Rainy Day: English Tea and Amos Lee

I glanced out my window this morning to see an overcast sky and the ever-present possibility that there would be rain at CAMP-of-the-WOODS today. Much to everyone else’s doubt, I absolutely love rainy weather. Because I don’t have to work until 5:45, I have the whole afternoon to be nothing but lazy. Rainy days give me a reason to put on an over-sized shirt and sweats, heat up a lovely cup of tea, and listen to some of the most perfect mellow music.

I’m sitting in the lobby of Zeitfuss with a delicious cup of tea in the mug I painted in the Arts & Crafts Store at camp. The rain is falling outside the open window, making trickling pitter pats on the ground. There is a pleasant cool breeze coming through the window and Amos Lee is playing through my headphones. I LOVE RAINY DAYS.
Because Rainy Days invoke a desire to write or explore the Internet, I thought I might share my Rainy Day pleasures with you readers. These are things I crave when I hear the sound of rain and smell the precipitation coming:

o Stumble Upon. If you haven’t stumbled upon Stumble Upon yet, you are no college friend of mine.
o Amos Lee. or Avett Brothers. or Civil Wars. or Nickel Creek. Need I go on?
o Cups of Tea. Add cream and sugar, and it’s a match made in heaven.
o Psalms. I absolutely love reading scripture, especially Psalms on a rainy day. It puts me in the best moods. Who would’ve thought rainy days would lift my spirits?!
o Information Books on Ireland. My weakness. Especially if there are pictures.
o Chocolate and Cinnamon. Come on, now.
o Pride and Prejudice.
o Sweatshirt Blankets
o Mr. Darcy
o Fireplaces
o Wedding Pictures. Don’t ask why. It’s just a girl thing.
o Art Projects. Generally card making is my project of choice on days like these.

“You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.” [Psalm 68:9]

Happy Rainy Day Monday!

Pop quiz: How many times did I use the words, “Rainy Day?”

Monday's Memorable Moments; Third Edition

One week has snuck out. Another week has snuck up. I can’t believe I’ve already been here six weeks. How the days fly! Last week, Ravi Zacharias was here, so the numbers of the guests in the camp imploded. First day of CE (Christina Education) last week, forty-two 1st Graders arrived at our door! Shoot. Talk about a sea of six year-olds. Due to the shortage in teacher hands and craft projects, we had to close the doors at thirty 1st graders the rest of the week. They were all precious, specifically a little boy who stole my heart.

Andrew was adopted from South Korea when he was a baby. A smile permanently filled his face, causing his little eyes to practically disappear. Every time I saw him around camp, his little hand would wave incessantly and his smile would automatically jump from his face to mine, causing my eyes to practically disappear under my smile. My heart is forever Andrew’s.



In other news, I am so very, very…very stoked to see my shishter, Becky-boo, in less than a week! She has been praying for an opportunity to get up here to see her friends she made last year when she worked here and, of course she hoped on seeing her favorite middle sister. I’ve missed the time I’ve had with my sisters while I’ve been here, so I’m very glad I get to see her this summer! I may very well pee my pants when I see her…

Now, for the point of this post. Time for another installment of Mondays Memorable Moments.

1) Cliff Jumping. About three miles from camp lies Christine Falls, a magical spot and perfect place for cliff jumping. Chelsea, Danielle, Brea and I escaped from the camp to do a bit of cliff jumping. Next to the falls sets a rock resting 25 feet above the water. The key to jumping is landing right in the froth of the falls. As I jump, my stomach experiences what I think feels like zero gravity. When my body submerges under the froth, my hair swishes around my face as I try to figure out which way is “up.” When I emerge from the water, the current gently but swiftly ushers me to the other side of the river? Stream? Creek? Whatever. It’s a lot of fun.
2) Eating fish eyes. Yes. I went there. One day, while working in Purdy, Lance was telling us all the great things about fish heads as Brandon filleted the Salmon. Lance mentioned the fact that some people in this world actually enjoy eating the fish’s eyes. I was skeptical because I had never tried this delicacy. Brian said he would eat one if I did. Being the culinary adventurist that I am, I agreed. We steamed the fish head and scooped the eye directly out of the socket (I’m going graphic here, so bear with me). Lance suggested we dip it in soy sauce and lemon juice to reduce the fishiness of the peeper. On the count of three, Brian and I ate the eyes. There is a solid part of the eye that is best not eaten, so I spit that part out after I sucked the rest. It didn’t taste as bad with the soy and lemon, so we had to try it straight up, eating the second eye. The only way to describe the taste I succumbed to is…a concentrated fishy flavor with the consistency of Jello.
3) Hiked Chimney. On my day off, me and another staffer, Ryan, decided to tag along on one of the hikes led by the Rec staff for the guests. The hike is only about 1.7 miles up, but the rocks can be somewhat strenuous to climb. The view at the summit, although not completely breath-taking for me personally, was beautiful nonetheless. We read some scriptures at the top as we munched on our sandwiches and nutri-grain bars. The next part of the hike, we walked a little bit further to see Chimney rock. The last part of the hike was probably my favorite. Eagle Cave is a cave involving a very small entry in which you have to lie on your back and shimmy down the narrow crevasses until you enter the first big room in the cave. If you’re claustrophobic, this cave may not be the most ideal for you. I had been to Grand Caverns before, but this was nothing like it. This felt unexplored, mysterious, and awesome, even though many hikers had explored it before. Once we travelled into the chilly cave a bit more, we turned off our headlamps and listened to the silence. It was awesome. The way up was a bit more challenging since we were now climbing up the slick rocks. I felt much like Spiderman as far as my appearance climbing these rocks. Overall, the company was great, the cave was awesome, and a perfect way to spend my day off.





