Summer 2013...the saga continues

    The week of July 7-12 was pretty crazy!  There were terrible storms almost every day (especially at night) and we had lots of trees fall in various places around camp.  Sleeping alone in a tent (since it was all guys that week), I spent the first few nights laying awake filled with anxiety, hoping and praying a tree wouldn't come tumbling down on me.  The waterfront director slept in the tent the last 2 nights to keep me company and because she really wanted the chance to sleep in a tent.

goofing around in a flooded creek at our low ropes course

      Storms and nasty mud EVERYWHERE aside, the week was absolutely amazing!  The 6 campers were really fun and extremely mature for their age.  And the counselors (including an awesome volunteer counselor from Ohio Christian University I didn't even know I'd have) did a great job!

Andrew (the WA counselor for July 7-12) instructing kayaking

      Two of the highlights of the week were our trips offsite: we went kayaking on Lake Logan (the Hocking River was too high/fast/flooded) and rock climbing/repelling/caving!  The sky was beautiful somewhat clear and blue (finally!) for the kayaking trip and we had a good, relaxing time paddling and swimming.  The rock climbing trip was just plain epic!  We started off climbing at an area I've been to a lot.  Then we got lowered into a cave!  I was so excited!  I even got to use some of the knowledge I gained at the caving camp from a few weeks ago.  And of course it was fun doing my cave lizard impression again.  One of the boys also did a really good Gollum impression.  Haha!  After exploring/hanging out in the cool cave for a little while, we went repelling down a 150 foot cliff in an area called Big Springs!  This cliff was beside a gorgeous waterfall by the way.

with Jeremiah, the awesome volunteer counselor, at the bottom of the repelling site

     It was one of those weeks that I felt sadness instead of relief when the kids left.  They were such an amazing group!  

a beautiful heron on Lake Logan

     This past week, there were no storms or rain until Friday (when we were down in the lodge and main camp and the kids would be leaving soon).   It was very hot and humid, but I was very happy to have dry feet and no crazy storms to worry about!

Emmy (one of the counselors) proud of starting a great fire

     The week started off rough on Sunday: a huge tree had fallen over the weekend (suprise surprise), blocking our way up to The Meadow (our living area).  So we had to wait for people to clear it before we could move our luggage, water, and food up.  The kids were also way younger than I thought they would be.  I was told I had high schoolers, but the kids that showed up were 9-12 year-olds. I had to completely change my plans.  I also tend to enjoy older middle/high school kids way more because they are more independent, more mature, and you can do more awesome high adventure activities with them.

Adam (the counselor I had for WA for 2 weeks: July 14-19 & June 30-July 3). He's hilarious!

      In spite of the rough start, the week ended up being great!  The counselors were super fun and we had another awesome volunteer from OCU.  The kids were pretty cool too. 

with Travis, the other awesome volunteer counselor from OCU, at the end of the week

      My favorite part of the week was the rapelling trip (with a 40 foot repel).  At first I was nervous because I've never taken anyone under the age of 14 repelling, but they did great!  I was so proud of them!  The leaders in training (a group of older high schoolers at camp for the past 2 weeks) joined us too.  I was back-up belaying and spent almost half the time waiting/relaxing with the 2 high school girls talking.  After the trip, our camp director (who has been leading the rock climbing/repelling trips) treated us to ice cream! 

       This upcoming week was originally supposed to be Extreme Wilderness Adventures, where we were going to be traveling to West Virginia for rafting, repelling, climbing, hiking, camping out, and other exciting things.  Sadly, not enough people signed up so it got cancelled.  Now I will be counseling 8th graders.  I haven't been a counselor (without also having a bunch of other responsibilities) since 2011, so I'm both excited and nervous.  It will be our last week with campers, so I'm going to make it a great week!

beautiful Big Springs

Awesome summer so far!

  So far this summer has been amazing!  I'm spending my fourth summer working at Camp Otterbein in Logan, Ohio.  Although I actually spent 2 of the weeks at other places/with another camp.

goofing around with a projector screen I found at Camp Otterbein

    The first week, we had what's called a user group at Camp Otterbein.  A church brought in their own counselors, planned their own programming, etc. and we were all just there to help out. It was a fun week with an awesome group!  The best part was helping to lead high ropes.  One of the high school girls was having a really hard due to her fear of heights.  While sitting on the platform, she asked me to pray with her, so I did.  Then she did one of the elements and later on went down the zipline.  It was awesome seeing this sweet girl overcome her fears!  I also really enjoyed having the opportunity to have an extra week getting to know my fellow Camp Otterbein staff members even better. 

with one of my fellow Camp Otterbein staff members,Grace, when we were both at Camp Wesley

   The second week was especially awesome.  I was assigned to help with a caving camp as the female counselor.  We met at a church in the Dayton area and then drove down to southern Kentucky for a week of camping and exploring caves in the area.  I can definitely say I've conquered claustrophobia!  Lol.  I had been in touristy caves before, but this was an entirely new experience: crawling, climbing (my favorite part), rolling through some passages, and even a bit of wading through water/swimming.  There was one cave with an "art room" where people make sculptures out of the clay/mud.  The people were amazing and I made some really cool new friends. I was invited to return and plan on joining every year I can (even as a volunteer when the day comes that I no longer work for camp).  I can't wait until next year!  P.S.  Did I mention I drove a 15 passenger van down a creek to get to one of the caves?  Now THAT'S off-roading!  Ha!  I also managed to get even better bruises than I've ever gotten from Taekwondo or MMA. 

in front of the Great Saltpetre Cave, right by our campsite

   On the third week, I worked as a lifeguard at Camp Wesley in Bellefontaine (another camp in the West Ohio Conference).  It was a little stressful since I'd planned on being at Camp Otterbein to make preparations for my program starting the following week and since being a lifeguard at Camp Wesley involves a lot of kitchen work, but I still managed to have a great time.  The staff there is super friendly, I enjoyed getting to know the other lifeguards, and some of the kids there that week were really fun to hang out with.  There's also the fact that I really enjoy lifeguarding: observing people, soaking up sun while sitting right beside or in the water, breathing fresh air, having the satisfaction of knowing I could potentially save a life, and just feeling important. 

beautiful view of the lake at Camp Wesley

   The following weekend, I went to Cincinnati/Lawrenceburg, Indiana to visit my mom and attend a good friend's wedding.  It was a beautiful and really fun wedding!  I could write a whole post just about the weekend.  My mom recently moved to a condo in a beautiful part of southeastern Indiana (very close to the Ohio border) also and this was my first time finally seeing it.  I just wish the weekend would've been longer!

the beautiful bride Kayla and me: I can't believe my little is married!

This past week, I was finally back at Camp Otterbein for the first week of Wilderness Adventures (the program I'm in charge of).  It ended up being a pretty good week, but I'm really glad it was only a partial week.  I was an emotional mess on Sunday (partly from feeling less than prepared after being unexpectedly at a different camp, partly from my TBS little and good friend getting married, partly from some health issues my mom is having).  The week was successful: the kids seemed to have a great time and I had 3 wonderful and helpful counselors up there!  The kids were the youngest age group I'll have all summer so it was a huge test of patience, but they were a really fun group.  The best part was a trip to Old Man's Cave for some hiking!

at Old Man's Cave with 2 of the counselors Nathanael and Adam.  Sadly, Grace, the other counselor had to leave for a real world job interview.

 I'm super excited for what the rest of the summer has to offer!  :-)

Mom and me in front of her new condo

Ray and me on the back deck.  I love the view of Lawrenceburg from Mom's condo!