camp! aaaaaaa

Children’s Church Camp this weekend!
I didn’t really know what to expect going into this weekend. The idea of lots of kids running around was daunting, but I was sort of looking forward to the Camp. I don’t really dislike kids. How bad could it be?
Well. Not horrible, but certainly exhausting. This weekend was much more tiring than I would have ever expected. Not only did we have to wake up very early, there were other elements that I struggled with. It was both physically and emotionally draining.
However. In the spirit of awesomeness, I have compiled a Top Moments list with the help of Anna and Kyle. This weekend certainly wasn’t all bad, and it gave us some things to think about, be grateful for, and laugh at. Here they are!

• The kids being told, on the first day, “You are not here to have fun.” The teacher went on to explain “You are here to praise the Lord,” which makes sense, but it was still a shock for me to hear that. At that age, all I wanted was to have fun! They were also told “There will be no love letters written," which was just fun to hear :).
• Kyle conducted a play of the story of Jonah with a bunch of on-the-spot volunteer kid actors, and it was really really good! It was funny and awesome and I wish I had recorded it.
• The kids were required (at least on one day) to shower in pairs. Understandably, there were only four showers for about sixty kids. However, even when I was ten (the minimum age for the Camp) I absolutely did not shower with anyone else. Baths with my sister stopped when I was probably seven or eight.
• We were told to wake up in time for prayer with the other leaders at 5:30 am. On Saturday, we woke up as early as 4:30, got there at 5:30, and sat around for 20 minutes doing nothing. On Sunday, we woke up fifteen minutes later, got there at 5:45, and sat around for a solid hour, again doing nothing. In retrospect, it wasn't that bad, but I am not a morning person. I was so tired!
• One child was told “Your friends have to be your own age. So-and-so is not your age, so you two can’t be friends anymore.” It would have made a little more sense (or at least been consistent with previous incidences) if these kids were of the opposite sex; they were both girls. This really made me sad. It was early and I was so tired that when I heard this tears actually came to my eyes.
• Badminton! On Saturday afternoon the kids had a volleyball tournament. There was, for some reason, a badminton set along with the volleyball net, and I took full advantage and started playing with some kids. They loved it! I loved it! We all loved it! Also: there is an abundance of Jack Purcell merchandise here (he was a very good Canadian badminton player in the 1950s, and Converse made a “Jack Purcell” shoe). I loved it.
• Anna almost died! The camp building has a gas oven, and there must be a leak somewhere. One day, after lunch, the ladies were starting to work on dinner while Anna was unsuspectingly washing dishes…and…BOOM! It was so loud, and very scary. Apparently it was some sort of fireball explosion situation. No one was hurt, but for the rest of the weekend we did not use that oven.
• Anna, Kyle, and I spent a good portion of our weekend peeling and grating vegetables, washing dishes, dishing out food, or otherwise trying to be helpful in the kitchen. It was awesome. Not only did we get to exercise our love for food (yay!) we got to skip out on some of the sessions, which left me feeling increasingly emotionally and spiritully confused and exhausted.
• We were consistently expected to know famous people because we are from North America. For example, Kyle was asked if he knew Eminem; when he said no, the kid said “But…you’re white!” Anna was asked if she knew Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and Chris Brown, and upon being told “No” the child was very confused. Anna was also asked if she had ever met any “negroes” or “people with long hair and hats.” She didn’t really know how to answer either question.
• We watched the crucifixion clip from “The Passion of the Christ.” I do believe that that movie can be powerful in helping us to understand what our Savior went through, but I felt it was uncomfortable with it being played for kids who aren’t even all old enough to watch “Batman Beyond.” I couldn’t bring myself to watch, partly because it is so graphic and partly because it made me sad to think of the impact it was having on those kids. There was a lot of emphasis on the death of Christ, but not the life of Christ, and it just made me so sad (another teary moment) to think that these kids were missing out on that beautiful life.
  
  So. It was a crazy weekend. I am glad we went through it, because it gave me a lot to think about and it was kind of fun, but I am also glad it is over. I’m sure I‘ll sleep well tonight!