Benched

If counselors were allowed to be benched, it would be humiliating, but it might help keep me from messing up.

“Miss Melody” obviously has her plethora of mistakes as well.

Patience has recently been my issue.

I often find myself wanting to correct, but sometimes, using my “correcting” voice isn’t a good choice for this.

Like when my girls are out of their minds giggly and hyper at night time.

Inside my head I am screaming “BED BED BED MELODY, GET THEM IN BED. STOP THE TALKING. LIGHTS NEED TO GO OUT. THEY NEED TO SLEEP NOW.”

But communicating this aloud doesn’t register with the girls who are still laughing about the noise they can make with their awful goo bought at the general store.

 (Seriously, let me just take a moment to tell you all that this is my very least favorite invention of the moment.  I don’t know how to cure this curse…unless I buy out all the goo at the store….I may do some calculating)

Therefore, I am finding that letting them get more giggles out and gradually orchestrating a close works better for everyone.

I can play along with them for a bit, but then when it’s time to hit the switch, they feel satisfied about ending the game.

This is an art, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to master it soon.

Other than this, there are several other reasons a counselor would deserve some benching time.

Like for complaining-even if this coming session is another rowdy crowd, I’ve decided complaining is purely benching material-so I’m going to avoid it.

Or being a “fun-sucker”(Freaky Friday reference, for those who caught it)  I want camp to be fun for these girls, so I’m going to need to loosen my perfectionist style of discipline and communication some more. I want to make everything fun, even the waiting in line. This means CREATIVITY.

Too much order is just no fun, so I’ll have to be creative bring in some fun way to get things done, or else serve some time on the bench to think about it.

No, I won’t actually “bench” myself, but I am still going to use this concept inside my head.

Maybe I’ll tell my partner counselor about it and she can help me judge myself.

We’ll see how I do.

Session five starts NOW!

Sweet Stuff

Though, as I previously explained, dealing with naughty children can be quite draining, but never the less, I hope I did not give the impression that I did not/do not LOVE those children.

They are all still my girls, and it is still my mission to show love to each of them.

I am thankful for this job. It is such a blessing, one that I often take for granted.

Each bunk will inevitably have some issues, but I don’t want to forget about all the good things that happened and will happen.

In the past two sessions I have been blessed to see even more live evidence of good things and experience an extra dose of what I call “sweet stuff”. I have a lot to smile about.

Let’s start with Session Three.

1. Only Twelve

Thirteen girls (which is a full bunk) narrowed down to twelve when one girl switched bunks to be with her sister. The bed above me became vacant and free from a precious squirmy mattress above. This definitely deserves a hallelujah.
                                                                                                                                            

2. Mail

I was just doing my duty, passing out the mail one day to my girls when I find a letter addressed to me. I don’t recognize the name at first, and then it hits, and my heart melts. One of my girls, Bithia, from the difficult session before had taken the time to send crazy Miss Melody a full page of sweetness along with a small drawing that I will be keeping forever. What a reward.

3. Isabella

Let’s just say this dynamite seven year old is my official sidekick and kid mother. Though I was the one taking care of her, especially when it came to finding anything in her suitcase, (because everything was usually found under the bed) she still took it upon herself to be my own caretaker at times.

Example: My nose was stuffy.

 “Do you need a Kleenex Miss Melody?”

“Oh, it’s ok Isabella, I will get it, thank you.”

(She hands me a Kleenex before I can grab one and sits promptly next to me on the bed)

“Thank you Isabella, I am going to blow my nose now though, so you might want to get off the bed”

(While patting my back) “It’s ok Miss Melody, just let it all out.”

What a sweetie. Additionally, I always received cups of water from the station and refills to follow during the activities to “keep me healthy”. The list goes on.

4. Tip

In my past two years of counseling I never once received a tip from a sponsor, but this year, it seems the adults came ready to bless. It is completely unnecessary, and never once is it advised or even encouraged by the heads of Dry Gulch, but I did really appreciate it. Funny enough, the sponsors from this session never really came by to hang out with our bunk much, and even funnier, they put “To Miss Emily, our bunk 4 counselor” on the card.  EMILY. Oh how that make me chuckle. Well, they may not have known my name, but they did know how to shower me with a blessing.

5. Group Hug

During the goodbye segment we have after chapel is over, I was blissfully trapped in the hug that grew from one girl saying “I’m never letting go of you!” to the rest of my girls gathering around. I was literally un-moveable. It was so sweet.