Happy Monday!

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

Monday's Memorable Moments

If you haven’t looked at you calendar today, it’s Monday! Not to mention the Fourth of July. Happy fourth to all! This week has been chock full of memories I will cherish. If I listed all the things that happened to me this week, you would never want to read my blog again because I will have then written a novel. That may just be because I’d go into to WAY too much detail. Nevertheless, Week One at camp was, for lack of better words, challenging, inspiring, exhausting, and memorable. Which leads me to another installment of Monday’s Memorable Moments.

The first grade classroom at the Jelinek Center was filled with eight spunky, intelligent, adorable, and hilarious children this past week. Compared to this week with thirty children averaging each day for Week Two, eight kids were a cinch. Here are some of the quotes I caught from the children while in the classroom:

• Me: Guess how old I am.
(Alison thinks long and hard and answers sincerely)
Alison:…36?
(…close)

• Miss Kate: Who knows what’s happening tonight?
(Josh raises his hand excitedly)
Josh: The carnival! The actual carnival is tonight!
(You probably had to be there for it. His inflection made it)

• Jason says to me: You look like Jesus’ queen.
(Not exactly sure what that means…but I’ll take it.)

• As I was standing outside the boys bathroom waiting for Zachary I heard,
Zachary: ew…Miss Kate?
Me: yes?
Zachary: It’s a poop turd.
(grrrreat)

• Kaitlyn: We had to put our cat to sleep because he kept peeing under the kitchen table.

I’ve been taking advantage of the glorious weather, enjoying frequent canoe and kayak trips with some great people. One that really stood out was one with my friends Hannah and Sharon. We kayaked by the shoreline, stuck our “chaco feet” out of the boat, and just shared a bit about our lives. It was super relaxing and a great way to share our lives with each other. I have yet to take a sailboat out, but it is a goal of mine for the summer.

Camp-of-the-Woods had their Fourth of July fireworks on July 2nd, oddly enough. Some of us girls decided to swim out to the dock in the lake to get the best seats in camp. And boy were they. Laying on the floating dock, oo-ing and ah-ing at the marvelous sight of explosive pyrotechnics. The booming sound of the fireworks surrounded the lake, adding to the magnificence of the whole experience. The lights from the fading sparks reflected on the water as they slowly floated back to the ground. I cherished every moment of it.

Just this evening concluded another memory that I will cherish here at camp. My friends Maddy, Chelsea, Brea, Hilary, and I took, yet again, another swim out to the dock to admire the stars, since the first time on the dock was such an enjoyable success. Author’s Note: New York has beautiful stars ha. Probably because Speculator is the closest town with not that many lights, so the stars are easily visible. We huddled close together on the swaying dock to keep our body temperatures at a favorable degree after climbing out of the “chillish” waters of Lake Pleasant. As we lay there, giddily squealing whenever we saw a shooting star, we discussed the mind-blowing aspects of stars and space. Ya know, the normal unanswerable questions that arise when gazing into outer space. It got me thinking about, of course, how big and powerful the God of the Universe really is. Job 25:5 says,

“If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes.”

Even something we think to be absolutely beautiful and bright in the sky, it doesn’t even compare to the greatness of God. Psalm 148:3 says,

“Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.”

Even the stars worship Him! All of creation should worship the God who made everything.

I would like to get some pictures posted so you all can see some of the faces and places I enjoy around camp. That will hopefully be coming soon. In the meantime, I highly suggest you take at least one night this week to grab a blanket, grab a friend, and go lay out under the stars. It's amazing the things you will think of.

Happy Fourth.

What is Love?

