Camp Bighorn Day 10 6/29/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 10 6/29/2010

The adventure continues. My day began with active devotions at 7:30 am. We read our devotional reading for the day then headed out to the field to get some exercise. We played a type of freeze tag and one other game. After devotions I went back to my cabin and got cleaned up and ready for the day. We had an administration meeting before breakfast. I got the mail out before heading to the lodge to get some food. I sorted and delivered the mail after breakfast. Then I headed to the ropes course to take pictures of the junior high group that was going through the activities there. I came back to the office awhile later and rested and cooled off. It was very warm today. I worked at my computer and answered the phones. Then it was time for lunch. We all gathered in the lodge to eat. It sounds like the second day of camp when well for everyone. People are getting into the grove of summer camp. After lunch I headed back to the ropes course to take more pictures. It’s fun wandering around taking pictures of the different activities. Watching the campers figure out ways to accomplish tasks they are given is really exciting. The groups really come together and work as teams. I came back into the office a bit later. I feel like I accomplished a lot today. I was ready to rest when I came back from the ropes course. Back in the office I talked with some people and answered the phone. Sarah and Jeremy got back from a rafting trip at around 4:00 pm. I was sorting organizing pictures when they got back. I worked at my computer a while longer. Sarah said I was done for the day at 5:00 pm. I used my computer to put some pictures up on facebook. I was in the office until they left for the day. I listened to music on my ipod and sat outside until dinner. It was nice to just relax and listen to music and taking the beautiful views around camp. I headed to the lodge for dinner. It was nice to reconnect with some people at dinner. Everyone has been really busy. We are all tired. After dinner I talked with some people. Then I went to the high school camp chapel. Everyone had a good time at chapel. There was a thunder storm during chapel. I missed the whole thing. I heard the thunder but that was it. After chapel I walked around camp for a while talking and taking pictures. I came into the office to call my parents. I got voice mail so I left them a message. I am now sitting at my computer typing my blog for today. I am headed to bed. I wonder what adventures are in store of us tomorrow. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 9 6/28/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 9 6/28/2010

The summer camping season started today. The day started with devotions at 7:30am. We did the reading for the day in our devotional books. After devotions I had some time, I went back to my cabin and got cleaned up and ready for the day. I got the mail out to the mail box before breakfast. I then headed to the lodge to get something to eat. After breakfast the administration team met to talk about what we would be doing this week. Day campers arrived at around 10:00 and camp was officially begun. I caught up with my friend Cori Vanderwall. She was here dropping off one of her kids for day camp. Cori is a good friend of mine from home and from camp. We have known each other a long time. It was nice to see her today. After we finished our meeting I came into the office for a little while. I went out and took some pictures of day camp. I then came back to my computer and uploaded the pictures on the camp facebook page. Jeremy saw the pictures right after I posted them and commented that day camp had just started and there were already pictures of it up on facebook. I said yeah I just put them up. He and Sarah were very impressed. Throughout the rest of the morning I walked around and took some more pictures and posted them on facebook. People were surprised to see pictures of day camp up on facebook so fast. Before lunch I caught up with my friend Jessica Edwards. She will be here for day camp this week. She is teaching the kids gymnastics. She is an old friend from camp. I we have known each other a long time. Every time I came to camp when I was a kid Jessica was here on staff and involved with something. She is one of my favorite people. It was nice to see her today. I worked at my computer organizing some pictures before lunch. Then I headed to the lodge to get some lunch. I took some pictures around the lodge during lunch. I came back to the office and went through some pictures and answer some phone calls. I had a nice chat with Jen Henderson. She is a very cool, friendly person. She also works in the office. Around 5:00 Jeremy and Sarah took a break and went down to the river. About that same time I headed out of the office to do my laundry. By the time my laundry was almost finished it was time for dinner. I headed to the lodge to eat. After dinner I finished my laundry. The store was open after dinner so I spent my last dollar on a nice cold coke. It was very refreshing after a very warm day. The junior high campers had their chapel meeting at around 7:45 this evening. I went to chapel for a while. It was fun to see the kids and staff together. After chapel I talked with some people. I came back to the office and called my Mom. We had a nice chat. My parents are on a road trip to Colorado for the annual meeting of the Baptist General Conference which is now known as Converge World Wide. When I got off the phone with my Mom I came back to my computer to write up my blog for the day. I am about ready to head to bed. The first day of camp was really fun. I wonder what adventures are in store for us in the days ahead. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 8 6/27/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 8 6/27/2010

