Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of

Week 1:  May 31-June 6

So, camping, right? Talk about building character. In order to promote a teambuilding experience, all the counselors went on a two-day hike (Monday-Tuesday) through one of the state parks of Alaska. It was also so we could see the Sourdough camp, which is a “fringe” camp of Echo Ranch that focuses primarily on hiking and living out in the great outdoors. We walked for maybe 20 minutes or so from the place we were dropped off to the Sourdough campus, and I thought, with joy, that we were done for the day. I soon found out that we had a long way to go. I have no idea how far we actually hiked (in miles), but I recall jokes about ending up in the U.S. mainland. As bad as I’m making it sound now, I really did enjoy it for the most part. I got to see God’s creation in the raw: I walked over it and under it and climbed on top of it and tripped over it and got stuck in it. And the nature was absolutely beautiful.

After a couple of hours of hiking (and swatting off 259 mosquitoes or so), we took a lunch break next to a lake that had a floating dock and rope swing that was suspended from a tree. While I opted not to swim in the water, I did swing on the rope. I did not die, even though I thought I would.

After spending a couple of hours by the lake, we continued our hike to the campsite, which was unfortunately reserved by someone else (whoops). So we hiked on a little farther until we got to a second campsite, which basically consisted of a fire pit, and that was it. Bathhouse? Please. This was my first true camping experience, and needless to say, I will never forget it. Yes, I roughed it for real. I made my bed in a tent; I peed on the ground; I slept without a fan. And I had a blast with the other counselors. We roasted hotdogs over a big fire, talked, laughed, made s’mores, and sang worship songs. We also prepared our testimonies that we would be giving over the next couple nights, which was kind of a challenge for me. As most of you know, I haven’t had the most dramatic life, so my personal testimony is anything but exciting. But, as I was told to do, I just wrote down what I knew.

We got up the next morning around 8:30 (about 5 hours after sunrise, believe it or not), had breakfast, and continued the journey to the horse camp, another one of its “fringe” camps. Thankfully, I did not feel as if I were hiking uphill the entire way this time, and the hike itself was much shorter. We arrived at horse camp around noon, ate a scrumptious lunch that consisted of chili, cornbread, honey butter, and oranges, and then learned about that camp. When we got back to “base” camp, everyone took a shower and was very happy. They say it’s been oddly warm and sunny up here lately (in the 60s and 70s, zero clouds). While it’s nice for us counselors (especially those from down South), they say it really messes with Alaskans, who are more apt to get dehydrated and suffer from heat exhaustion. So, while I selfishly hope the sun stays out the entire summer, I guess I really should start praying for rain—for the sake of the kids. Maybe rain can be a form of suffering for Jesus too.

That evening, the counselors with last names A-L shared their testimonies with the other counselors and staff. It was a really powerful experience—it’s amazing how many different kinds of people God chose to bring together for His purpose. Everyone had a different story, a distinct background, a separate experience to bring to the table. I’m excited to see how all the parts of the body end up becoming one.

Wednesday was pretty chill. We learned about “canoe safety” and how to save canoe-faller-outers from the icy Alaskan waters of death. The water is about 40 degrees out here. Sweet. The rest of the counselors and I shared our testimonies that evening as well—which was pretty intense once again—but great to see the way God has moved in people’s lives.

Yesterday (Thursday) was busy! We learned special camp songs and their motions, discussed the camp’s “philosophy and goals”, and talked about how to best share the gospel with our campers. It was a great discussion and prayer time for those of us who are pretty nervous about being Jesus to a bunch of rowdy kids. Bu He tells us that, if we trust in Him, we will never be disappointed—right? Then we practiced the sky trolley/zipline, which was a complete blast. Hopefully I will be a little better at putting harnesses on the kids than I was last night. Pray for me. Afterwards, we practiced our “silly skits”. I volunteered to be Susan Boyle for the “Echo Ranch Idol” skit. I’ll do my best to get a lot of pictures.

Today is the second-to-last day of orientation, praise Jesus! We got our training in first aid and bathroom/kitchen cleaning, practiced puppet songs, and will be going to a progressive dinner in the staff workers’ homes tonight.

I would just like to say that I really enjoy the bottomless cups of coffee and tea they give you up here. You can walk into the dining hall at any hour of the day, and it’s right there waiting for you. They also offer a “free corner” where they leave all the extra dessert. Awesome.

I decided to include a few travel tips for everyone's benefit:

1) Make sure that the thing you thought was shampoo when you bought it is actually shampoo. My turned out to be a giant bottle of conditioner. At least I'll have really soft hair.

2) Spent that extra $1 on the "nice" towels. I bought the cheapest towels ever at Target, and you would know it as soon as you saw their lint all over my body.

3) Weigh your suitcases before going to the airport. My giant one was 61.8 lbs (you want to keep it at 50 lbs and under for the standard rate) and therefore an extra $50 of baggage fees.

That is all. Thank you for the prayers, and please keep them up as the campers will be arriving next Monday. Love you all!