Junior Retreat

Have I ever mentioned I love camp? This past week has gone by once again in an extremely quick fashion! At the beginning of the week we split ourselves into two groups. Wednesday we set out for caving which definitely surpassed all of my expectations! The insides of the caves were like something out of National Geographic. Looking back the coolest thing was climbing up a waterfall inside a cave! It was awesome to see fellow Kaleo students overcome their fears of insects or small spaces! Thursday we went returned to Victoria to help S.A.L.T.S put the Pacific Swift away for the winter. It was awesome to work as a team on such a huge task and be able to help them get so much accomplished. As we were working I realized how much fun I was having serving on a team, it didn't even feel like I was doing "work". This weekend we welcomed a group of junior campers onto Camp Qwanoes for the fall retreat. I got to serve as a counselor, which is a familiar role for me but it was really cool to see how a different camp runs. Coming from Luseland Bible Camp I had a hard time imagining how a camp as big as Qwanoes could create a close, kind atmosphere, but I was so excited to develop close relationships with my campers. There was such a caring, safe atmosphere and I fell in love with Camp Qwanoes not just the Kaleo program here. The theme for the weekend was "It's what's on the inside that counts" which was perfect for the campers at this age. For the weekend we did everything in our cabins, eating our meals, playing the games and of course sleeping. I had such an awesome time hearing where the girls were coming from. I was also surprised how easily they trusted me and shared their hearts. We're currently taking the Camp Ministry class and it was really cool trying to take the things we're learning and put them into action.