My Camp Bighorn adventure continues. I got up a little after 8:00 this morning and got cleaned up and ready for the day. We gathered for breakfast at 9:15. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They were great. After breakfast I met up with the girls I was going to coffee and church with. We left camp a little after 10. We had a fun time hanging out and talking in the car on the way to church. It was fun to get to know some of the girls on staff. They are all very nice and friendly. We stopped for coffee and then headed to church. Two of us went to the CMA church and the others went to the Bible Chapel. Church was very good. Lots of the camp staff was also there. So, it was nice to see some people I kind of know. That helped me not feel out of place. The worship and the sermon were really good. This morning’s message was about modesty and purity. After church I talked with some people. I spoke briefly with Tom and Terry Collins. Tom saw me and asked how my time at camp has been so far. I said my time has been good so far. I am still adjusting to everything. He gave me one of the biggest bear hugs he has ever given me and said I really appreciate you. That was very nice to hear. I was very encouraged by that statement. Tom and Terry Collins are two of my all time favorite people. They are really amazing, enthusiastic, and wonderful people. Seeing them once in a while has made my adjustment to camp a bit easier. After church Tegan and I sat outside and talked while we waited for the other girls to pick us up. We had a really good talk. It was nice to get to know Tegan a little bit more. On our way back to camp we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some things. We got back to camp right before lunch. I was supposed to help with lunch, but I did not get back in time to help. After lunch I had the afternoon off. This afternoon was very relaxing. I typed up my blog entry for yesterday. I hung around and talked with some people around camp. I took a short nap. I read for a while. I came back into the office and checked some things on my computer till dinner. Then it was time to eat. We had left over’s from the week. That was an interesting variety of food. I a coca cola and a kit kat for dissert. Mindy wanted to use my computer so we came back to the office and she checked some things online. I Asked Andrea if I could use a phone in the office to call my parents. She said that was fine. I called my parents and talked with them for a while. We had a good talk. Today is there 36^th Wedding Anniversary!!!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!! They had a fun day together today. When I got off the phone with them I walked around camp a little bit and took some things to my cabin. I am now at my computer typing my blog for today. I am about ready for bed. The first week of camps starts tomorrow. I wonder what adventures are in store for all of us. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 7 6/26/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 7 6/26/2010

My first full week at Camp Bighorn is coming to a close. My day was quite relaxing. I got to sleep in a bit in the morning. I got up at 8:45 am and got ready for the day. I got the mail out before breakfast. We all gathered for breakfast. I got the mail sorted and distributed after breakfast. When I finished with the mail I came back to the office and worked at my computer and did some things around the office. Jeremy, Sarah, and I got some letters ready to mail. We talked for a while. When we finished with the letters Sarah went out to take some pictures. I answered the phone for the first time here at camp. It was pretty easy and fun. I think I did a good job with it. The phone did not ring much for the rest of the day after that. Sarah came back right after I got off the phone. Jeremy and I told her she just missed me answering the phone. I told her it went well. She was glad to hear that. I put the pictures Sarah took on the hard drive and camp facebook page. Around the time I finished with that Jeremy and Sarah were talking about taking the rest of the day off. I asked them and Andrea Underhill if I could leave camp for a little while. I needed a little break from camp. They all said I could head out for a little while and to check in when I got back to camp. I headed into Plains and had lunch at Subway. It was really good. It was nice to just have some time to eat and think about things. I got back to camp a little after 2:00pm. I hung out in the lodge and talked with Andrea for a while. We had a good talk. She is really a cool, sweet person. After we talked for a while I came back to the office to cover the phones until 4:00pm. No one called. I was listening for the phone to ring and trying to not be nervous about answering it. There were a couple calls after 4:00pm but I did not answer them. I did not know if I was still supposed to answer phones. I am still learning what people expect of me around the office. I was done for the day at 5:00pm. I used my computer for a while I read over and edited my previous blog entries. I enjoyed reading what I had written. I read and listened to music for a while outside. I had another favorite moment here at camp. I was sitting on a bench outside the lodge listening to Glen Payne and Guy Penrod singing the Southern Gospel song Haven of Rest, looking around at the beautiful scenery, and worshiping God. It was fabulous. I love Southern Gospel Music. It is the best music in the world. After that I walked around camp a little. I came back to the office and hung out till dinner. We had another fancy dinner last night. We had stir-fry, it was really good. The kitchen crew served us. They did a very good job. The store was open after dinner. I got a nice cold coke. It was really great. I hung out and talked with people until it was time for bed. I made a plan with some of the girls to ride to church together and get coffee on the way to church. I headed to my cabin and got ready for bed. I went to sleep thinking about what would happen tomorrow. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 6 6/25/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 6 6/25/2010

