Camp + Cornuke + College

Conversations have been riveting in the first grade classroom this past week. We have been discussing such things as Justin “Beaver” and his girlfriend Selena “Mogez” (no lie, that’s what they think their names are). Several children’s guinea pigs have died, and if they had $10, they would buy and Ipod touch. Don’t worry; we talk about the Bible, too. In fact, several of the children asked Jesus into their heart the other day. You know, though, how when you were younger, you had to ask Jesus into your heart just about every week just to make sure you did it? But hey, once is all it takes and the rest are just for good measure ☺ The children have blessed me so much and I have learned much from their young, but explorative minds.

"Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Matthew 19:14

"Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:4

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6

I had the opportunity to listen to one of the chapel speakers, Bob Cornuke. He is, as best as I can explain it, Indiana Jones of the Bible. He is a former police investigator and SWAT member. He is an author, explorer, and biblical investigator with journeys including the search for Mt. Sinai, Noah’s ark, and Paul’s shipwreck. His talk was absolutely fascinating, leaving me with several moments of goosebumps. He is one of those men who leave you wanting to shout, THERE IS A GOD! His evidence is riveting and exciting. I, in fact, got to hold what is to believed to be a piece of the anchor from Paul’s shipwreck off the coast of Malta. It’s talks like these that make me want to get of my butt and travel to Saudi Arabia or Jerusalem. To walk where Jesus walked...

My sister Becky left camp yesterday to head back to Virginia. She worked at camp this past week and I can’t tell you how happy I was to see her. She loved catching up with her friends from last year and seeing the children she taught. Having my sister here for only a week reminded me of how much I freaking love my family. I already knew this, of course, but having kindred spirits such as Becky and Amy for sisters. Gosh, we’re a trio not to be trifled with. We feed off of each other’s quirkiness. I’ve loved being here at camp, but seeing my sister and talking to my parents makes me wish I had more than eight hours at home before I head off to school. Sigh, time never stops.

Only 18 more days for me here at camp. My how this summer seems to fly! Please pray for me as I am beginning to stress myself out because of the amount of time I have to prepare for school before I up and leave. I will get home, at the earliest, around 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, and leave for school around 6 a.m…the next day! Whew! I’m trying my utmost to not freak myself out, but I’m not being very successful at the moment. Please pray for patience, comfort, and a soothing heart during the transition from “camp” to “college.”

My lovely kindred spirits Hilary and Chelsea!

You Give and Take Away

I have not been looking forward to writing this post. Partly because of my difficulty to actually sit down and write and partly because I’m not going to enjoy writing about what I’m about to write.

Last week was not a normal weekend at Camp-of-the-Woods. Last Saturday was not a normal day. Regardless of the beautiful weather that weekend, a shadow seemed to have fallen all over the campus. I wish not to go into detail at this moment, but you should know that there has been pain, confusion, shock, and prayers throughout the camp over what happened on Saturday. One of the staff workers went kayaking with a friend and fell out of the kayak. Not knowing how to swim, he drowned. It was nightmarish to hear of this news at staff dinner that night. At that point they hadn’t found him, so they had no answers for us. They found his body on Tuesday, adding a bit more closer to this miserable ordeal. Prayers were and still are being continuously lifted for the Perez family and Pam, Anthony’s girlfriend, who was with him at the time of the accident. Please continue to pray for a peace and comfort for them as they cope for the loss of a loved one.

Multiple thoughts and feelings raced through my head when I found out about the accident. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to escape in my head to a world in which suffering never happens. I wanted to know answers, and yet I didn’t want to know. I hate the feeling you get in your stomach when you find out about accidents such as these. Every time you envision it, it’s like a rock is rolling around in your body and you just want to think it never happened and it’s just a dream. I wasn’t mad at God, but it broke my heart to think of a death like drowning happening to anyone.

The important thing that I had to remind myself of was God is a great God. He is working in situations even when we don’t understand why or how. Another important thing to remember is that God is working for the redemption of man. The world may be fallen and filled with sin, but we may rejoice in the fact that a loving God created us and is still working in us in order to make all things right.

We rejoice that Anthony’s life is in our Lord’s hands. He was a believer, so we have the comfort that he is with the Lord right now. It has been awesome to feel the closeness of God in times of pain and suffering. For God is still God, and God is still good.

Throughout this whole week, the lyrics to Blessed Be Your Name has consoled and uplifted me, and I pray it will do the same for you. Whatever you’re going through, in what feels to be the darkest hour of your life, blessed be the Lord’s name, who gives life to all. Praise the Lord.

