of Emily:
If you're a little confused about what exactly it means to be a Summer Camp Co-Director, my day today explains it pretty well. I started the morning at 7AM setting up and cleaning the tables to get ready to serve breakfast. When the food arrived, I helped unload the food and then the breakfast crew takes over. Right after that, I start sweeping off our giant mud puddle of a blacktop only to be nicely surprised by a group of campers who came to help. I was then met by one of our bus drivers with news that one of our campers had thrown up in his van. I handed him my keys to drive to where the extra van was and continue his routes while I looked into how bad the situation was in the van. I got a text from another van driver who needed money to go get gas (quick trip gift cards are a blessing!) and passed that off to her. I was (again) nicely surprised to find a few people to help me clean the van as I get another phone call from the first driver. The extra van won't start. Awesome. He takes my car to pick up some kids while we try and quickly but effectively clean his van. The third van driver finishes early and passes of her van to the first guy who is still trying to finish his routes. Whew. Are you tried yet? So now all the kids are here and we are almost ready to dismiss to Fun Friday Activities. A quick conversation with Josh makes it clear that I am going to need to take the van to get cleaned more thoroughly during this activity time. Off I go. Vacuum the van. Wash the Van. Good enough for now time to get back to camp before the chaos we call lunch. I help get lunch set up (it's running late) and we collectively decide that we need a camp wide game fast. 4 Corners, everyone to the blacktop! We play a few rounds. We line up by grade. We practice our cheers. The food is still not quite ready. Practice a few more cheers. Sing Happy Birthday to a high school helper. Yes! Lunch is ready! Everyone gets in line and gets food. Whew. Just one more hour left. We get ready to play for free time. No one can find their water bottles. The water horse we use is causing conflicts between kiddos left and right "she sprayed me!" "he started it!" so no more of that. I'm the water monitor. Help some boys with ideas on how to best fix the soccer goals. Settle a few minor conflicts "Now say sorry and shake hands." Dismissal time already? One last (highly regulated) water break. Head to the blacktop! Head to the blacktop! Head to the blacktop...I need a recording of that. Settle a few more disputes. Now time to catch the kids before they get on the vans to make sure everyone in going to the right place. Whew. So hot. Someone offers we some water. Uh oh. I didn't breakfast or lunch...oh there's another van. Alright. It's 2. The kids are home. The Community Center is clean enough. Send addresses and phone numbers to the interns who have asked for them throughout the day. Sit and catch up with an intern for a bit. Alright. 2:30. Time to head to Chickfila for a big, cold sweet tea and meal while I update my blog. Later tonight I will go out to dinner with a few kids. Tonight, I will sleep like a rock. There's your day in the life of Summer Camp Co-Director.
PS: I still absolutely love my job.
Prayer Requests:
- We are still smoothing out a lot of bumps.
- Interns and staff to stay encouraged and not lose hope.
- Interns and staff get enough rest.
- Campers' attitudes are positive and they are able to make good choices.
- The Kingdom of God is closer to Clarkston because of Summer Camp.
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