Life at Camp Bighorn is good. I am still adjusting to my new environment and new job. My day began with devotions at 7:30am. We did our individual devotions then got into our family groups and got caught up with each other and prayed. It was a good time of connecting with people in our group. We all talked about how our experience at camp has been so far. It’s good to know that I am not the only one who has struggles in life. God is using our struggles to teach us about ourselves and others. He is helping me get used to my new surroundings. However, I still feel homesick sometimes. After devotions I got cleaned up and ready for the day. I collected the mail before breakfast. The food at camp is amazing. The kitchen crew has really stepped up because Dave McPhee, the director of guest services, got sick a few days ago and will be gone from camp till after day camp next week. After breakfast I came into the office and talked with Jeremy and Sarah for a while. They had a staff meeting at 11:00 am. While they were in there meeting I organized some pictures on the camp hard drive and facebook page. When I was finished with that I checked e-mail and facebook. I posted my blog entry on my blog and facebook. I was unable to post it last night because the internet server was down. I chatted with some people in the office. I took a little walk part way up a trail behind the cabins. I walked for a while and then turned around and came back to camp. I then took a nap until lunch time. I was very tired it was nice to rest for a little while. I got up and went to lunch. I got caught up on what some of the staff had been up to this morning. Everyone here is very nice and friendly. After lunch I met up with Sarah and Jeremy. We planed out the afternoon. I came back to my desk and organized pictures on the hard drive and facebook page. I put too many pictures in the staff training photo album so I got rid of lots of pictures. When I finished with that Jeremy showed me how to post pictures on the Camp website. Then we went over how I am supposed to answer phones and take messages. I will start answering phones tomorrow probably. We were done for the day a little after 5:00 pm. I checked my e-mail and did some other things on the internet. I went outside and read for a little while. It was very warm and sunny today. I came back to the office and checked my e-mail. Then it was time for dinner. We all had a good time catching up with each other while we ate. The camp store was open after dinner so I was able to buy a nice cold coke. It was very good. I hung out in the lodge for a while talking with one of the girls on summer staff, her name is Julie. Her dad Jim is the director of operations here at camp. It was nice talking with her for a while. I came back to my computer for a while and played some games and checked e-mail and facebook. I went back outside and chatted with some people for a bit. I am back at my computer typing up my blog entry for today. I am heading for bed. I wonder what exciting things are in store for us tomorrow. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 5 6/24/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 5 6/24/2010

