Camp Bighorn Day 56 8/14/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 56 8/14/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure came to an end today. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. After devotions we all gathered for announcements. After announcements I headed to my cabin to get ready for the day. Then I headed to the office for our administration meeting. We talked about what we all would be doing that day. I told Jeremy and Dianna what was going on with my dad. I told them I was pretty sure I was heading home for the summer. We ended our meeting with a time of prayer. They both prayed for me and my family. When we finished the meeting I got the mail out before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. We had pancakes for breakfast. They were great. It was fun to catch up with people around the tables. It was fun to hear what some people had planned for the day. After breakfast I got the mail sorted and distributed. When I finished the mail I called my mom to see how things were going at home. She said things were going alright. Dad was in the hospital waiting to have surgery on Tuesday. We decided that would pack up and come home that day. I told Luke and Andrea and Jeremy and Sarah I was heading home that afternoon. I got all of my stuff packed up and in my truck. Janelle and Andrea helped my get my stuff packed in my truck. I talked with Luke and Andrea and got the check for the support I had raised. I waited around for a little while to say goodbye to my friends at camp. I said goodbye to my friends and left camp at about 1:45 camp time. The drive home was quite uneventful. I stopped for lunch in St Regis. Then I drove the rest of the way home. I got home at around 4:15 Spokane time. I got my truck unpacked and called camp to let them know I was home ok. It was really nice to be home. It was great to see my mom. My time at Camp Bighorn was done. I had a really great time at camp. I am glad to be home. That’s all I have to say about my summer at Camp Bighorn.

Camp Bighorn Day 55 8/13/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 55 8/13/2010

My final full day at Camp Bighorn be like any other day. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. After devotions we all gathered for announcements. After announcements I headed back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I headed to the office for our administration team meeting. In the meeting we talked about what everyone would be doing during the day. We ended the meeting with a time of prayer. After the meeting I got the mail out and then headed to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to catch up with people and hear what they had planned for the day. After breakfast I talked with Janelle. We talked about going to the Circle for ice cream after lunch. When we finished talking I headed to the office to see what was going on there. I got the mail sorted and distributed. I checked some things on my computer. I checked e-mail and facebook. I covered the phones. I talked with people in the office. I was in and out of the office until lunchtime. I got permission from Jeremy and Sarah to go in to Plains for a while in the afternoon. We all gathered in the lodge for lunch. It was fun to hear about what some people had been up to all morning. After lunch I caught up with Janelle and we decided to go get ice cream at around 3:00 pm. I went back to the office for a little while to take care of some things. Janelle and I headed into town at around 3:00 pm. We had a good talk driving into Plains. We stopped at the store to get something’s for the kitchen at camp. When we finished at the store we headed to the Circle to get some ice cream. We had a good time. It was fun to hang out and talk with Janelle for a while. She is a very good friend. We had a good talk. When we finished at the Circle we headed back to camp. We got back to camp at around 5:00 pm. When we got back I headed into the office to see what was going on there. Jeremy and Sarah left a little while after I got back. I was heading to my cabin to take a nap when Ruben found me and said my Dad was on the phone for me in the office. I was a little surprised that my Dad would be calling at that time. I got on the phone and my Dad told me he had some shocking news. The news was that he had just had a cardiologist appointment and after an echocardiogram they discovered that he had an aneurism on his ascending aorta. He was told to get to the hospital ASAP. He was driving home when he called me. We talked about how serious his condition was. He was told that if he was not in the hospital and the aneurism burst he would die. He told me he was going home to meet my mom and then they would be going to the hospital. I was shocked and scared by the news that my dad had this major issue. Before I got off the phone I told my dad to call me back if there was anymore news. When I heard all of this all I wanted to do was go home. Suddenly I felt like I was really far away from my parents in their time of need. When I got off the phone I talked with people around camp and told them the news about my dad. I talked with Tom and Terry Collins first. It was nice to know that so many people at camp were praying for my dad and my family. I called my mom a little while later. Mom and Dad were still home when I called. They did not get to the hospital until later that afternoon. I was already making plans to go home at this point. My mom did not want me to come home that night me because I was to emotional to drive safely. She told me to stay at camp for the night and decide what to do next in the morning. We all gathered in the lodge for dinner. The rest of the night is a bit of a blur because I was having trouble focusing on anything at camp. After dinner I got a soda and listened to music on my Ipod for a while. It was nice to just sit and listen to music and think and pray for a while. I listened to my dad and my aunt Fran sing and play the piano. Listening to that music made me feel closer to my dad. After I listened to music for a while I talked with people around camp. I told Trina and several others about my dad. They all said they would be praying for us. I talked with Trina for a while. She prayed for my dad and my family. Then I headed into the lodge. I told some more people about my dad. Jocelyn and several other girls gathered around and prayed for me and my family. It was nice to know that people were praying for my family. When we finished praying we talked a little longer then I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about what was in store the next day. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 54 8/12/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 54 8/12/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books. The reading for the day was called “Liberated Worship.” The main scripture for the day was Matthew 21:1-11. The reading talked about the concept of being liberated in worshipping God. After devotions we all gathered for announcements. Everyone was excited to hear what their jobs would be during the camp that was starting that afternoon. Dave read everyone’s jobs for the week. After announcements I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I headed to the office for the administration team meeting at 9:00 am. In our meeting we talked about what we would all be doing this week. It was good to hear about peoples plans for the week. We closed our meeting with a time of prayer. After our meeting I got the mail out to the box before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what some people had planned for the day. After breakfast I came back to the office and waited for the mail. When the mail arrived I got it all sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office. I was pretty much in and out of the office until lunch time. I answered the phones. I worked on my computer. I checked e-mail and facebook. I talked with people in the office. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge to get something to eat. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear what they had been up to all morning. After lunch I came back to the office and worked at my computer and covered the phones for a while. Andrea and I talked about the information I need to include in a letter about my time at Camp Bighorn. This letter is an update on my time at Bighorn for everyone on my mailing list. I have all the information I need for the letter I just need to put it all together. When I finished talking with Andrea I worked at my computer for a while. I was mostly in the office until around dinner time. I worked at my computer. I covered the phones. I headed over to Jeremy and Sarah’s house at around 6:30 pm for dinner. We had a really great time. We had nacho’s for dinner. They were great. We watched a Gaither DVD while we ate dinner. When we finished dinner we watch “The Princess Bride.” It was really fun to just hang out with Jeremy and Sarah. I was at their house until about 10:00 pm. I left their house and headed back to camp. I got back to camp at about 10:20 pm. When I got back to camp I wandered around and talked with some people. Then I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 53 8/11/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 53 8/11/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. I woke up at 9:00 am. It was nice to get some extra rest. I got up in time to get the mail out to the box before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about peoples plans for the day. Julie made the announcement about the plan for the girls to gather at her house for a movie. After breakfast I came back to the office to take care of the mail. I got the mail sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office to work at my computer and cover the phones. I typed up three blog entries from previous days. It was nice to get caught up on my blog. By the time I finished my entries it was almost time for me to head to the lodge to help get lunch ready. I headed to my cabin to get ready for the day. I got to the kitchen at about 1:15 pm. Most of the work was already being done. I wandered around the kitchen looking for something to do. I came back to the office just before lunch to post the three blog entries I typed up earlier. We all gathered for lunch at around 2:00 pm. It was fun to hear about what some people had been up to all morning. Julie made a reminder announcement about the movie. After lunch I came back to the office for a little while to check some e-mail and facebook. We started getting ready for the movie at around 3:00 pm. We all gathered at the Z’s house at about 3:30. We all stocked up on movie stacks and started “Ann of Green Gables” at about 3:45 pm. All of the summer staff girls that are still at camp watched the movie together. It was really fun to spend the afternoon together. We finished the movie at about 7:15 pm. When I had my stuff packed up and I said good bye I