Camp Formosa 2009

Here are the details -happenings at camp this year and my thoughts on the subject- that I said I might elaborate on in my last post.

Like I said last time, both weeks of camp this year were great. Maybe it was just me, but I felt this year was particularly good. When you get a big group of people together, drama and ill feelings and things of that nature, are likely to abound. And that has held true in years past. But this year, the drama ratio, it seemed to me, was way down. And people seemed to get along a lot better. Especially at junior camp. The staff all seemed to work together really well, and when the people you are working with get along, and you get along with them as well, it makes things so much nicer. And easier. Now don't get me wrong, not everything was peachy keen 100% of the time, but nothing in any situation is ever peachy keen 100% of the time. With that in mind, things turned out pretty well.

I think one of the reasons the staff got along so well in the working environment is friendship. Most of us have known each other for years and are friends outside of camp. The friendship amongst us has been there in the past, but it seems to have deepened. I may be way off on that assessment, but that's what I perceived. And it was, and still is, very encouraging to me. Everyone of those people that was at that camp during the two weeks, I love dearly. Like I mentioned in my last post, I am thoroughly convinced that I have the greatest friends and family (I am related to some of them, after all) ever. I am also convinced that the body of Christ is one of God's greatest blessings. I can't wait until I can see all of them again.

This is a camp for kids, and there were plenty of kids there both weeks, so I suppose I should mention them, too. ;-) We had some great kids. I wasn't sure what I was going to be doing either week, so when I ended up helping in the music class the first week, I was pleasantly surprised. That was right up my alley, and so much fun. I wore myself out doing it, because I was dancing around for three hours straight every morning, but I still had a blast. What was the best for me was when the kids who were totally not interested finally caught this spark in their eye and opened their mouths, or *gasp*, did hand motions. Whenever those kids engaged, even if it was for a few brief seconds, I wanted to jump for joy (and coincidentally, we actually sang a song about jumping for joy, so it would have been entirely appropriate).

During the second week, besides running around and doing whatever I could and just being there to hang out with the kids and keep an eye on things, I led a small group with one of my cousins every night. I love small groups. They are very conducive to discussions and really helped me to start opening up when I was younger. They still help me to open up. I felt really good about our group all week. The girls were great and I was happy about how quickly they seemed to open up. Besides that, what excited me was the fact that I was actually able to lead those girls and say things that engaged them and I didn't just sit there like a fly on the wall and let my cousin do everything. Leading a small group may not seem like a big deal, but a few years ago, I wouldn't have thought that I would be capable of such a thing, due to the fact that I am not inclined to talk much of the time, nor am skilled in that area, and tend to feel like everything I do say does not relate to anyone at all. It just goes to show that it's not about me and what I can do, but what God can do. Even through me.

Those are just a couple of highlights. Another one was when a girl came up to me and said with a smile on her face, "I just got saved." I'm still excited about that one. Oh, and on the last day of the second week, my brother and I sang the downhere song "Great Are You" a capella style. I have been dying to sing a downhere song for ages. And that one was the perfect one. It was a last minute decision, so had we planned ahead we might have been able to procure some other instrumentation, at least a guitar. But it worked, I thought. I liked the simplicity. Simplicity fits nicely with that song.

I could go on and on about all kinds of things that happened, but I'll attempt to avoid rambling instead. I definitely can't wait to get back to that place. I'm hoping that this year I'll be able to make it to more than just one retreat between now and next summer. And I'm also hoping that I'll get to spend some time with at least some of the fantastic friends I have there outside of the camp environment. Maybe gas prices will plummet. And then I can run over to Arkansas much more frequently. I'm optimistic. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. I definitely don't.



P.S. - I mentioned a newly added TV to my bedroom in my last post and how I hoped I wouldn't start watching it a lot. I am happy to say, that I haven't watched it yet. So apparently I really am just as not interested in the TV as I thought I was, and I wasn't just making it up because it was easy to say because I didn't have a TV around to watch all the time. Good to know. Now if I can somehow be just a little less interested in the computer....