My Camp Bighorn Adventure continues. The day began with active devotions at 7:30 am. The activity for the morning was ultimate Frisbee. This game is very popular at camp. I did not play but I was out there cheering for the people who were playing. It was exciting to watch. After ultimate Frisbee we came back into the lodge for individual devotions. We did the reading for today in our devotional books. At the end of devotions this morning we all gathered outside the lodge and sang and worshiped together. That was probably my favorite moment of my experience so far at Bighorn. There is something very peaceful about worshiping God and singing praises to Him and observing how others enter into worship. I loved it. After devotions I went back to my cabin and got ready for the day. I collected and put out the mail before breakfast. We all gathered for breakfast at 9:15am. There is a great spirit of community here at Camp Bighorn. I am still working my way into the community. It gets better each day. After breakfast I distributed the mail. Handling the mail is one of my favorite parts of my job. Everyone gets really excited when they see me coming with the mail. I had three big boxes to carry over to the staff mail boxes in the lodge. I thought I could handle them. However about half way to the lodge I knew I was probably going to drop something. At that very moment one of the girls on staff came over and asked if I needed some help. I said yes I would like some help. She took half the stack and I took the other half. Then I came back to the office and uploaded some pictures of staff training on the camp hard drive and the camp facebook page. We had kind of a lazy day in the office. It was really warm and sunny outside. So Sarah and I sat outside and talked for a while. When it got too warm for me outside I came back to my desk and finished sorting through the staff training pictures. I was finding the best pictures we had taken and putting them in a favorite photos folder. These pictures will be used on the camp website and other promotional material. When I finished sorting the pictures it was time for lunch. I enjoyed reconnecting with people and hearing about what they had been doing all morning. After lunch I came back to the office and relaxed for a little while. Camp is really quiet when everyone is out training. When Sarah came back she showed me how to save picture for use on the website in photoshop. I picked out the ten best pictures from the favorite folder to use on the website. When I finished that I went and took a nap. I have been really tired today. When I woke up I came back to the office and wrote up a little update on facebook about how staff training is going and what the staff is doing this week. When I finished that I was done in the office for the day. I get to learn how to answer phones and take messages tomorrow. I am a little nervous about this. When I left the office I wandered around camp for a while. I walked down to the ropes course to see what they were doing there. They were working on the high ropes part of the course. I stayed there a few minutes then walked back toward the office. While I was walking around I felt really homesick. I hope things will pick up around here soon and I won’t feel like I want to go home all the time. I sat outside in the shade for a while and just enjoyed the beautiful day. I came back to my desk and updated my schedule and calendar. Then it was time for dinner. We had a formal dinner tonight. It was really fun the kitchen crew all dressed up and came around to our tables and served us our food. We had tacos, they were great. After dinner Mindy wanted to use my computer. I got her set up to use my computer. We sat in the office and talked while she checked her facebook page and some other things. Then I went to my truck to get a soda. Warm coca cola leaves something to be desired. I got some ice for it in the kitchen so it was ok. I sat outside and talked with some of the staff people for a while. Then I came back to my computer to write my blog for the day. I am about ready to head to bed. I wonder what adventures are in store for us tomorrow. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 4 6/23/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 4 6/23/2010

The next day of my Bighorn adventure began at 7:30 am with staff devotions. We went through today’s reading in our devotional books. After devotions I had some time before breakfast. I went back to my cabin and got cleaned up and ready for the day. Before breakfast I collected the outgoing mail and put it in the mail box. I went back to the lodge for breakfast. I don’t usually eat much breakfast at home, but here if you don’t eat in the morning you don’t eat at all until 2:00pm. After breakfast I came into the office and met up with Jeremy and Sarah. I uploaded some more pictures on the camp hard drive and then put them in an album on the camp facebook page. With a bit of prompting from Jeremy and Sarah I typed up a little write up about summer staff training to post on the Bighorn webpage. That was really fun. Both Sarah and Jeremy really liked what I wrote. I felt like I was contributing to something really important. Sarah and Jeremy are really nice. They are fun to work with. After I finished the write up for the webpage Jeremy got my computer hooked up to the camp printer. He was very proud of himself for figuring out how to accomplish that task. He did a little dance around the office. I updated my calendars and schedules for the summer and printed them out just to make sure my connection to the printer worked. Then Sarah and I went over to the camp store to restock some things. When we finished she told me I could take a break until after lunch. So I went back to my cabin and took a short nap. I got up in time for lunch. Lunch was fun. It is nice to reconnect with people and see what they have been up to all day. After lunch we came back to the office. Sarah and I talked about practicing answering phones. I was not quite ready to start that today. Answering phones and taking messages makes me nervous. I need to get over this and just try it. I am not there yet. This afternoon I went down to the ropes course and took some picture of the training that was happening there. I also got some pictures of the operations training that were going on at the same time. It was really fun wandering around camp taking somewhat random pictures of the things that are happening and some of the surroundings. Camp Bighorn is always really pretty. When I got back to the office after taking some pictures I had a good chat with Luke and Andrea Underhill. They are very cool people. They are the directors of Camp Bighorn. Andrea was working on a presentation for the 25^th Anniversary of Camp Bighorn. This celebration will be over Fourth of July weekend. It sounds really fun. After I talked with Luke and Andrea for a while I came back to my desk and wrote my blog entry for the day before. I want to try to update my blog everyday. We’ll see how far I get with it. People who have read it say they are enjoying it. When I finished my entry I wandered around camp for a while before dinner. I talked with some people and enjoyed some sunny weather. Then it was time for dinner. After dinner I helped get some things ready for day camp next week. I help cut out some waves for an ocean theme craft. It was fun. Several other people helped with drawing, tracing, and cutting things out. At around 9:00 pm I came back to my computer to type up my blog entry for today. Someone has asked to use my computer before lights out so I should rap this up. Camp is going very well. I am slowly but surly getting used to things around here. I am about ready for bed. I wonder what adventures are in store for tomorrow. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 3 6/22/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 3 6/22/2010

