Magical Wonderland

This week our day camp team has the privilege to hang out at the Starleaf's mansion. It is such a sweet place! The wife is the CEO of Frederick's of Hollywood and the husband owns a tennis club. They have a guest house, pool, catering house(for when they have parties and they can do major food in it), a gym, the coolest trampoline I've ever seen, a HUGE house, 3 nannies, 2 kids, a tennis court(no surprise right?), a secret garden, a navel seal rope training course, a play set, a tether ball, and an amazing lot(I think it's two acres!) This place is soooooo cool! I love being here and it's a pretty cool place to hang out. Tomorrow night we will be having dinner with the family. Today Mr. Starleaf bought lunch for 80 homeless people and our team got the opportunity to serve them. It was a very cool experience:) This place is like a magical wonderland and the yard is so beautiful and there is so much to explore and see here!!
{Much love from a girl at a mansion formerly owned by the Disney family}

Pastor Sarah

There is an adorable pastor who is pregnant and works at Salem Lutheran Church. She has been up to El Camino Pines a few times this summer for various things and she is absolutely amazing! She has done lots of work with youth and she is so great with kids of all ages and adults love her! Her and her husband live in a super cute parsonage owned by the church and we got to stay at her house Friday night. SUUUUUUPER CUTE! I keep joking that I want to grow up and be like Pastor Sarah:)
{Much love from a girl who loves Pastor Sarah}

Breaking In

So yesterday Josie and I got back to our host home after VBS and I realized that I had left our key for the house in the pocket of the jacket I wore the night before! Usually we would get home around the same time or a little after but unfortunately this was one of the afternoons the family wasn't home yet because they were running errands. So Josie and I have a minor freakout moment and start checking all the doors in hopes one was left unlocked. No such luck! So what were we to do? We did what any other kid locked out of a house would've done! We crawled through the doggie door! We found this quite hilarious and got the giggles!! The best part was the doggie door went to the master bedroom and less than 5 minutes after we got into the house...the family walked in! It was a close call! Can you imagine what they would've thought had they gotten home five minutes sooner?? It was not exactly the shining moment of our week but definitely one of the most hilarious!
{Much love from a NINJA who loves shenanigans}

Pie in the Face!

Today at the end of VBS, all the counselors got pied! It was an interesting experience I must say. All week the kids had been bringing change in to support LRCC and putting it in jars that had our names on it. Whichever bucket weighed the most at the end of the week, that counselor got whipcream in their face! In the end we all got pies shoved in our faces!! I got whipcream everywhere..in my hair, down my back, on my pants, up my nose, everywhere! It was kinda gross and I can still smell whipcream and it's really nasty. I will not be eating whipcream for a very loooooong time! Two hours later, after lunch and saying goodbye to kids we got to shower. We started to smell like sour milk! Bleh! All in all it was for a good cause and the kids loved it!
{Much love from a girl who does not like whip cream at the moment}

10 Things That Make Me Love SLO

This week, Jeremy, Josie, and I are up at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in San Luis Obispo. It is absolutely beautiful and I LOOOOOOOVE it here! I would seriously come live in this adorable town. Here are the top ten reasons I love being in SLO:
1. They have a farmer's market downtown
2. The beach is super close and just different from So. Cal. beaches
3. I have the privilege of staying in a beautiful home
4. Our host families are so kind and have the most adorable kids :)
5. We get real showers (that are longer than 90 secs) and free laundry
6. We are getting to eat HEALTHY, balanced, and delicious homemade meals
7. There is not dirt in every single thing I own!
8. I get to sleep in a real bed (ahhhhh it's heavenly!)
9. I am getting to play lots of guitar and sing all day with kids
10. It is a perfect town for running!
{Much love from a girl who wants to run away to SLO}

Sleeping in the Sun

I love sleeping in the sun! One of my favorite things to do is lay on the beach and soak up some rays. I absolutely love feeling the warm sunshine on my skin! This week, while at day camp, I have had some time to rest and lay in the sun. Nothing compares to the warm feeling of sun on your skin! It brings me such joy to feel the warmth of a sunny afternoon on my arms:) I encourage you to go to the beach or even your backyard and lay down for a few minutes to feel the sun!
{Much love from a girl who loves soaking up the sun}