Moving to Session Four and continuing the list

6. Bunk 13

I have always longed to be a counselor in bunk 13 because it is probably the most recently re-done out of all the girl bunks. Newly tiled floors in the bathroom, great counter tops and showers, new floors, tons of floor space, and huge windows with red curtains that match my bedding perfectly. Amen to that.

7. No Morning Medicine

You have no idea how nice it is when you don’t have to worry about getting medicine in the morning. Then we actually have TIME after breakfast. Time for sunscreen or a game and for my personal favorite, a devotional.

8. Packages

During this session I received two packages. One was my new red toms, which was a surprise; because I wasn’t expecting them until much later (it only took them TWO days to ship!). I love them very much, which is good because I will be wearing them ALL the time since they go perfectly with our staff shirts. I also received my new camera that my parents graciously picked out and shipped to me so that I do not have to deal with horrible image quality. I’m using that constantly as well.

Here is a bunk photo that you can actually SEE

9. Olay

This time my bunk won “The Golden Sombrero” two out of the three possible days. This guaranteed us the ice cream party and some extra excitement for the girls. I just loved watching their faces when the winner was announced; they went C-R-A-Z-Y.

Also, we decorated it with some dead flowers from the pool one day (still with the bad camera)

And now last, and most importantly, a combined fact from both sessions

10.  Salvations

In both bunks combined, I had the great privilege of praying the prayer of salvation with seven girls. This isn’t mentioning the re-dedications either. These girls made me so excited, because they all knew about Jesus, but they were legitimate when I asked if they had ever prayed that prayer to let Jesus in before.

 (When I was a kid, I used to just always raise my hand, so I try to make sure they aren’t praying it for the 8^th time, and if they are, then I just talk to them about why they don’t have to do it again, but if they still want to do it, it just counts as a rededication)

Many of these girls just didn’t get to church very often, so camp is one of the only times they really experience God.  It was such a beautiful experience.

In particular, I loved praying with a girl named Alexis, because when I told her she would be going to heaven after we prayed to accept Jesus,  her entire face lit up and she gave me the biggest smile in the world. “Oh yay yay yay! Heaven!” was the next thing she said.

It was precious.

Again, I am very blessed.

Oh, and I should mention that this session I will be a counselor in Bunk 9, the bunk I happily stayed in two years in a row as a little camper.

Isn’t that sweet?

Demons...I mean Children

After the first session of Dry Gulch was over, it was a Wednesday.

Now understand, Wednesday off-day’s are particularly exciting in the realm of Dry Gulch because they are not only rare, but they also mean we get to go to church. Usually we are working during church services, so we end up watching a recording of the service as a staff whenever we are off, which is great, but it’s always more fun to be there live.

We had the choice that evening of either attending the youth service or the main service, and I chose main.

I enjoyed the service thoroughly. Not only was the message great (it was about brining creative thinking into all the different aspects of life to solve issues, just in case you were curious) but the pastor that night (Whit George) was also a former Dry Gulch counselor.

Fitting as it was, he shared a story with us about how he as a counselor used creative thinking to get all his campers to help him clean his bunk so that he did not have to do it alone the next day (which is now strictly forbidden, also in case you were wondering)

During the sermon he once said the phrase “Working with all of those little demons…I mean children can really be frustrating.”

Naturally, we all laughed. But just to myself, I thought about how I had never once considered any of my girls a “little demon” in any of my years. I assure you, I did have my trouble makers, but nothing a little discipline and a stern/loving talk could not fix.

Oh how that was about to change.

Last Thursday afternoon as I waited patiently in Bunk 12 for my twelve campers to arrive, I was blissfully unaware of the demons…I mean children, that were coming to me.

This dynamic group of loud personalities and expert disobeyers made me start singing “You never really know watcha got ‘till it’s gone” after about twenty minutes of association.

First the stuff. So much STUFF from their suitcases scattered all over the floor and all over their beds in an instant. See ya later clean bunk award (which I won first session with my lovely, clean, well behaved, Church on the Move girls)

Followed by the arguing. There were a million tattles and "she said"/"she did", always trying to overcome one another.

The attitude. Rolling of eyes, huff and puff, stomp, kick, yell, whine, complain. All clearly unacceptable.

Then comes the whole listening concept-it just didn’t ring a bell for them.

All of this together is what sufficiently classified them as “demons” to me. Therefore, I had to constantly remind myself to see them as God does, as “children”, beloved and precious, in need of Him in their lives.