My next day at Camp Bighorn began with active devotions at 7:30am. Everyone gathered in the lodge then we went out to the field to get some exercise. We ran or walked laps around the field. When the whistle blew we met our family groups at one of the cones set up in the middle of the field. In our groups we did exercises like push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and the last thing we did was stretching. We ran or walked laps between exercises. I was only able to run one lap because I was not dressed properly for running. I walked the laps and did the exercises the best I could. Everyone did what they could at their own pace. It was cool to see everyone working together and encouraging each other. After we exercised we all came back into the lodge for personal devotions. We went through the next day in the book I mentioned before. After devotions I went back to my cabin and took a nap before breakfast because I was not feeling well. I got up in time for breakfast at 9:15 am. We had a great breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and sausage. It’s one of my favorite camp breakfasts. After breakfast I came into the office to sort through and deliver the mail. I am still waiting to get some mail. Sorting the mail is fun. I like seeing who gets what. I still learning where all the mail is supposed to go. I hope I will have that figured out soon. Later that morning Jeremy and I reviewed my job description and responsibilities. We reviewed some information about different cameras that are available for use at camp. Before lunch Jeremy and I went out and took some picture of some of the staff training. I took some pictures of the climbing training. It’s fun to just wander around and observe life at camp and take some good pictures in the process. After I finished taking pictures I dropped my camera off in the office and went to my cabin for a nap before lunch. I woke up again in time for lunch. It was a good time of catching up on what everyone did in the morning in the training they had. After lunch I came back to the office and uploaded the pictures we took earlier onto the camp hard drive and then into an album on Bighorn’s facebook page. Throughout the day I talked with some people around camp. Everyone here is very nice and welcoming to me. Jeremy showed me how to update the camp website. He asked me to look at the website and let him know if anything needed to be changed or fixed. I mentioned that the last camp for the summer was not on the schedule. He fixed that on the site so now the information is correct. Jeremy, Sarah, and I talked about how to answer the phones and what to say when I answer the phone here. I have not answered the phones yet. I am trying to work up the courage to do this. Before dinner I uploaded and organized more pictures and posted them on facebook. I chatted with some friends on facebook. At dinner I reconnected with some of the summer staff people. It was fun hearing about what they had been doing all day. After dinner I had the candy I bought the day before and a coco-cola from my truck. I had a good talk with some of the summer staff people. It is nice to know that there are people here I can talk to when and if I need to. After we talked awhile I came back to the office and wrote my next blog entry. I headed back to my cabin just before lights out. I went to sleep thinking about what adventures we would have the next day. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 2 6/21/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 2 6/21/2010