Resting :)

All last semester God had been trying to tell me to rest. I told Him I had way too many things to do and get done that it would have to wait until this summer. I figured my two weeks between coming home from school and leaving for camp would be enough to rejuvenate until Christmas break or whenever life slowed down for me again. Those two weeks were very busy and pretty much anything but rest! For months I had been in denial that I was running away from God but finally came to terms with my actions and realized that was exactly what I had been doing. Last semester was especially busy for me with a full course load and lots of activities. There were some points over the course of the months when I was pulling one all nighter a week and not being able to catch up on sleep, I wasn't seeing friends, and I was always in the library doing last minute assignments I didn't have time to previously work on. It was a rough period! I thought it was no big deal that I was letting my personal life fall by the way side to please my boss, professors, friends, and everyone around me. Many people, from different aspects of my life warned me that I needed to rest before I got burnt out. Thankfully the end of the semester came just in time that I didn't crash and burn, but I was very close!
This summer I have actually taken the time to rest and listen to God. It has been AHHHH-MAZING!! I have come to realize the importance of resting in God's presence and taking time for myself each day. Each morning I wake up and read my devotional, journal, and read my Bible. I choose 1-2 verses from the passage I read that day and write it out then pray about how it can be applied to my life that day. I also take time to lay down or even take a nap almost everyday! It is so great! I am getting to bed at a decent hour each night and loving it. I also take time to run each day(when possible!) and I absolutely love that time taking in the surroundings around me, where ever I may be. The Lord has definitely spoken to me in these times of rest and truly shown me how important it is to slow down each day and take time for myself. This is a very important lesson for me to learn this summer since I am going back to school in three weeks and will be attempting to balance a full course load, 20 hours of work a week, and a healthy, social lifestyle. I know God never gives us more than we can handle and He is with us every step of the way on this journey we call life:)
{Much love from a girl who takes time to, and actually enjoys, resting}

What a Journey

After our hike last week, my eyes were opened to something very beautiful. I was praying and journaling one morning as the girls in my cabin were getting ready and I realized that our lives are very much like a hike. This was especially cool for me because we had just gone hiking and it was the second best hike of my hiking life. (The waterfall hike with the girls from my floor last year definitely wins best hike of my life!) The Sunset Hike is sometimes a challenge for campers and they don't always want to go and there are some challenging parts with steep hills and narrow paths. What we see when we get to the top of the hike is very worth it and as counselors we always try to reassure kids of this. There are some parts of the trail that are prettier than others and there are some that have scratchy plants. This is just like our life. Sometimes the hike up to where we are going is a challenge but when we get to our destination (where ever it may be!), it is so worth it and the view is beautiful! Sometimes the scenery around us in a certain part of our lives is beautiful and other times, not so much. Occasionally we come to a place where there are things around us that can harm us and other times all we can do is stand in awe and take in what we are surrounded by. When we are going up or down a steep hill, God helps us when we slip and makes sure we don't get hurt. He is always one step ahead of us leading on the path in the direction we need to go, and right behind us making sure we are doing okay. As we were hiking down the sunset trail, I began to realize what a beautiful picture this hike is of our lives. It was a really cool thing to imagine and actually live out. I'm trusting God is guiding me on the specific path He has for me and protecting me from all the dangers that we are constantly faced with in our world, all while living for His glory.
{Much love from a hiking girl}

Pack Out..uh In?

Last week at camp was a tad chilly! We were able to wear jeans some days and be totally fine and a sweatshirt was necessary each night. On Wednesday night we had out pack out where we hiked to Frontier Pines, dropped our sleeping bags off, and then continued up the hill on what is called the Sunset Hike. I've done this particular hike a few times, and have hiked various paths this summer but this time up the sunset trail was just great! I had fun talking to kids, it felt good to be hiking and the weather was great! When we reached the top we sang my favorite song at camp, Holy Time, I said and prayer, and we hiked down for dinner. We made the oh so famous Ho-Bo's for dinner and cooked them in our fire. As it started to get dark, clouds began to roll in. We were suppose to be sleeping under the stars that night. As a staff, we decided it would not be wise to take the risk of possibly sleeping in the RAIN so after evening worship we took all our sleeping bags and 50 campers back to camp and hiked down the hill in the dark. We all slept in the chapel and in my opinion it was great! We got to hike, eat up the mountain, have our evening worship by the fire, and DIDN'T have to freeze our fanny's off while sleeping in the dirt on top of what seems like the biggest rocks on the planet! So we still got to have our all camp pack out "sleepover" but in the comfort of a warm, dry, flat, mostly dirt free chapel! It was great! I really enjoyed it! In the morning we woke up and had bagels in the fire just like we would have done had we slept outside up at Frontier Pines.
{Much love from a girl who actually got decent sleep on Pack Out night}