headed back to camp for dinner. I got back to camp at about 7:30 pm. I went to my cabin to drop my stuff off before heading to the lodge to get some dinner. I was late for dinner, but I was still able to fid something to eat. After dinner I listened to music on my IPod for a while. I came back to the office and called my parents at about 9:00 pm. They did not answer the phone so I left a message for them to call me back later. I checked e-mail and facebook. I had a good talk with Jen. I asked her if she wanted to go get some ice cream at the Circle before I left town in a couple weeks. She said she would love to but she would not be around. She is taking a much needed break from camp. She has been a good friend to me while I have been here at camp. We talked for a while. Then my parents called. It is always good to talk with my parents. We had a good talk. I am looking forward to seeing them in less then two weeks. We talked until about 10:30 pm. When I got off the phone I shut down my computer and headed out of the office for the night. Before I left the office I talked with Jen for a little while longer. We talked until about 11:00 pm. We said our goodbyes. It was hard to say goodbye to Jen. I will miss her around camp a lot. I am glad she is getting the break and rest she needs. I hope her time away is good for her. I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 52 8/10/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 52 8/10/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 9:00 am. It was my day off. It was nice to get some extra rest in the morning. I got up in time to get the mail out to the box before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. We had French toast for breakfast. It was great. It was fun to catch up with people around the tables and hear about their plans for the day. After breakfast I caught up with the achieve group. The kids were all getting ready to head back home. It has been great to have them all here at camp for a few days. They all had a great time. I headed back to the office to get the mail sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I hung around with the achieve group for a while. I came back to the office for a little while. The achieve camp was over at 11:30 when the last camper headed home. When everyone was gone I headed to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I was ready I came back to the office and checked a few things on my computer. Then I headed in to Plains for a while. I left camp at around 1:30 pm. I went to lunch at Subway. I had a nice quiet lunch. It was good to get away from camp for a little while. When I finished eating I headed to the grocery store to get some batteries and then the hardware store to get a small tarp. When I finished in town I headed back to camp. I got back to camp around 3:00 pm. I dropped off the tarp and batteries in my cabin. I talked with Faith for a while in the cabin. Then I headed to the office to work on my computer for a while. I walked in and saw Trina sitting at the desk and remembered we were supposed to hike up to the cross after lunch. I totally forgot about that plan before I headed in to town. We talked and decided to just go later that afternoon. We headed up to the cross at around 4:30 pm. The hike up to the cross took about an hour. It was nice to hang out and talk with Trina for a while. We got to the cross at a little after 5:00 pm. We sat up there and talk and rested until about 6:00 pm. We deiced to go to the Circle drive in for dinner when we got back to camp. We got back to camp at 7:00 pm. We headed out at about 7:15 pm. Trina stopped at the store to pick up a few things for camp. Then we went to dinner. We had a really great time just eating and chatting. It was nice to spend the afternoon and evening together. When we got to the Circle we saw Dianna. She was there waiting for Elizabeth. She sat with us for a few minutes. Then Elizabeth got there and they went to their table. We eat our dinner and then had ice cream for dessert. It was very nice. We headed back to camp around 9:00 pm. We had a nice drive back to camp. We got back around 9:30 pm. I headed to my cabin to get ready for bed. I came back to the office and worked on a blog entry for a previous day. When I finished with that I shut down my computer and left the office for the night. I walked around camp and talked to people for a while. Then I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with the girls in my cabin before going to sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us the rest of the summer. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 51 8/9/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 51 8/9/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books. The reading for the day was called “Example Setters.” The main scripture for the day was Hebrews 13:5-17. The reading talked about our desire for good relationships. It talked about the importance of good solid friendships in our every day lives. The friendships you begin at camp will hopefully be lifelong. After devotions and announcements I headed to my cabin to rest for a little while and then get ready for the day. I got the mail out to the box before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear about their plans for the day. After breakfast I came back to the office and waited for the mail to arrive. When the mail finally arrived I got it all sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office. I got most of the pictures from the achieve camp from Jen and put them on my computer and the camp hard drive. I found pictures of each kid with one of their leaders to use for making one of the crafts for the day. Each kid made a picture frame out of twigs. I got the pictures all printed and cut out. I gave them to Mary Russell for the kids to use. I came back to the office and worked at my computer for a while. I checked e-mail and facebook. I had a long talk with Jeremy and Sarah. We talked about how many pictures they want me to put up on facebook. We cleared up some confusion on what they expect me to do with facebook and some other things. We had a really good talk. It is nice to know that they appreciate what I am doing. We talked until just before lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. It was fun to hear about what some people had been up to all morning. After lunch I came back to the office for a while. Then I headed to my cabin to take a nap. I woke up around 5:00 pm and came back in to the office. I was in and out of the office until dinner. We all gathered in the lodge to get something to eat. It was nice to catch up with some people around the tables and hear about what hey had been up to all day. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. I had chocolate chip mint ice cream. It was great. After dinner I walked around camp and talked with people. I came in to the office at about 9:30 pm to call my parents. When my mom called me back we had a good talk. I talked with them for about an hour. It is always good to talk with my mom and dad. I am looking forward to seeing them in two weeks. When I got off the phone with them I headed to my cabin to get ready for bed. When I was ready for bed I caught up with Julie and talked with her and some other girls for a while. Then I headed to my cabin to go to bed. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us for the next two weeks. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 50 8/8/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 50 8/8/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books. The reading for the day was called “The Sacrament of Life.” The main scripture for the day was 1 Peter 4:7-11. The reading talked about the idea that all jobs at camp are important and necessary. It talked about jobs that may seem more spiritual then others. The main point of the reading was that every job at camp no matter how big or small is important. After devotions we all gathered for announcements. When we finished announcements I headed back to my cabin and rested until breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for breakfast at 9:15 am. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. After breakfast I came into the office for a while to check e-mail and facebook. Then I headed to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. I met up with the achieve group around noon I hung around with them off and on until lunchtime. They were playing games and making crafts for most of the morning. They played hide and seek. All the kids really enjoyed that game. When they finished playing they headed to the tent for craft time. The craft for the day was making silly putty. All the kids had a great time making this craft. I came back to the office to work on something until lunchtime. We all gathered for lunch in the lodge at around 2:00 pm. I hung around with the achieve group and rested after lunch. I met up with them again at around 4:00 pm. I headed out with the achieve group to go rafting around 4:30 pm. Everyone had a great time on the rafting trip. It was really cool to see the kids enjoy their rafting experience. That trip was really fun for all of us. We finished our rafting trip and were back to camp in time for dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had been up to all day. After dinner it was chapel and game time for the achieve kids. They were playing baseball. The kids had a lot of fun with that game. After I watched the game for a while I came in to the office to work at my computer for a while. I worked on a blog entry. My mom called at around 10:00 pm. I talked with my parents until it was almost time for curfew. When I got off the phone I shut down my computer and left the office for the night. I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with some of the girls in my cabin before going to sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us the rest of the summer. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 49 8/7/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 49 8/7/2010