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Consider It All Joy

It’s been a week here at camp and I’m trying to figure out if it seems like I’ve been here for a while or feels like I just got here. If I think about the amount of work I’ve done in a day, it feels like forrrr-ehh-ver *insert Squint’s voice. * If I think about the week as a whole, it feels like it was just yesterday that I arrived at camp. This will most likely be a recurring feeling throughout the summer as I am beginning to realize the amount of work that goes into each day here. The entire faculty here works (at least) 55-hour weeks. They are insane. The only way staff gets through the day with a positive attitude is through the Lord’s strength. forreal. It’s been a challenge for me to keep a positive outlook while pulling a “Cinderella” on every staircase in the camp. House keeping is not my permanent job for the summer, but it will be my job every Saturday, and heaven knows I’ll have to whistle while I work in order to keep a cheerful demeanor

We have devotionals every day. With devotionals, usually one of the full-time shares a short devotional/message before breakfast. Despite the groggy appearances of the “morning loathers” on this specific morning, one of the staff, Tim Trezise, shared something that caused my baggy eyes to open from their half awake state.

This summer, I knew I wanted a job. And I thought camp would be the ideal job. I would get to meet awesome people, have memorable experiences, make some moolah, and serve the Lord in a beautiful place. Although serving the Lord was in the equation, it was not at the top of the list, because I was thinking of this as a job. But Tim shared something this morning that may seem elementary, but nonetheless it impacted me. What we’re doing here at camp is not a job, but a ministry. Everyone has been called to serve the Lord, whether it’s scrubbing the stairs of Zeitfuss Lodge or going overseas. And serving the Lord should be done with a joyful heart that is glorifying to Him.

This summer is going to be a challenge. The Lord is going to test and push me in ways I never thought I could be pushed. I’m going to be physically and emotionally tired. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trails, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” But the amazing thing is that I want to be challenged. I need to be challenged. In order to grow in your walk with Christ, it’s important to be pushed to further the walk. I’m not going to lie, I’m tired and worn. It’s my nature. But the Lord is my strength, and I’m eager to learn what He is going to teach me.

On another note, we had our End-of-Pre-season party tonight and it was a blast. The staff enjoyed good conversations with each other and volleyball on the beach. And I must say, we clean up nicely. After a week of wearing stinky, sweaty t-shirts, it was nice to see people in some decent clothing ha. I’m enjoying so much getting to know each and every one of these people and they make my life a little richer.

Whistle While You Work

Here I am at camp, finally! Tim picked me up, along with my new camp friends Hannah and Rachel from the airport and we headed off to camp. New York is beautiful, full of quaint little towns and elegant lakes. Camp is, as I imagined, beautiful. You know how you come up with the way things look in your head only to be contradicted when the real thing comes along? Well, that happened to me. I think the reason this happened was because I spent hours (okay, maybe not hours) looking at the pictures online and piecing the places together in my head. Then I came to camp and everything looked a little bit different than I thought, which isn’t a bad thing at all! The camp is better than expected! But now I have to rearrange everything in my head so I don’t end up in the wrong places. The camp is great in size, but most of the buildings are smooshed close-ish together. The lake is beautiful and the lake front accommodations line the beach.

We arrived at camp and scarffed (I was that hungry) down some turkey, rice, and mixed veggies so we could catch the last bit of staff fellowship. Now before you think to yourself, turkey and rice? That sounds like cafeteria food to me, keep in mind that the head chef, Lance Nitahara, of one of the dining halls is a celebrity. At least, in my eyes. He was a competitor on the Food Network show, Chopped, and came in second! If you’d like to check out the episode, click here.

The first day we got our preseason schedules. The Episcopalians have a weekend retreat here every year so we spent yesterday preparing for their arrival. I was doing house keeping the whole day, which consisted of dusting Wigwam (one of the buildings here with a cute little library), washing the windows of some of the rooms, and swabbing the deck of some of the porches. Let me tell you, house keeping is not for the faint of heart. They do work! By the time five o’clock rolled around, I was about ready to drop. But thanks to God’s perpetual strength, I was able to end the day with a smile on my face. But let’s just say, I slept very well that night. The rest of this weekend, I shall be on dish duty in Hill dining, and I’m ready to get down and dirty with some unwashed pots and pans.

The staff here is, for lack of a better word, awesome. I’ve already met so many wonderful people, and not all of the staff has even arrived yet! Every single one of them have hearts that desire to serve the Lord and I’ve never been around so many people as genuine as them. They’re fun, lively, sweet, and full of God’s love.

I’m sure I could say more about my first day, but I know how tedious it can get reading a long blog. So to sum up my first couple of days here at camp in a few words: Camp is great!

Write Me!

If you ever feel like you would want to write me, I am giving you my address for your convenience. I LOVE getting snail mail, and I love hearing about what's going on in your life! Plus, I will guarantee that if you send me a letter, I most certainly will write you back! It's a win win situation here, folks.

For Letters:
Kate Scheel
Staff, CAMP-of-the-WOODS
P.O. Box 250
Speculator, NY 12164-0250

For Packages (If you feel so called!):
Kate Scheel
Staff, CAMP-of-the-WOODS
106 Downey Ave.
Speculator, NY 12164

I leave around 4 a.m. tomorrow to catch my flight from Charlottesville to Philly, and then from Philly to New York. I would appreciate your prayers as this is my first solo flight and I'm worried I may board the wrong flight or miss it completely ha! I absolutely love flying, but doing it by myself? Now that's another story.