Teas

Last week I decided to try some new  flavors of tea. Chamomile is favorite but I've been trying to broaden my drink palette so I thought I'd be adventurous and test different teas. I took recommendations from different counselors and these are the kind I tried:
Cranberry apple (not my fave)
Pomegranate green tea (not too shabby)
Earl Grey (decent but not that great)
Chai (yes I looooove chai but mostly in the form of a non-fat latte:) )
and of course Chamomile takes the cake and still holds the title as my top tea for sipping morning, noon, or night!
{Much love from a tea-sippin girl}

Ravine Hike

Last week during Confirmation Camp, one of the afternoon sessions I was assigned to was the Ravine Hike! I was super excited to take a little hike with campers and see nature and take in God's beauty. It was just a little hike, about 45 minutes, but it was still cool to go! We had about 10 kids go with us and they really enjoyed exploring and looking around. The Ravine Hike is really simple, short, and beautiful and I absolutely love it!
{Much love from a girl who loves to hike down to the ravine}

Confirmation Camp Cabin #7

I was a little worried about Confirmation Camp because junior high was not my favorite part of my childhood so I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to relate to my campers. Luckily the Lord blessed me with an AMAZING cabin of girls and co-counselors! Last week I was with Hannah B. and Stephanie and we had 7 girls. They were all great! They got along so well and loved each other and it was so fun to work with them and watch them grow throughout the week. We had awesome cabin time, had fun dressing up and having match braids and side pony tails and wonderful devotions at night. I was really worried but God taught me so much that week and it was so great to have Hannah and Stephanie as co-counselors:)
{Much love from a happy counselor}

Mini- Week Recap

My first week of camp with campers was a success! Ariana and I had 4 girls, two fourth graders and two seventh graders! Interesting dynamics but they all got along so well and were so sweet! I was truly blessed to spend the week with all of them:)
{Much love from a counselor who survived her first week!}

Summer Storm

When I was packing to go to camp this summer we got a packing list from our boss. The list had a poncho or something for the one or two rain storms that we may have over the summer. Like most people, I thought oh there won't be a storm and if there is it won't be too bad! Well today when I got back to ECP, it was a bit overcast and lots of thunder. The thunder kind of reminded me of how powerful and amazing our God is. When we were sitting in our cabin waiting for a meeting at 2:30pm, it began to rain. BIG DROPS. Then it started to rain harder and harder and before we knew it, there was HAIL!!! Our meeting was getting closer and we did not want to have to trek through the rain to the chapel. We were hoping to wait until the rain let up a little bit but that never happened. It just rained and rained and then we finally got up the nerve to face the storm and run to the chapel. Being the smart cookie that I am, I brought an umbrella! It was a good idea! It saved me a little bit from the rain. It had been raining so hard and so much there were already huge RIVERS of water everywhere and it had only been raining about 30 minutes. We tried to jump over them! It has been raining a lot here. Hopefully the weather is nice tomorrow for when campers get here!
{Much love from a girl experiencing a rainstorm}

Mini-Week

This week we only have campers Wednesday-Saturday. I will be in Cabin 8 with Ariana and about 7 campers. They are middle school aged girls. This will be my first week with girls in a cabin. So a new experience is in store for me this week! I am very excited for camp fires, a ravine hike, Bible studies, and evening devotions:) Be praying for the work the Lord is going to be doing in all of our lives!
{Much love from a girl who is excited to meet campers!}

