Work Hard. Train Hard. Play Hard.: 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!