Week 8

It's crazy to think back on how scared I was & how unsure I was of whether I would like it or end up staying the whole fall. This is my last weekend off in Texas. It makes me super sad to think about that. Now I've already started thinking about trying to come back next fall. I don't think I could work during the summer because it's only 24 hours off rather than 48. Plus I have other camps that I'd like to work at during the summer. Anyway, it's gonna be hard next week knowing that it's my last time with all of these people especially since theymll all get to be together for another couple of weeks.

This week we had 3 campers that we've already had in our cabin at least once this fall. Then one other person didn't show up, so we only had 4 new campers with us. One was the easiest to get along with & she did everything for herself. She was also really funny, & I'm sad that I didn't get to spend more time with her. Another one loved her princess stickers & thought that tooting was hilarious. For the dance, I did face paint for her even though I didn't know what I was doing. She'd been asking for it all week, so I painted a rose on one side & a rainbow on the other. She requested that the rainbow have black in it, too. :) She's really nice but also tough. Another camper was really sweet but had tourettes, so that was kinda funny. She actually didn't do any shouting very frequently, which made it even more surprising when she actually did. She had such a beautiful smile, though, & would often say thank you for little things we did. The funniest moment with her, though, was after I had showered her on my night out. Instead of going out, though, I decided to take a shower myself. One of the girls who was in was going to finish helping her get ready for bed, so I got my clothes & toiletries together, & just when I got my hair all wet, the camper's face pops in & she grins. I peek out the other side & she looks at me with that same smile. So I put my head back in the shower & she pokes her in again. It was about as awkward as having a 2 year old niece do the same thing...the only problem was that I knew how  much she loved the water, so I wasn't sure what I'd do if she came all the way in. So I grabbed my towel & took her to the other counselors who had a good laugh about it. Then we had Mary. Her group home that dropped her off told me she didn't talk. Then when she started talking, they said she just repeats stuff. We have so many good quotes from her. Mainly it was, "You're hungry. You're hungry, Mary. Don't take other people's food. It's not yours, Mary." We had to watch her constantly, & every day we discovered more things that she'd say, like: "Cat says meow," & "Mary, you know you think that guy's cute," & "Mary wants a kiss." She also counted to 13 if you got her started by saying 1. Thankfully we didn't get her to talk as much until the last day...the one where she stayed up til 2am saying she's hungry.  And Mary doesn't have a whisper ever. So I heard her across the room while my headphones were in. I went to sleep at about 1:15 & wakeup was at 7. I'm not sure if this is teaching me that I COULD have & take care of kids of my own or if it's confirming that I shouldn't. I like that I get a break from it every weekend. :)

Also, we had a staff member who worked on the boys' side for a while come to help us for the rest of the year. She's great & fits in well, so even though we're still down one person, it's the best that it's been all season. She's actually worked in a couple of other cabins & said that ours is so relaxed & we get along really well. :)

OH, and we had these amazing volunteers on Wednesday from a Christian discipleship program. They stayed with us from breakfast to dinner & helped & were so much fun. They prayed with us before we left & said they'll continue to pray for us. I loved it! One of them also told me about Christian Camping International because her uncle helps with it, & they help people find jobs at camps around the world. :D It might come in handy since I love it so much that I think I could do it forever.