 I had to remember every girl has a story (thank you Jessica McKennel) and not every girl has been raised to listen and behave the same way. 

But this doesn’t mean let everything go. This just meant I had to discipline in love. (1 John 4:18)

No matter how they were raised, they still knew right from wrong, therefore I couldn't tolerate any disobedience, especially after I gave clear instruction.

For example: At lunch one of my campers named Sinecia (who has an older brother named Miracle, two twin brothers at camp named Divine and Sincere (also demon children) and another older brother named Jerald....not kidding) wanted to drink her blue PowerAde before her mandatory cup of water. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and reminded her, we are drinking water first. Then she proceeded to pick up her PowerAde and drink it right in front of me. Bad move little one...

"Sinecia put the cup down and drink your water" (She gives me a side glance and turns away, continues to drink...I grab the cup out of her hands)

"You will drink your water now, and at the next activity you will be benched for 30 minutes for not obeying me."

You might think, "oh come on, it's just PowerAde, not a big deal." But if I had let that go then Sinecia wins, the child would have beat their authority, therefore learning to lack any respect for it.

Believe me, bringing out my stern reprimanding voice isn't my favorite, I would much rather use my crazy joyful one all the time. But respect for authority and direction is too important to let slide. I needed to nip the problem in the butt, no matter what it took.

So with the strength of God within me, (Phillipians 4:13) this is what I did: I benched like crazy, I took girls to the office, I took my bunk to the office, I gave them the “it’s not fun when you disobey” talk (several times), I had two lovely office ladies give my bunk a chat, and on the last night, I removed a girl from my bunk.

Whew. And now it’s done.

I am trusting in the LORD that the worst is over.

It was rough, but even through that I can still say God gave me a love for those girls. I am convinced it is because I was in prayer so much during the session; otherwise, they would have just been demons.

I am also convinced that God worked during the last session. Even though it was not extremely apparent (they all already had Jesus in their hearts) I know that at least a seed, if nothing else, was planted in those girls. Maybe a seed that will remind them they have power over sin (like not listening) because Jesus can give them the strength (we talked about this constantly), or maybe something else.

The session was always dedicated to God, (as they all should be) so I know he used me for His glory. That is just how God works.

And to share some evidence, as we were saying our goodbyes, each and every one of my girls cried. They said they loved and would miss me, so I guess God’s love did show through my discipline.

 (Thank you Jesus)

 As well, I found four sweet letters on my bed when I returned (which I will be keeping forever).

They really weren’t such demons after all.  :)

On to session three!

And here is a picture of my bunk twelve. (minus the camper who had to leave)
Does this camera only take really horrible and blurry pictures in a small window? Yes.
Will I be getting a new camera soon? You betcha.

Pilot

If you were to ask Pastor Kirby, (my always friendly and excited boss/camp director) he would tell you that we are going on session 1.3 tomorrow afternoon.

However, if you were to ask me, I would easily tell you this will be session three but it feels like it could be session five.

What a difference.

It has been a long first two sessions. Now this is not necessarily bad or good. It has it’s negative side, being my exhaustion, but on the positive side, I have made close friendships with many staff members, and I am excited to continue working with them this summer.
 Regardless, thinking of this coming session as the very first (hints the “1” in the “1.3”) is indeed, a challenge. For every camper and sponsor camp is a whole new world, but for me, the routine of camp life is pretty much set in. My energy needs to be just as it was when the first batch of kids arrived and my patience should not be wearing thin just because I recently survived a difficult session.
This is where our camp theme, “Greater is He that is in Me” (1 John 4:4) comes into play.  Of course I cannot do this on my own, I am only human. But with the Greater one inside of me, I can have a new strength (Phillipians 4:13).
It’s a beautiful thing. And believe me, without it, we’d all be in horribly bad moods ALL the time.

This is just one of many practices and philosophies that make me adore working with such astounding leadership and stellar people.
The attitude of servant-hood out here speaks volumes to the kind of camp that is put on. As well, we as the staff of Dry Gulch consider ourselves ministers of the Lord in every department. Each time we get a new batch of kids we gather together in a meeting to remind ourselves of this.  

Pastor Kirby will say "Who are we?" and we will answer "Ministers"

"What do we do?"

“Serve God’s people”
“And how do we do it?”

“By giving our best”

That’s the motto people.

But the best thing about it is that it is not just a motto for camp, but also for  life.