Hope Lutheran Church Day Camp~Temecula, CA

This last week I had my first assignment at Hope Lutheran Church for a Day Camp! YAAAAAY! We had 22 kids and it was a pure joy to work with and love on these kids:) On Sunday, my team and I attended 3 church services and did the Children's Sermon. We taught the kids a song from camp and performed it for the church. This church and congregation was so generous! We stayed at the church and when someone heard that we were sleeping on the floor, they went out and bought us air mattresses! How thoughtful! We were blown away! Each night we went to the home of a family who volunteered to make us dinner and let us use their showers. We ate so well this week!! We were definitely spoiled with smoked roast, porkchops, BBQ chicken tacos, tri-tip, lots of veggies, and showers longer than 30 seconds!
One part of day camp that I was in charge of was the Creation Station(aka Art Room). I got to make sample projects, instruct kids on how to do the projects and help them! I absolutely LOVED it! Crafts and kids are two of my favorite things:) I also had a small Bible Study group of 4 and 5 year olds that I led. I loved being able to work with these amazing kids! It was such a blessing:)
I was very lucky and got to work with an amazing team this week as well! My friend Beth and I were put on the same team and I was so excited! Everyday after the kids left, we cleaned up, and then planned for the next day, we went running! Although I was exhuasted from entertaining kids for 6 hours, being able to go out and go running around the church was so great! It was something that I looked forward to every day:) This past week I was beyond blessed by a very generous congreation, amazing kids, and a wonderful team of counselors! Fortunately I was able to come home for the weekend for Emily's birthday and the 4th of July. On Tuesday I head back up to El Camino Pines for week 2 of campers!
{Much love from a girl that is beyond blessed}

Saying Goodbye

After two weeks of training, our staff of 45 counselors and staff members got really close. This last week we had our first week with campers and we were all at different sites. It was sad to split up but I like to think of it as "dividing and conquoring" and spreading the love of God and impacting the world for the Lord Jesus Christ! It was hard to say goodbye to so many new and great friends but we will soon be reunited throughout the summer at different sites and at the end of the summer for a banquet. It's crazy to think that we have only known each other for two weeks but love of Christ is an amazing thing that brings people together:) When we all departed Camp Yolijwa last week there was lots of hugging and loving. I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing team!
{Much love from a girl who loves her team}

Day Camp Training~Getting Amped!!

One of our days of training included information about Day Camp. Day camp is when we go to churches and do a camp at their church for younger kids. When we were learning about this I was getting sooooo excited! As a Day Camp counselor you get to either stay at the church or in the homes of people from the congregation. At first I didn't think I would really want to work at day camps but after learning more about it I am sooooo excited! I want to do day camps all summer! I love little kids [especially first graders!] and doing arts and crafts..both of which are a huge part of day camp! I can't wait!
{Much love from a girl anticipating day camps}

Guitar :)

For Christmas I got a beautiful guitar and I named her Maggie:) Over winter break I worked almost everyday to semi-teach myself some stuff and if I was lucky, sometimes Robbie would help me out. My boss (and dear friend) Erin assured me that camp is a great place to learn guitar. This really excited me! When I got to camp about 1/3(maybe more!) of the people had guitars. This got me suuuuper excited! One day during our afternoon break after lunch my new [fabulous!!] friend Jessica said she'd help me start to learn how to play. Everyday after that Jessica I and I would play on the stairs outside our cabin. I can now successfully play two songs by heart and it actually sounds like music[mostly]! I prefer to learn by watching and listening than looking at music but any way that anyone will teach me is just fine! It was really cool to come home and play my new songs for my family. Emily was in the other room when Robbie and I were working on it and she came in saying she thought it was Robbie playing. What a compliment! Robbie is soooooo good:) I can't wait to play like him someday!
{Much love from a guitar-lovin girl}

Bear Sighting!

Well this little camp experience of mine has definitely given me some interesting interactions with nature and God's creation. Yes folks I saw a BEAR...a real live BEAR with my own two eyes! It's still a bit unreal to me!! I was sitting outside at Camp Yolijwa by myself late at night on the phone and I look over to the parking lot because I hear rustling and sure enough there is a HUGE bear walking by. It was probably less than 100 feet away from me. I quietly tiptoed back to my cabin. I was scared out of my mind! I thought for sure it would follow me into the cabin. Of course it didn't see me but it was still a frightening experience! Despite the fear that I had of walking around camp at night for the rest of the week, it is still cool to say I saw a bear :)
{Much love from a bear-fearing girl}