Like my older sister, Becky, I receive joy from the things children say. They are full of life and learning, and yet, some can say the wisest things. Becky found a website where professionals asked children ages 4-8 years old “What does love mean?” and it made both of our hearts melt (greatdad.com- no, she doesn’t read random websites like this. She found it off of msn.com. Just wanted to insert that disclaimer.). She posted it on her blog, but I found it so sweet that I wanted to share it with you to brighten your day a little.

The answers were deeper and broader than they could have imagined. Here are some of the answers they got:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
- Rebecca - age 8


"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
- Billy - age 4


"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
- Karl - age 5


"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
- Chrissy - age 6


"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
- Terri - age 4


"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
- Danny - age 7


"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
- Emily - age 8


"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
- Bobby - age 7


"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
- Nikka - age 6


"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
- Noelle - age 7


"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
- Tommy - age 6


"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
- Cindy - age 8


"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
- Clare - age 6


"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
- Elaine-age 5


"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
- Chris - age 7


"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
- Mary Ann - age 4


"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
- Lauren - age 4


"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
- Karen - age 7


"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
- Mark - age 6


"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
- Jessica - age 8

Happy Thursday!

Monday's Memorable Moments

Yes everyone, I KNOW it’s Saturday. But hear me out. I knew I wanted to start a consistent post because with the schedule I have and the little time I spend on my computer, I don’t have that much time to really plan out my posts. I apologize for my negligence of updating this blog frequently. That being said, I thought I would give you snippets of my weeks every Monday (Because the aliteration of “memorable moments” is baller with “Monday”). Don’t worry, The rest of these Monday posts will be published on the correct day of the week. So here are just three things I will tell you about this past week. Some are memorable for good reasons. Others…not so much.

1) Zumba with the girls of Zeitfuss II every Tuesday and Thursday with the awesome instruction of our very own Puerto Rican/New Yorker, Leonexy. This is our chance to shake what our mommas gave us in the privacy of our building. It’s a great de-stresser and a whole mess of fun with the ladies. Although, I think I just released some information that the opposite sex should’ve plugged their ears to. Oh well, at least they can’t participate in our weekly assembly. By the way, new favorite song to shake the booty to: Danza Kuduro by Don Omar. Look it up.

2) Watching Lance Nitahara fillet a fish. Not gonna lie, I think Lance is a celebrity and I’m so grateful to be in his presence this summer, even if I am washing his pots. He’d hate me for saying I think he’s a celebrity because he is one of the humblest men I know. He glorifies God in everything he does. Tonight I witnessed him in action in the kitchen. Me, being the nerd that I am, pulled out my phone to record him removing the bones from the salmon while I casted him questions about when he knew he wanted to be a chef and his favorite type of fish. His technique was like a dance. Graceful, methodical, and beautiful.

3) Dropping my camera in the lake. Yes, this is the memory I wish I could forget. But alas, it is forever engraved in my mind, hence, making it menacingly memorable. Some of my friends and I decided to take a kayak trip around the lake last week. I felt like there would be some great photo ops, so I cautiously put the camera in a zip lock bag and guarded it with my dear life. I placed it in the waterproof canister attached to my kayak. The longer we were in the boats, the more I became comfortable with pulling my camera out for a few quick photos. My stomach is turning as I type because I hate thinking back to this moment. My friend asked if we could take a picture together. Hesitant, I entrusted my other friend to take a quick snapshot. All was well until she was passing it back to me. It was no one's fault, I blame no one. The world felt like it was in slow motion as I saw it slip into the water. It felt like a nightmare. I wished it were unreal. Thoughts raced through my head as I practically dove into the water, screaming. I don’t want to think about the idiot I must have looked like. Thankfully, where we were, the water wasn’t that deep. I felt the strap in the sludge and quickly pulled it out, immediately turning it off. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. All I could do was pray for my poor camera and paddle back to shore to put it in some rice. My friend Brandon was so nice to walk with me to find some rice, trying to consol me by talking about other things. It helped.
I was shaken up for about a day, not knowing if my camera was dead or not. But honestly, it was a great lesson for me. I had treated this inanimate object like a person. I was invested in this worldly possession. A comforting verse for me during this time of frustration, anger, and doubt was Colossians 3:2-4, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” I don’t know if my camera is okay, but I know these things happen, and I am forgiven. My family still loves me and my Father still loves me. This camera means nothing compared to the gift I have in Him. Even if it was the worst incident at camp so far, I still really enjoyed the kayaking trip, and God taught me a lesson through my mistake.

I wouldn’t exactly call those snippets, which is why I’ll leave it at three. More Monday’s Memorable Moments to come in the future. The guests arrive tomorrow, meaning the children will arrive! I’m guessing a majority of the Memorable Moments will be coming from the classroom with the things the kids say. Kids say the funniest things. That’s one of the main reasons I love being around them. I can’t wait to meet them and learn about Christ’s awesomeness together!

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.