The adventure continues. I Woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for active devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books. The reading was called “Sweet Psalmist.” The main scripture for the day was 2 Samuel 23:1-7. The reading talked about the end of David’s life and the Psalms he wrote to praise and thank God for His grace to David. When we finished devotions everyone gathered on the field for the activity for the day. When they headed out to the field I went back to my cabin to rest a little while. I was still not feeling very well. I got up in time to get the mail out to the box before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship in the lodge. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. After breakfast I came into the office and got the mail sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I went back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I caught up with the achieve camp. The group was just coming back from a nature hike and scavenger hunt. The kids hiked up to the cross and hunted for things along the way. They all had a great time. When they finished hiking the kids collected rocks to use for making their craft. They made turtles out of the rocks they collected. I hung around with the group for a little while longer before heading back to the office. I headed back to the office to work at my computer. I checked e-mail and facebook. I was in and out of the office until lunch time. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship around the tables. Some friends from Spokane were here visiting Mindy. I know them a little bit as well, so it was good to see them. After lunch I came back to the office for a while. I organized and sorted some pictures and put them on facebook. I talked with some people in and around the office. I headed to my cabin to take a nap. I was really tired, so it was nice to get some extra rest. When I woke up from my nap I headed back to the office to see what was going on there. Then I caught up with the achieve group. They were playing some games before heading down to the ropes course. I took some pictures before my camera decided to be temperamental and not work for me. I brought my camera back to the office and headed down to the ropes course to watch the kids go through some different parts of the low ropes course. When they finished on the low ropes they headed to the low static course. The kids all really enjoyed the ropes course. It was cool to see these kids participate in a challenging event like the ropes course. There are four kids here this week for the achieve camp. Three out of the four made it part way up the cargo net at the very beginning of the course. One of them made it all the way through the low static course. That was one of my favorite moments of my time here at camp. It was great to see one of the kids, his name is Jonathan, get out of his wheel chair and get all ready to go up on the course. He only got part way up the cargo net, but he loved every minute of his experience. When we finished at the ropes course we cleaned up and headed back to camp just before dinner. We all headed to the lodge to get some food.We all enjoyed reconnecting with people around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had been up to all day. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. I hung around with the achieve group for a while. I came back to the office to use my computer. I checked e-mail and facebook. I played some games on my computer. I typed up and posted my blog entry from the day before. When I finished my blog I shut down my computer and left the office for the night. I went to my cabin to get ready for bed. When I was ready for bed I walked around camp for a while talking with people. I talked with Julie for a while before heading for bed. I finally went to bed around 11:30 pm. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us the rest of the summer. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 48 8/6/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 48 8/6/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading in our devotional books for the day. The reading for the day was called “More Than Just Forgiven.” The main scripture for the day was 2 Samuel 11. The reading talked about the story of David and Bathsheba. It talked about David seeking Gods forgiveness for his sins. It is a comfort to know that God will always forgive our sins. All we have to do is ask. When we finished with devotions we gathered in our family groups. It was good to get caught up on what everyone in our group had been up to all week. We finished with a time of prayer for each other. Then it was time for announcements. The different team leaders announced meeting times. There were a few other announcements as well. After announcements I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was ready I got the mail out to the box and headed to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what some of the campers and staff had been up to all week. Parents arrived all morning to pick up junior campers. At 10:00 am we all gathered upstairs in the lodge for a slideshow of junior camp. It was fun to watch the campers watch the show. After the slideshow and chapel most of the kids and parents headed over to the store to get some treats for the road. A few people from my church were here to pick up kids. It was good to see some friends from home. After chapel I sorted and distributed the mail. When I finished with the mail I met with the group working with the Achieve Camp this week. The Achieve Camp is a camp for kids with moderate to severe mental or physical disabilities. Mary Russell is running this camp. She is very excited to bring a camp like this to Bighorn. Mary asked me to be a photographer for the camp. I am excited to take pictures of the kids adventures during the week. At the meeting we talked about the kids who were coming. We cleaned up the cabin they would be staying in. It was a very interesting meeting. We met until lunchtime. All the junior campers were gone before lunch. Then it was time to head to the lodge to get some food. It was good to connect with people over lunch and hear about what they had planned for the next week. After lunch I went to my cabin to take a nap. I was so tired it was nice to take a rest in the afternoon. I got up at around 4:15 pm. I got my camera and headed over to the Lone Ram Ranch across the street from camp. The first activity the kids did was horse back riding. All the kids and staff had a lot of fun with the horses. It was really cool to see the kids interact with the horses. After I took pictures for a while I headed back to camp around 6:00 pm. I headed back to the office and sat in there for a while. I sat in front of the air conditioner for a little while to cool off after being outside in the heat of the day. I was in the office until dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship around the tables. We had barbeque chicken for dinner it was really great. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. I came back to the office to type up and post my blog entry for the previous day. When I finished with my blog I got ready for our girls dorm party. I got this huge care package from my mom with lots of food in it. I had enough to share so the girls in the dorm had a party. We had a great time just eating junk food and talking. The party started in the library and ended up in my dorm. Everyone who came had a great time. After the party we cleaned up the dorm and talked for a while. I talked with some of the girls in my dorm until after 10:30 pm. We had a great talk. It was interesting to hear what they thought about the kids who are here for the Achieve Camp. I was able to tell them a little bit about having back surgery when I was nine years old to correct a major case of scoliosis. I got ready for bed at around 11:00 pm. I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with the girls in my dorm before going to sleep. We all got a case of the giggles around the time we were supposed to be going to sleep. We all fell asleep around midnight. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 47 8/5/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 47 8/5/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. I woke up at 8:30 am. I was still not feeling very well so I slept through devotions in the morning. I got up in time for breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear about their plans for the day. After breakfast I got the mail out to the box before heading to the office for our administration team meeting. At the meeting we talked about what everyone would be doing during the day. I was still not feeling well so after our meeting I sorted and distributed the mail I went back to my cabin and slept until lunch. I woke up from my nap and went to the lodge to get something to eat. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. After lunch I came back to the office for a while and covered the phones. I type up a blog entry for the camp website. I read for a while. I went back to my cabin to do my devotions for the day. The reading for the day was called “Serving those you don’t like.” The main scripture for the day was 1 Samuel 19. The reading talked about the story of David and King Saul. It talked about how we can and should behave toward people we may not get along with very well. When I finished my devotions I came back to the office. I covered the phones and talked with people in the office. Then it was time for dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for some to eat and catch up with each other. It was fun to hear about what everyone had been up to all day. After dinner I wandered around camp for awhile. I had a soda. It tasted great on a hot day. I hung out in the staff lounge for a while. I headed back to my cabin to get cleaned up. It was a very hot day so it was nice to get clean before I headed for bed. When I was cleaned up headed over to the lodge and sat on the steps for a while talking with people and watching the junior campers playing a game. I came back to the office and typed up and posted my blog for the day. When I finished with my blog I shut down my computer and headed over to the lodge to see what was going on there. I talked with Beth and some others who were talking over there. When we finished talking I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with the girls in my cabin for a while. We all eventually went to sleep. I fell asleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 46 8/4/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 46 8/4/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 7:00 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:15 am. We went through the reading in our devotional books for the day. The reading for the day was called “Wanted – Lifelong Friend.” The main scripture reading for the day was 1 Samuel 18:1-16. The reading talked about the lifelong friendship between David and Jonathan. It talked about what the Bible says about being friends for life with people. When we finished devotions we all gathered for announcements. After announcements I headed to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I headed to the lodge for breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. When I finished eating I got the mail out to the box and then headed to the office for the administration team meeting. In the meeting we talked about what everyone would be doing during the day. I was still feeling sick so I decided I should just be around the office for the day. After our meeting I sorted and distributed the mail. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office and worked on my computer for a while. I checked e-mail and facebook, I put some pictures on the camp hard drive. I covered the phones. I headed to my cabin to take a nap around noon. It was nice to get some extra rest. I woke up in time for lunch at 1:00 pm. We all gathered in the lodge to get something to eat. I enjoyed hearing about what people had been up to all morning. It is fun to hear the campers talk about their adventures. After lunch I headed back to the office for the afternoon. I covered the phones and talked with people in the office. I was in the office until dinner. We all headed to the lodge to eat at around 6:00 pm. We all enjoyed catching up with people over dinner. After dinner the campers gathered for chapel. They all had a great time singing and learning about the story of David. I had a soda and walked around camp for a while taking in everything that was going on around camp. I came back to the office to type up and post my blog for the day before. At around 9:00 pm the game for the evening began. The game was a summer staff hunt. During the staff hunt Janelle and I talked in the lodge. We had a good talk. I always enjoy talking with Janelle. She has become one of my good friends here at camp. After I talked with Janelle for a while I headed back to the office to call my parents. We had a great talk. It is always nice to talk with them. It is good to know that they are doing well at home. I have really missed being home since I have been sick the last few days. I am enjoying my time at camp but I am looking forward to heading back home in a few weeks. I talked with my parents until just before curfew. When I got off the phone with them I shut everything down for the night and headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with the girls in my cabin for a while then went to sleep. I fell asleep thinking about the adventure that are in store for us the rest of the summer. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 45 8/3/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 45 8/3/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. I woke up at 7:00 am. We all gathered in the lodge for active devotions at 7:15 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books. The reading for the day was called “David and Goliath.” The main scripture reading for the day was 1 Samuel 17. The reading talked about how the story of David and Goliath relates to our lives today. When we finished our devotions we headed out to the field to get some exercise. I walked out to the field with the group. When they started the activity I walked back to the lodge because I was not feeling very well. I have been fighting a cold for the last few days. I waited in the lodge for everyone to come back. When everyone was done with active devotions we all gathered in the lodge for announcements. After announcements I went back to my cabin to rest until breakfast. It was nice to get some extra rest. I got up and got ready for the day before heading to the lodge to get some food. We had pancakes for breakfast. They were great. After breakfast I got the mail out to the box. Then I headed back to the office for the administration team meeting at 9:30 am. In our meeting we talked about the events of the day and what everyone would be doing. After our meeting I got the mail sorted and distributed. I headed out to take pictures of the events going on around camp. I took pictures at the kiddy climbing and zip line area and at the archery and riflery ranges. It was fun to see the campers enjoying these events. I came back to the office for a while before heading down to the ropes course to take more pictures. I got lots of great pictures of the campers experiencing the adventures of Camp Bighorn. When I finished at the ropes course I came back to the office for a little while. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had been up to all morning. The store was open after lunch. The campers were excited about the possibility of stocking up on candy. I headed to the store to see how things were going. I talked with Garrett about the plan for the afternoon. We agreed that the rest of the administration team could cover taking pictures of the afternoon events. I headed to my cabin to take a nap. I was still not feeling very well. It was nice to get some extra rest. I slept from 2:15 pm until 4:45 pm. When I woke up I headed back to the office to see what was happening there. I wanted to go swimming but I was not feeling well so I decided to go a different day. I was in the office until dinner. We all gathered in the lodge to get something to eat. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear about what they had been doing all afternoon. After dinner the campers all gathered for chapel at 7:00 pm. The campers enjoyed the music and the story at chapel. The story for the week is about the life of David. After chapel I came back to the office and worked on my computer. I typed up a blog entry for the camp website. I talked with some people in the office. I listened to music on my IPod. I typed up my blog entry for the day before. When I finished typing and posting my blog entry I shut down my computer and was headed for bed. My mom called at around 10:30 pm. I talked to her for a few minutes. When I got off the phone I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with the girls in my cabin for a while. Then I went to sleep. I fell asleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 44 8/2/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 44 8/2/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 7:00 am. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:15 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books. The reading for the day was called “God sees the inside.” The reading talked about the fact that man looks on the outward appearance of a person but God looks at the heart. The main scripture reading for the day was 1 Samuel 16:1-13. After devotions it was time for announcements. Luke announced what jobs everyone would be doing for junior camp this week. Everyone was very excited to find out what they would be doing during the week. After announcements I went back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I finished getting ready I headed to the lodge for breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship around the tables. After breakfast I went to the staff lounge and the office to get the mail out for the day. I discovered that someone had already taken care of getting the mail out for me. The administration team met at 10:00 am to talk about the week. We have several summer staff people on our administration team this week. We talked about what everyone would be doing during junior camp. After our meeting I got the mail sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I hung around in the office for a while. I used my computer to check my e-mail and facebook. I covered the phones. I talked with some people in the office. I was pretty much in the office until lunchtime. We all gathered in the lodge to get something to eat. It was fun to talk with some people over lunch and hear about their plans for the week. After lunch I went to my cabin to take a nap. I was not feeling very well so it was nice to get some extra rest. I got up from my nap around 4:00 pm. I headed back to the office to see what was going on in there. The first group of junior campers arrived early. Junior camp registration began at 5:00 pm. Most of the campers arrived by 6:00 pm. The group coming from Shiloh arrived at about 6:15 pm. My dad and my brother Terry drove some of the kids from Shiloh. It was good to see my dad and brother for a little while that evening. My dad brought me a huge care package my mom put together for me. I had a good time catching up with dad and Terry. They headed back home at around 8:00 pm. I was really home sick when they left. I wanted to go home with them. After they left I showed some people the care package my mom sent. There was so much stuff in it to share that we decided to have a party for all the girls in the dorm some time this week. That should be fun for everyone. I came back to the office to type up and post my blog entry for the previous day. When I finished with my blog I called my mom. We had a good talk. I thanked her for sending me an awesome care package. It is always good to talk with my mom. After we talked for a while I got of the phone and headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I got back to my cabin and talked with some of the girls in my dorm. After we talked awhile we all went to sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that are in store for us the rest of the summer. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 43 8/1/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 43 8/1/2010

The adventure continues. I slept in until 8:00 am. It was nice to get some extra rest. I got up in time for breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some food and fellowship. We had fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They were great. After breakfast I went back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready to go to church. When I was ready to go I wandered over to the lodge and talked with some people sitting on the lodge steps. We headed to church at around 10:30 am. I got in my truck and headed to church. I left camp before the vans. I arrived at church at about 10:50 am. I really like the CMA church a lot. It is fun to go to the church that most of the camp staff attends. The service was really great. The music and the sermon were both really good. Some of the Camp Bighorn summer staff helped lead worship. The service ended at around noon. Mindy, Janelle and I all piled in my truck and went to Subway for lunch. It was fun to hang out with them for a while. We had a nice quiet lunch at Subway. Janelle and I had the day off so we did not have to rush to get back to camp. When we finished eating we headed back to camp. I dropped Janelle off at her house. Then Mindy and I headed back to camp. We got back to camp at around 1:30 pm. We thought we had missed lunch. It turns out that lunch was not until 2:00 pm. So when the lunch bell rang I headed in to the lodge and just sat and talked with people while they ate. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear about their plans for the week ahead. After lunch I came back to the office and used my computer for a while. I check e-mail and facebook. I talked with some people in the office. At around 5:00 pm I started my laundry. While I waited for my clothes to be finish I sat out side and listened to my Ipod for a while. At around 6:00 pm I put my clothes in the dryer. I was finished with all of my laundry just before dinner at 7:00. When I had all of my clothes all folded and put back in my dorm I headed to the lodge to get some food. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It is always fun to hear about what people have been up to during the day. After dinner I had a soda and some ice cream for dessert. When I finished my ice cream I headed back to my cabin to put my clothes away and straighten up my room a bit. I get ready for bed and then headed back to the office to type up my blog for the previous day. When I finished typing and posting my blog I called my parents. My mom called me back and we had a good talk. I had a good talk with both of my parents. They just got new phones at our house so they are still figuring out how they work. It is always good to talk with my parents. We talked until it was almost time for me to get to bed. When I got off the phone I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about all the adventures that are in store for us in the following days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 42 7/31/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 42 7/31/2010

