June 23
Today was a great day! Another day, another quest! Adventure Quest is our camper program. On Saturdays we have Day Quest where the camp is open to the public or for rental for the day. But today, me and two friends (above!) had our own adventure. After a morning of lifeguarding, we took the train into the gorge, got off, hiked a little ways and played in the river. I love the gorge.
This place is now one of my favorite places in the world. It feels way bigger in real life! A picture can't let you experience the warmth of the sun, the sound of the leaves and wildlife, or the rush of the river. If you want to visit, just let me know! ;)
Week 4 of camp is about to start! The first 3 weeks were great. Week 2 was especially encouraging to me. All seven of my girls (ages 11-13) were noticeably changed by the end of the week. Every night they wanted to talk about God until after lights out. They told me things like,
"I've never felt this close to God."
"I felt empty before I came, but now I have so much joy!"
"I know now that God loves me and will never leave me."
"God answers prayer!"
We prayed together, cried together, shared what God did together, and had adventures together. I loved them so much. I can only hope they continue to grow in Christ as they grow up! :)
May 31
It would be a little hard to sum up what's happened since May 18th. But I've turned 20 (woohoo!), been certified as a lifeguard, and nearly completed my staff training. Below is a picture of my awesome bruises from tubing the Doe River the other day. I fell out in a rapid (common occurrence) and banged both my knees on the rocks.
 | |||
| Me, Catherine, Sarah-Catherine (whom I fondly call Scooch), and Patrick on our way to another day of lifeguard training. |
May 18
Today, my group did two of the activities on our track which we will be doing with our campers all summer. Below are a few pictures from rappelling. After rappelling was a vertical challenge course called the Via Dolorosa which ended with a scenic trip over the river on a rope bridge.
 |
| Rappelling deck |
 |
 |
| Rappelling wall |
May 17, almost midnight
Today was a lot of meeting people and getting to know my fellow staff members. All the staff had dinner together tonight (the food here is top notch). We had an orientation session afterward with the president of the camp and learned the amazing history of how God started DRG here in Tennessee. The story of the beginnings of the Gorge was filled with impossible coincidences and incredible stories of God's faithfulness. I'm amazed at the things that believers do in faith that look foolish to most people. But when God tells you to step off a cliff, He always makes the bridge appear just in time.
Tomorrow morning we have a session and then begin training for our track's activities. (There are 3 tracks for the kids to pick from with different combinations of activities.) Looking forward to tomorrow!! :)
May 17, afternoon
My last final was Thursday (10th), but the work hardly stopped there! I had to pack up my whole room by that evening while packing for the entire summer at Doe River Gorge.
The long-awaited day is finally here! The staff are all staying together in the guys' dorm. My half of the wardrobe next to my bed is all organized and the headboard of my lower bunk is already personalized with pictures and handwritten Bible verses.
This update will be short since things are just getting started. The rest of the staff arrive in about an hour, which is when the welcome festivities will kick off. The next two weeks will be training for all of the activities like white water river tubing and challenge courses.
I think I'll just keep adding entries to this as the days and weeks go on. Check back later!
 |
| View from the 3rd floor of Mountain Meadows Lodge (guys' dorm) |
 |
| Rear view |
 |
| Front view |
No comments:
Post a Comment