Moments of Joy

Forgive me for my lack of communication the past few weeks! Camp has consumed all my time! We are completing our first week of campers! On Monday, me and my co-counselor Hailey received 10 girls to "mother" until June 22nd! So far these 5th graders have been wonderful to spend time with. They all have different personalities and I just never know what to expect from them! I couldn't help but smile with pride as my girls got dressed for Sunday school this morning. Each one of them looked beautiful in their Sunday best! 


Camp Greystone is a camp like no other. The girls get to go to 14 different activities while they are here. It is kind of like school...7 periods MWF and 7 different classes TTS. I love hearing what each one of them accomplish in their different classes. The difficult part is remembering what each one of them are taking! 


Hailey and I are teaching golf together. We have 4 periods a day, 1 free period to clean up, and then I teach painting for 2 periods. In painting, we have a head instructor who teaches painting to college students and spends her summers here at Greystone. It is wonderful not having to come up with projects and being able to work on projects ourselves too! Golf is a different story. Truthfully, it has caused us both some discouragement and frustration. To begin with, golf has never been a hobby of mine...by no means am I a pro. But we have both quickly realized that there is not much enjoyment in golf when you do not have a course to play on. Pray that we would both find encouragement with this and discover new ways to teach this game. 


When rest hour bugle blows, my heart sings praises to the Lord! By that time, I am ready to sit and spend time with the Lord (and sometimes sleep!) Every night we have evening programs, so far consisting of cabin lip syncs, opening vespers (beautiful ceremony) and a carnival! Crazy stuff going on here! 


While everyday is packed full of busyness and there is little time to open my eyes to the beauty in it all, God has blessed me with moments of joy that I was able to soak in. A few nights ago, we had opening vespers ceremony representing how we (staff) are the light of Christ and we are passing that light to the girls. It is truly a beautiful ceremony with everyone in full white clothing and lighting candles. While the ceremony was very touching, what happened afterwards truly brightened my day. My voice has been really rough the past week. I don't know if it is all the singing, laughing or talking...but singing is rather difficult. I LOVE worship but not when I sound like a dying cat. But after the ceremony a little girl who sat in front of me turned to me so humbly and said "I just wanted to tell you that you have a beautiful voice." My heart melted like a stick of butter in the hot sun. This was the little moment of joy God wanted to give me in a rough day. 


To be honest, I think sometimes I am too stubborn to open my eyes to the moments God gives us to bask in Him. Most days it is a struggle seeing past the discouragement the enemy puts into my mind. But I'm learning...learning that the Lord's strength really is the only one that can carry me through each day. I wasn't told this job would be easy, but I desire that the Lord is glorified through it. 


My fellow counselors are great! Love them so much! One of them described this whole experience in a way that really rings true. Camp is like having a family of 10 children, going on a vacation every single day (evening programs) but having a 9-5 job at the same time (the activities we teach). Life is crazy right now, but I don't know that I would ask for anything different!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit!" Romans 15:13