The adventure continues. I got up at 8:00 am. It was nice to sleep in a bit. I woke up in time for breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. The group that was here for camp this week left after breakfast. They headed out at around 9:00 am. I got the mail out to the box at around 9:15 am. Then I headed back to the office for a while. I worked at my computer, covered the phones, and talked with people in the office while I waited for the mail to arrive. When the mail arrived I got it sorted and distributed. When I finished with the mail I talked with some people in the lodge for a while. I headed back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was almost to my cabin Jeremy asked me to come back into the lodge and help get lunch ready. So I got some shoes out of my cabin and headed back to the lodge to help get set up for lunch. I helped set the tables and got the water for each table. When I finished helping set the tables it was almost time for lunch. So I sat for a few minutes and waited for lunch. My back was giving me trouble so it was nice to sit for a few minutes and rest my back. We all gathered for some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear what people had been up to all morning. After lunch I helped clear the tables and clean up the lodge. When I was finished in the lodge I went to my cabin to lay down for a while to rest. My back was really bothering me by the time I finished in the lodge. So it was nice to rest a bit. When I woke up from my nap I got ready for the day. I came in to the office for a while and checked some things on the internet. I checked e-mail and facebook. I left the office and wandered around camp and talked with people for a while. I came back to the office and talked with Anna and Dianna for a while. I covered the phone for a while. Just before dinner I decided I wanted to go to Subway. So I got permission to leave camp for a while and headed to Subway to get some food. I had a nice quiet meal. It was good to get away from camp for a little while. When I was finished eating I headed back to camp. I got back to camp at around 7:30 pm. When I got back the lodge was being decorated for a retro themed dance party. The party was for Mike and Makalie Zdenek’s 16^th birthday. Before the party I sat on the lodge steps and talked with some people for a while. Everyone was getting dressed in retro costumes for the party. It was very amusing to watch them getting ready for the party. The party began at 8:30 pm. It was lots of fun. We all had a great time dancing and just having a good time together. I walked around and took some pictures of the party. I will post them on facebook when I get a chance. The party rapped up with a slideshow of Mike and Makalie. They are twins. There birthday is actually August 29^th, but they wanted to have a party while all the summer staff people were still here. After the slideshow we all danced a little bit more. Then it was time to get to bed. Jim announced that our new curfew of 10:30 pm was starting that night. He made this announcement at about 10:35 so we were all late for curfew that night. After the party I headed to my cabin to get ready and go to bed. I talked with some of the girls in my cabin and then went to sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that were in store for all of us in the coming days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 41 7/30/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 41 7/30/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for group devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading for the day in our devotional books until 7:45 am. We met in our family groups until 8:15 am. In our family groups we caught up with each other and talked and prayed about how our week had gone and what we were struggling with. When we finished meeting in our groups we all gathered in the lodge for announcements. After devotions and announcements I talked with Beth for a little while. I had a bad morning because my back was hurting really bad and it was frustrating me. It was nice to talk with Beth for a little while. I felt really bad for complaining to her about my back trouble. When we finished talking I headed to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. I decided I wanted to be extra comfortable today because my back was really bothering me, so I wore my sweats all day. After I got cleaned up I got the mail out and headed to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. After breakfast I headed back to the office. The mail came just as I was getting to the office. I got the mail sorted and distributed. After I finished with the mail I came back to the office to put some more pictures on the camp hard drive. When I finished with the pictures I gave the hard drive to Mindy and Garret. They put together a slideshow of the pictures from the week to show at the last chapel later that night. I sat in the main part of the office for a while covering the phones and talking with people in the office. I was around the office until lunchtime. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. After lunch I came back to the office. I used my computer to check a few things on the internet. I checked e-mail and facebook. I helped Nancy find some music she need for a slideshow she is putting together. We found the music she was looking for but I had no way to get the music from my ipod to a different computer. I moved my computer back out to the main part of the office. I decided I wanted to work out there for a while. I listened to music on my computer for a while. I covered the phones. I typed up my blog entry for the day before. When I finished typing and posting my blog it was almost time for dinner. I headed out of the office and talked with Andrea for while. We had a really great talk. She helped me to think about why I am here at camp and what my purpose is while I am here. I always feel a lot better after talking with Andrea. We headed over to the lodge to get some food. We had barbeque chicken sandwiches. They were great. We all enjoyed great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had been up to all day. After dinner we had ice cream for dessert. I had a combination of chocolate chip mint and cookies and cream. I enjoyed every bit of it. I finished my ice cream and got a soda and headed upstairs to the last night of chapel. Chapel was really fun. They talked about and showed how the group had united during the week. It was cool to see and hear how God was working in the lives of the entire group. We all watched the slideshow that Mindy and Garret put together. The group really enjoyed that. When we finished upstairs we all headed downstairs in the lodge to watch some of the girls do some Irish and Scottish Highland dancing. They are danced very well. It was fun to watch them. At about 9:40 pm everyone gathered outside the lodge to play capture the flag. I came back to the office to listen to my ipod and type up my blog for the day. Jen came in and commented on the fact that I was listening to Celtic music on my ipod. I told her I was listening to my Chieftains collection. She thought that was cool. Jocelyn came in a little while later and we talked for a few minutes. I am just about ready to rap up my blog entry and head to bed. I will check out what is going on around camp. Then I will head to my cabin to get some rest. I wonder what adventures are in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 40 7/29/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 40 7/29/2010

The adventure continues. My day began with active devotions at 7:30 am. Everyone piled on the camp bus to go to the activity for the morning. I stayed at camp because my ankle was giving me trouble. So I went through the reading in my devotional book in the lodge. The title of the reading for the day was “Oops!” The main scripture for that day was Psalm 135. The reading talked about the fact that God is never surprised by the events in our lives. He never says oops. When I finished my devotions I prayed for a while. When I finished praying I waited in the lodge for everyone to get back to camp. When everyone got back I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I came into the office and met with Jeremy for a few minutes. We agreed that I would work on sorting and organizing pictures on the hard drive. He also wanted me to make a mailing list of some new camp contacts without e-mail addresses. After we met I got the mail out and headed to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. The mail arrived before I finished my breakfast. I was sitting next to Dianna. She saw the mail arrive and proceeded to give me the play by play of the mail drop off. It was really funny. When I finished eating I sorted and distributed the mail. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office. I moved my computer out of Jeremy and Sarah’s office because the senior staff was going to meet in there. I sat in the main office for the morning working at my computer. I downloaded some pictures onto the camp hard drive. I typed up the mailing list Jeremy asked for. I was in the office for most of the morning. I answered phones and checked e-mail and facebook. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered to get something to eat and enjoy some fellowship around the tables. After lunch I came back to the office. I moved my computer back into Jeremy and Sarah’s office. I typed up a blog entry for a previous day. I got some receipt letters ready to mail. I wrote some thank you notes. By the time I finished all of that it was time for dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for great food and fellowship around the tables. We had tacos. They were great. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear what they had been up to all day. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. After dinner I came back to the office and worked on my computer for a while. I put more pictures on camp hard drive. I typed up my blog entry for the day before. When I finished typing and posting my blog I went down to the library to do my exercises. When I finished my exercises I came back upstairs and called my parents. My mom called me back and we had a good talk. I had a good talk with both my mom and dad. We talked until about ten minutes before curfew. When I got off the phone I shut down my computer and headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that were in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 39 7/28/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 39 7/28/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. My day began with devotions at 7:30 am. We all gathered in the lodge to go through the reading in our devotional books for the day. The title of the reading for the day was “Empowered by the Holy Spirit.” The reading talked about what it means to be empowered by the Holy Spirit while working at camp for the summer. The scripture reading for the day was Ezekiel 36:22-32. After devotions and announcements I went back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I finished getting ready I got the mail out and then headed to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. We had pancakes. They were great. After breakfast I came back to the office and waited for the mail to arrive. I checked some things on my computer. I checked e-mail and facebook. When the mail arrived I sorted and distributed it. After I took care of the mail I went back to the office. I was going to be out taking pictures of some of the events around camp but my ankle was hurting really bad. So I spent most of the morning in the office covering phones and working on my computer. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some food. It was nice to catch up with some people and hear about what they had been up to all morning. After lunch I came back into the office and checked my e-mail and covered the phones. I worked on my resume for a while. I am feeling stressed about not having a job lined up when I get back to Spokane. I got an e-mail from my sister in law about things I need to fix on my resume. She was very encouraging. However after I read her e-mail I suddenly felt really stressed. I talked with Sarah, Beth, and Andrea about what I was feeling stressed and over whelmed about. They all help me to calm down and relax about the situation. It was good to talk with all of them. When I was done talking with them I made some copies of a couple of applications and resumes for Luke. Then it was time for dinner. We all gathered for great food and fellowship at the tables. It was fun to hear about what some of the campers and staff had been up to all afternoon. After dinner I had a soda and some chocolate cake. I sat out on the lodge steps and watched the thunderstorm. It was really fun to just sit out and watch the rain and lightning and listen to the thunder. I joined a group of people sitting on the lodge steps. We talked and watched the storm for a while. While we were talking Dianna told us part of her life story. It was fun to learn about her life a little bit. She told us about a plane crash she was in when she was 17 years old. Her mom died in the crash. Some parts of the story were hard to hear. Dianna is a survivor in every sense of the word. God has protected her many times in her life. We talked for a while longer. Then I headed into the lodge to see what was going on in there. It is really great to be around people who are having fun just being together. I hung out in the lodge for a while then headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I talked with some of the girls in my cabin for a while. Then I got ready for bed and lay down to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about what was in store for us in the days ahead. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 38 7/27/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 38 7/27/2010

The adventure continues. My day began at 7:30 am with active devotions. We all gathered in the lodge to read the passage for the day in our devotional books. When we finished reading our personal devotions we headed out to the field to get some exercise. I went outside for a while and then headed back to the lodge to finish the devotional reading for the day. When I finished my reading I prayed for a few minutes. They everyone came back into the lodge. We gathered for announcements. When we finished I went to the office for an administration meeting. We went over what was happening this week. We got caught up on how things are going for everyone. We talked about what events we would be involved with during the week. I would be taking pictures of the ropes course and rock climbing. I was excited to get out and get pictures of what is happening around camp. After our meeting I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. Then I came back to the office and got the mail out before heading to the lodge for breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. After breakfast I came back to the office and typed up my blog entry for a previous day. When I finished my blog entry I collected, sorted, and distributed the mail. When I finished with the mail I headed out to take pictures of the ropes course and rock climbing. I took a few pictures of the guys on the low ropes course. I headed over to the rock climbing area to take some pictures. Then my camera ran out of batteries. So I had to go back to the office to get different batteries. When I had new ones I walked back to the ropes course and took a few more pictures. Then as I was heading to the climbing area again the same thing happened with my camera. I went to the office again to get new batteries. When I got new batteries for my camera and a helmet for myself I went back down to the climbing area. I decided I would try to take pictures of the climbers first. Just in case my camera broke down on me again. I took some pictures of the climbers. I hiked up to where they were climbing so I could get some better shots. After I was up there for a while I headed back to camp. I got back around lunch time. I was pretty much done for the day when I came back to the office. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for food. We all enjoyed great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what everyone had been up to all morning. After lunch I was in the office for the afternoon. I went down to the ropes course again to take some pictures but when I got there no one was around. I walked back to the office and decided I would not go back down to the ropes course because my ankle was giving me trouble. It was hurting so bad I was having trouble walking. So I hung around the office and worked at my computer for a while. I checked my e-mail and facebook. I responded to some e-mails. Then it was time for dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. I talked with Janelle for a while. We had a good talk. After we talked for a while I headed upstairs in the lodge to go to chapel. I took some pictures of the chapel service. It was fun to see how the group was bonding after just two days. It was cool to hear how God is working in their group. After chapel I came back to the office and typed up my blog entry for the day before. When I finished my entry I called my parents. We talked for a while. It is always good to talk with them. They are enjoying their summer. After we talked for a while I got off the phone and headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that were in store for us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 37 7/26/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 37 7/26/2010

My Camp Bighorn Adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for staff devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading in our devotional books for the day. After devotions we gathered for announcements. Luke announced what jobs everyone would have for the camp that began later that day. Everyone is always very excited to find out what they will be doing during the week. After announcements I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I got the mail out and headed to the lodge for breakfast. It was nice to catch up with some people around the tables. After breakfast I came in to the office. I checked some things on the internet while I waited for the mail to arrive. I checked e-mail and facebook. When the mail arrived I sorted and distributed the mail. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office and sorted and organized pictures on my computer. I was mostly in the office until lunch time. I covered the phone. I checked some things on the internet. I talked with some people in the office. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. After lunch I came back to the office. I worked at my computer for a while. Jeremy showed me how to use the camp database. He showed my how to add people to the camp mailing list. I worked on that for a while. I enjoy doing things like that. I had some trouble reading the hand writing. I added a few names to the list and then I was done. I intended to finish the stack I still had to go though later. When I finished with the mailing list I left my little corner of the office and went out to the main office. I sat in the office and cooled off a bit. I talked with some people in the office. I covered the phones. I finished typing up my blog entries from a couple of days before. When I finished with my blog entries I hung around in the office until dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for dinner. Adventure camp 5 officially began at dinner. It was great to have a big group here for camp. Everyone was very excited for camp to begin. We all enjoyed great food and fellowship around the tables. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. After dinner I walked around camp and talked with some people until chapel began at 8:30 pm. We all gathered for chapel. Everyone had a great time at chapel. They went over some of the camp rules. Then they played some games. Everyone had lots of fun. After chapel I came back to the office to shut down my computer for the night and call my parents. I called my parents using my phone cards. I asked them to call me back because I am running low on minute on my phone card. They called me back and we had a good talk. It sounds like things at home are going well. It is always good to talk with my parents. We talked until it was almost time for me to get to bed. When I got off the phone I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. When I got to my cabin at abut 11:15 people were still up talking. I was glad that people were still awake. It took a while for everyone to calm down and go to sleep. I went to sleep thinking about the adventures that were in store for us in the coming days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 36 7/25/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 36 7/25/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 8:00 am. I got cleaned up and ready for the day. Then it was time for breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They were wonderful. After breakfast I finished getting ready for church. I went through the reading in my devotional book for the day. When I finished my devotions it was time to leave for church. I drove my truck and followed the vans to the CMA church. We got to church at 10:45 am. I really enjoy the CMA church. A lot of people from Bighorn attend. The service was really great. The message and the music were both very good. The pastor who was preaching that day switched up the order of the service. So the sermon was first and the music was at the end of the service. I liked that a lot. I like having music after the sermon. It closes out the service very well. After church I headed back to camp. I stopped at the gas station to fill up my truck with gas. When I finished at the gas station I headed back to camp. I got back to camp at around 12:30 pm. I headed to the lodge to help get lunch ready. I helped in the kitchen until lunch time. I helped make the dough for the cornbread for dinner. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered for some great food and fellowship. It was nice to catch up with some people. After lunch Mindy and I got permission to leave camp. We drove to St Regis and wandered around there for a while. We went to some of the shops in town. Then we headed to Missoula to do some shopping. When we got there we went to Best buy and looked around in there for a while. Mindy was looking for a new laptop computer. She talked with a sales person about what kind of computer would work best for her. I looked around the store for a while. Then we left and went to Staples and looked around in there for a while. I found a car charger for my iPod. I have needed on for a while. It will be nice to be able to listen to my iPod in my car. We left Staples and headed to Barnes and Noble. We wandered around in the store for a while. I had not been to Barnes and Noble for a while. It was nice to wander around in there for a while. I found and bought a box of thank you notes. I should mention that Mindy was on her cell phone pretty much the whole afternoon. We don’t get cell phone coverage at camp. So she was returning messages and calling people while she could. When we finished at Barnes and Noble we headed Wal Mart to pick up some things. When we finished there we headed to McDonalds for dinner. I had not eaten at McDonalds since I have been at camp. When we finished dinner we headed back to camp. Mindy called camp when we got to McDonalds to let someone there know that we would not be back for dinner. We had a fun afternoon. It was fun to hang out with Mindy for a while. We got back to camp at about 9:30 pm. I headed to the office to check some things on my computer. Then I went to my cabin to get my phone card. I came back to the office to call my parents. We had a really good talk. My mom told me about a family crisis that came to a head this weekend. Everyone involved is doing much better and getting back on track. Praise God. He is doing a great work in the lives of those involved. After I talked with my parents for a while I got off the phone and headed to bed. I went to bed thinking about what was in store for all of us in the next few days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 35 7/24/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 35 7/24/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 9:00 am. It was nice to sleep in a bit on my day off. I got the mail out before breakfast. We all gathered in the lodge for some food and fellowship around the tables. After breakfast I came into the office and worked at my computer for a while. I waited for the mail to arrive. I checked e-mail and facebook. I played some games on my computer. I hung around the office until about noon. I headed back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I went through the reading for the day in my devotional book. I am enjoying the readings in the devotional book. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some food and fellowship. It was fun to hear about what everyone had been up to in the morning. After lunch I wandered around and talked with people. I was in and out of the office. It was a very quiet day around camp. I used my computer to check some things on the internet. I checked e-mail and facebook. I played some games on my computer. I talked with the people in the office. Then it was time for dinner. We had dinner at 6:30 pm because a group was going to see Toy Story 3 at a movie theater in Plains at 8:00 pm. It was really fun to go out with a group of camp staff for the evening. We all piled in the vans at about 7:20 pm to head to the movie. We arrived at the theater at 7:45 pm. The movie was great. It was fun to be there with people form camp. When the movie was over we all piled into the vans and headed back to camp. The van ride back to camp was most interesting. Listening to a bunch of teenagers talk about what ever is on their minds is always entertaining. We got back to camp at around 10:00 pm. When we got back I came into the office to call my parents. I talked with my mom for a few minutes. We had a short conversation because she did not have much time to talk. When I got off the phone I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about what adventures were in store for us in the following days. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 34 7/23/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 34 7/23/2010

The adventure continues. I woke up at 7:15 am. We all gathered in the lodge for group devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the devotional reading for the day in 15 minutes. We meet with our family groups until 8:15. All the staff gathered for group announcements after devotions. After devotions and announcements I went back to my cabin and got cleaned up and ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I got the mail out and then headed to the lodge for breakfast. It was nice to catch up with people and enjoy some great food and fellowship around the tables. After breakfast I met up with the facilities crew at 10:00 am. We opened the day with prayer. We prayed for the staff and campers and the events they would all be participating in during the day. We prayed for safety for everyone throughout the day on the different events. When we finished praying I sorted and distributed the mail. I helped the facilities crew clean up the staff lounge and the lodge. Then I came back to the office to work on some things at my computer. I put some finishing touches on my resume. It is nice to have that all done and ready to send out. I checked e-mail and facebook. I responded to some e-mails. I talked with some people around camp. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some great food and fellowship. After lunch I came back to the office for the afternoon. I covered the phones. I read while I was covering the phones. I read parts of four different books. I began with C.S. Lewis and ended with Ravi Zacharias. When I finished reading I covered the phones for a while longer. Then I got some receipt letters ready to mail. I worked on the letters from 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm. I had to find some money for going to see Toy Story 3 with a group of staff from camp. I asked Janelle if I could barrow two dollars from her. I would pay her back when I had some cash. She said that would be fine. I got the money from Janelle and I had enough to cover the movie. I went to turn in my money to the Tabitha. She was in charge of collecting the money for the movie. I tried to pay for my ticket and she told me someone paid for me already. She would not tell me who paid for me. I have a pretty good idea who paid for my ticket, but nothing has been confirmed. I was pleasantly surprised that someone would do that for me. So I found Janelle and gave her money back to her. I was in the office until dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for some food. It was nice to catch up with some people and see what they had been up to all day. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. I came back to the office and typed up my blog entry for the day before. When I finished my blog entry I left the office and talked with Mindy and Mary for a while. After I talked with them for a while I came back to the office to call my parents. We had a good talk. It is always good to talk to my parents. When I got off the phone I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about what was in store for us the next day. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 33 7/22/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 33 7/22/2010

My day began with active devotions at 7:30 am. We all gathered in the lodge to go through the reading in our devotional books for the day. Then we headed outside to hike or run up to the cross. The hike up to the cross was very contemplative for me. I tried to pray but I was unable because I was too focused on not falling. It was really cool because I felt the presence of God. It was like He was right behind me saying “I am right here. I will not leave you alone. You can do this.” That was a very powerful time. When we all got back down to camp I thanked God for keeping us all safe on the hike up to the cross. After announcements I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I got the mail out and then headed to the lodge for breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. It was fun to hear about what people had planned for the day. After breakfast I met up with the facilities crew. We started the day with prayer. We prayed for the camp and the campers who would be participating in events around camp. We prayed for strength and courage for the staff leading the events. When we finished praying I sorted and distributed the mail. When I finished with the mail I caught up with the facilities crew. I was supposed to work with them for the morning. I had some job search stuff I needed to get done. So I worked on that for most of the morning. I updated my resume. I sent a copy of it to my sister in law Ami. I asked her to look it over and let me know if I should change anything. I checked e-mail and facebook. I responded to some e-mails. I listened to music on my ipod. I was in the office for most of the morning. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge to get some great food. It was nice to catch up with some people and hear about what they had been up to all morning. After lunch I came back into the office. I answered the phone. I checked some things on the internet. I listened to music on my ipod. I checked e-mail and facebook. I typed up and posted a blog entry for the day before. I talked with some people in the office. Then we all gathered in the lodge for dinner. We all enjoyed some great food and conversation around the table. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. We had ice cream for dessert. It was great. I had a bowl of cookies and cream and chocolate chip mint. Those are my two favorite flavors of ice cream. It was a nice treat. When I finished my ice cream I sat out on the lodge steps and talked with Janelle for a while. We had a good talk. She is a very nice person. After we talked for a while I came back to the office to check my e-mail. Then I shut down my computer and left the office for the night. I headed over to the lodge and hung out in the staff lounge for a while. Beth and I talked for a while. We had good talk. It is always good to talk with her. I stayed in the lounge until about 10:30 pm. Then I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I was really tired, so it was nice to get to bed early and get some extra rest. I went to sleep thinking about what was in store for us the next day. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 32 7/21/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 32 7/21/2010