Day two of my Camp Bighorn adventure began with devotions at 7:30 am. This was my first early morning in a while. The camp staff is working through a devotional book designed for summer camp staff. The book is called The Shield: A ten week Christ centered devotional book for camp staff. We all gathered in the lodge to do our individual devotions and to pray. After devotions I had some time before breakfast so I went back to my cabin and got ready for my first full day at Bighorn. We ate breakfast at around 9:15 am. There is a great sense of community here at Bighorn. I am the new kid in town so I am trying to find people to sit with at meals and not just sit by myself. After breakfast at around 10:30 I met with Jeremy and Sarah Freeman. We went over my job description and some of my responsibilities for the summer. Throughout the summer I will go out and take pictures of various camp events like the ropes course, rock climbing, rafting, and everyday camp life. I will then download and organize the pictures on the camp hard drive and post them on Bighorn’s facebook page and website. When I am in the office I will also be answering phones. I still need some practice with managing the phones and taking messages and such. I will be gathering and distributing mail every day. I am working on figuring out what mail goes where. It’s fun sorting out the mail to see who gets what. I have not received any mail yet. (Insert sad face here). I will also be helping in the camp store mostly with managing inventory and crowd control when the store is open. After we went over my responsibilities Jeremy and Sarah showed me around the store and where the inventory for the store is kept. They showed me some of the places events will happen. Before lunch I read through a booklet about how to write my personal testimony. The booklet gives examples of what should be included in your testimony to make it relatable to campers seeking Christ. Then I wrote a short version of my testimony in the back of the book to share with my small group hear at camp. We all gathered for lunch at 2:00 pm. It was fun to hear about what the other staff members did all morning. After lunch I came back to the office and Jeremy and I talked about the selection of digital cameras the camp has and which ones will work best for us. I took a little trip into Plains to get some Coca-Cola to keep in my truck. I got back to camp around 5:30 pm. I wandered around and talked to people until dinner at 7:00 pm. My first full day at camp was kind of quiet but also eventful. I am slowly figuring out what is expected of me everyday. The camp store was open after dinner. I got some candy from the store. I then discovered that my two favorite kinds of ice cream were being served in the lodge. So I had a bowl of cookies and cream/chocolate chip mint ice cream for dessert. It was great. I came back into the office to write my blog entry for the day. Then I went to bed. I talked with some of the girls in my cabin and went to sleep wondering what was going to happen the next day. More on that later…

Camp Bighorn Day 1 6/20/2010

Camp Bighorn Day 1 6/20/2010

The day I left for camp began like any other Sunday morning. However something was very different. I would not be going home after church. Mom’s car and my truck were all packed with things I would be taking with me to Camp Bighorn for the summer. Church that morning was great as always. The worship and the sermon were wonderful. After church I said good bye to my friends and family. Once we left church we were off to camp. On the drive to camp I was a mix of every emotion you could name. I was, excited, nervous, frustrated, stressed, and sad to leave home. I was mostly excited, but unfortunately sometimes my nerves got the better of me. Along the way we stopped at McDonalds for a “fancy” fathers day lunch. It was nice to spend the day with my mom and dad. They are two of my hero’s. Thanks mom and dad for taking time out of your schedules to help me get to camp. We arrived at camp around 4:30 Montana time. Shortly after we arrived we met up with Jeremy and Sarah Freeman. They are the Administration directors and my supervisors for the summer. The Freemans and I agreed that we would meet in the morning to discuss my responsibilities at camp this summer. I think I will enjoy being a part of their team. After meeting with the Freeman’s I began to unpack. Upon first inspection of the dorm I would be living in I had a flood of insecurities. I wanted to go home right then and there. The bed that was left for me was not going to work well for me. The space was smaller than I thought it would be. I was just overwhelmed by everything at that moment. I eventually found one of my roommates, her name is Faith, and told her what the situation was. She said she would gladly switch beds with me. So that little problem was solved. My parents left a little while after that. After they left I wondered around for a while meeting some new people. I am still trying to remember people’s names. My first night at camp was really fun. It was nice to just kind of take everything in and observe people. When I got back to my dorm that night before I went to bed I was feeling really homesick. I talked to one of my other roommates, her name is Samantha, and she was very encouraging to me. She kind of talked me down and helped me to relax. She prayed for me. That helped a lot. After we prayed I got ready for bed and read my bible before I went to sleep. I went to sleep thinking about what the rest of the summer had in store for me. More on that later…