The adventure continues. We all gathered in the lodge for devotions at 7:30 am. We went through the reading in our devotional books for the day. After devotions and announcements I went back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. When I was ready for the day I collected the mail and got it out to the box before heading to the lodge to get some breakfast. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship. After breakfast I caught up with the facilities crew. We gathered for a while to pray. We prayed for the staff, the campers, and the upcoming events for the day. After we prayed we divided up the jobs for the morning. I sorted and distributed the mail. My back was giving me trouble for most of the morning, so I was unable to help the facilities crew very much. I was in the office working on my computer. I typed up some job search information. I typed up a brainstorming list my sister in law Ami and I wrote up a while ago. I typed up my resume. I checked e-mail and facebook. At around noon I headed outside to get some fresh air. Beth and I talked until lunch. We had a really good talk. We talked about how her back is doing. She has a major back problem as a result of an accident she was in a while back. She is trying to figure out how to make the back pain go away. I can relate to all of that because I have had back problems my entire life. We talked about cross country and track. I told her some stories about some friends of my back home. It was nice to talk to her for a while. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge to get some food. It was nice to catch up with some people and hear about what they had been up to in the morning. After lunch I came back to the office. I covered the phones. I used my computer to check some things on the internet. I was in the office from about 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. I went to my cabin to take a nap around 5:00 pm. I was so tired I was falling asleep on my way back to my cabin. It was nice to get some rest. I woke up at 6:30 pm. I came back to the office for a little while. Then it was time for dinner. I did not eat very much dinner because I was not feeling well after my nap. After dinner I had a soda and some dessert. It tasted great. At 8:30 I went upstairs in the lodge for family camp chapel. It was cool to hear about what everyone had been up to all day. It is really awesome to see how God is working in the lives of the families here for camp this week. After chapel I came back to my computer and typed up and posted my blog entry for the day before. When I finished my blog entry I called my parents. I had a good talk with both my mom and dad. It was nice to talk with them for a while. We talked until it was time for me to head to bed. When I got of the phone I headed over to the lodge to see what was going on in there. I ended up playing Apples to Apples with a group of people. We had a great time playing the game. We finished just before curfew. I headed back to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to bed thinking about what was in store for all of us in the next day. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 31 7/20/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 31 7/20/2010

My day began with active devotions at 7:30 am. We all gathered in the lodge to go through the reading for the day in our devotional books. Then we all went out to the field to get some exercise and play some games. We ran or walked some laps around the field then gathered to do some sit ups and push ups. We went through that routine twice. Then the rest of the group played modified rugby. After devotions and announcements I headed back to my cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day. I finished getting ready just before breakfast. So I got the mail out and then came back to the lodge to get some food. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship at the tables. It was fun to hear about what everyone had planned for the day. After breakfast I sorted and distributed the mail. Then I caught up with the facilities crew. I would be working with them for the morning. We prayed for the camp and the people here. It was a good time of connecting with God and the other people in our group. When we finished praying we went through the list of things to do for the morning and divided up the jobs we would be doing. It was fun to get to work with a different group for a little while. We cleaned up the store, the office, the bathrooms, and the laundry room. I worked with the facilities crew until lunch time. I was tired when I was finished. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge for some food. It was fun to reconnect with people and hear about what they had been up to in the morning. After lunch I headed back to the office. I covered the phones and worked on my computer. I posted a blog entry. I checked e-mail and facebook. It was a quiet day in the office. I was pretty much in the office from about 4:00 pm until dinner. I covered the phones and distributed some mail. I talked with some people in the office. Then it was time for dinner. We all gathered in the lodge for some food. After dinner I got a soda and had some dessert. I came back to my computer and typed up and posted another blog entry. When I finished my blog I called my parents. I left a message and my mom called me back a little while later. We had a good talk. I also had a good talk with my dad. It was really nice to talk with them for a while. We talked until it was time for me to get to bed. When I got off the phone I shut down my computer and was headed to my cabin to get to bed. However, I went over to the lodge and talked with some people for a while. We talked until just before curfew. We had a nice talk. I was talking with Mindy and Janelle. They are both really nice and friendly. We talked about going out together some time when we all have a day off. It was nice to connect with them. After we talked for a while I headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I had some trouble getting to sleep. I finally went to sleep thinking about what adventures were in store for us in the days a head. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 30 7/19/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 30 7/19/2010

My day began with devotions at 7:30 am. We all gathered in the lodge to go through the reading in our devotional books for the day. I really enjoy this time it is a good time to pray and connect with God. We are all usually tired at 7:30 am but we all seem to get a lot out of our devotional time in the morning. After devotions we had a time for staff announcements. The directors of the different departments around camp announced when and where their teams would be meeting. Luke announced what jobs everyone would have during the family camp that would begin later that day. Everyone is always really excited to know what they will be doing each week. After announcements I caught up with Sarah. She said the administration team would be meeting at 8:45. I was not feeling very well so I went to lie down in my cabin until our meeting. After I rested a little I went back to the office for our meeting. In the meeting we went over what we would be doing during the week. Jeremy and Sarah will be gone from Tuesday to Sunday. They and Dave and Judy McPhee are going to Creation Fest. They will be leaving on Tuesday after breakfast. My job description is pretty much the same as always. I will be in the office answering phones, taking care of the mail, organizing and sorting pictures, I will do some write ups for the facebook page and the website. I will also be working with the facilities crew in the mornings during the week. After our meeting I got the mail out and then headed to the lodge to get some breakfast. I had some coco puffs I bought at the store the day before. They were great. We all enjoyed some great food and fellowship around the tables. After breakfast I went back to my cabin and took my vitamins and some aspirin and went back to bed for a while. I was still feeling sick. So I rested as much as I could. I got up and came back to the office to wait for the mail to arrive. I chatted with Jen, Dianna, and Samantha in the office. When the mail finally came I got it sorted and distributed. After I finished with the mail I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day. Then I came back to the office to work at my computer and cover the phones for a while. I sorted and organized some pictures on the camp hard drive and put them in a photo album on facebook. I posted a blog entry. I was in the office until lunch time. We all gathered in the lodge for some food. After lunch I went to my cabin to rest for a while. I listened to my ipod for a while then went to sleep for a bit. I woke up around 5:00 pm. I came back to the office and used my computer for a while to check e-mail and facebook. I saw a guy that I worked with when I worked here in 1999. His name is Jay. He and his girlfriend were here visiting. I sat outside and talked with Andrea for a while. I headed back into the office until dinner. We gathered in the lodge to get some food. It was fun to catch up with some people and hear about what they had been up to all day. After dinner I got a soda and some dessert. It was great. I wandered around camp for a while. Jay and his girlfriend were still here. They were talking to Zach Vanderwall. I went over to where they were standing and said hi to Jay. It was good to see him. We all had a nice time talking and catching up. It was fun listening to Jay and Zach talk about their past adventures. After a while Mindy wanted to use my computer so I came into the office and logged on to my computer for her to use. Then I went back outside. Jay and Zach talked till about 9:30 pm. Then Zach headed home. I came back to my computer to type up my blog. I also checked some things on the internet. I talked with some people in the office. When I finished my blog I was going to call my parents, but it was too late. I shut down my computer and headed to my cabin to get some sleep. I went to sleep thinking about what adventures were in store for us the next day. More on that later…