The last Stretch

So we have three more kids camps and then the summer will be over. Crazy! Awesome things have been happening at camp and God has worked in the lives of so many people. But for now, I ask for prayer. Pray that I stay focused on loving kids well and don't let the little frustrating situations get the best of me. Thanks for the continuous support and prayer! It means the world to me.

One Day More...

Well folks, here it is Thursday and we have one day until I will be at Look Up Lodge and  you know I have all my bags packed, minus my arts and craft supplies. Hey, ya never know when you might wanna get a little crafty. With today being one day until camp begins a lot of thoughts are running through my mind. I'm pumped to be at LUL but it still doesn't feel like a year has passed since I was there last summer. However, no matter what I do, round two at LUL will begin tomorrow. My last and final reason I am excited for camp to begin-witnessing God moments.

The summer has really great moments as well as moments when you don't think you can work top zip one more humid day. However, it's in these moments where my own strength ends and God's begins. In these God moments it's a great reminder that we can't do the summer alone. If I were to rely on my own strength and understanding of the summer then I would be solely lost and wore out probably the second week. God moments happen through out the summer in the smallest or biggest ways. A lot of times I'll start to doubt whether or not I'm doing all God has called me to do and he gently reminds me I'm his and doing great to keep trucking onward! God moments also happen with campers. Right at the moment you begin to wonder if the kids are actually taking in everything you are saying and then BAM! There it is! A camper reassures you that there is hope.

Since there will be 24 summer staffers including myself arriving at camp tomorrow I ask that you keep us in your prayers. Pray that we focus, and have strength and also work well together as a team. As far as personal prayer requests, pray that I listen to the voice of truth and focus on the task at hand this summer.

I hope that you continue to check out my blog because I will continue to inform you of prayer requests and things going on at camp.

Tomorrow :) When I will be at LUL.
#CantWaitForLookUp

Crazy Little Games...

Two more days. TWO MORE DAYS. I repeat, TWO MORE DAYS!! Oh where oh where has time gone? Seems like yesterday I gathered the idea to start a blog and now.. Well, here we are two days left in the countdown! But the blogging doesn't stop after Friday. (Well for two weeks I will be disconnected, but after that who knows when I'll be back on). Anyways, Reason number two I am excited for camp to start-Crazy games.

By crazy games I mean carpet ball, 9 square, gaga ball, and much more! I don't know what it is but LUL always has the craziest, silliest, funnest little games that you would have never thought about playing. Literally, last summer I tried the entire summer to master 9 square and did I?? Nope. But hey it sure was a fun process along the way. But, as I recall, I think I did get the most improved player. YAY! All that hard work pays off.

But why do I love these games so much? One word: conversation. When I get to play these games I get to talk to campers that are on my team and other teams. This is exciting because I feel like I am able to put myself out there and talk to campers that normally wouldn't say a  word. I think it's important to let the campers know hey, I'm not perfect and I don't have all the answers but I am here for you. Wanna play gaga ball? OKAY! Wanna play 9 square? MY FAVORITE! Carpet ball? EVEN BETTER! See? It's just a fun experience being able to play games because it takes the intense week the campers may be having and turns it into a fun little adventure.

Speaking of adventures I'll tell you my adventure with gaga ball and why I am paranoid every time I am around the court. So this one time, last summer during orientation weekend, the year round staff thought it was a great idea to introduce us to the game and actually have us play a round. Harmless right? WRONG. I got hit in the face with the gaga ball, hopped out of the playing area and low and behold the ball hit me again! The ball kept following me everywhere I went it seemed. Pretty crazy, and a little painful but at the end of the day I was A-Okay and still returned as a staffer.

Til Tomorrow when we will have one day more! ahahahahha
#CantWaitForLookUp

And Then There Were Three...

And then there were three days left in our countdown. Hard to believe there are three more days until time to ship off for the camp life. I feel like time is shrinking and my list of things to do is growing. So with today being three days until camp I figured I'd tell you one more thing that makes me super pumped for camp. Reason number 3 I am excited for camp to start-Stories to tell. And what better way than to tell you three funny (at least to me) stories.

1. One time we were so graciously given many many snacks. And by given I mean the campers left them for us at their cabin. Or maybe they accidentally forgot them. Who knows! Anyways, Eleni and I were unloading the stuff out of Ward's car and Eleni and I had our hands full. BUT, the best thing about these snacks is there were yoohoos and this chick LOVES yoohoos. So what do I do? I grab a yoohoo to take with me and stick it in my pocket, straw already poked through the drink. Well, one other snack we had were apples. The funny thing about apples is they are round and roll if you drop them. So, I walked into the bear den, dropped the apples and continued walking when low and behold I rolled my ankle on a dern apple. Cheetos fly through the air, my yoohoo is dripping on the floor, and I'm laughing/crying because of the pain and my clumsy self. Needless to say, that was a very interesting afternoon adventure for me.

2. One time Eleni and I were having a little lady date and decided to go to the mall and Chilis. Pretty simple, right? No. I told Eleni not to bother with the GPS cause I'm from around the area and as many times as I have been to Greenville I surely would know how to get there. Well, about 45 minutes later we are no where near the Greenville mall and Chilis is not insight. As a matter of fact, nothing in the area seemed familiar at all. As we kept driving we began to see a huge inflatable gorilla on top of a car wash and at that point we decided to trust the GPS. Moral of the story, I am not very good with directions no matter how familiar with the area I think I am.

3. One time Lauren Y., Lauren S., and myself were looking for Creepy Curtis and we could not find that fella anywhere. Well we went to run on stage to see if he was there and little did I know the handle to the trap door was sticking straight up. Before I had any reaction time, I ran my toe into the little handle and had to keep running because Creepy Curtis was out there somewhere. Even though we didn't find him on stage, my toe was a-okay! Thank goodness we finally found Creepy Curtis later that day.

And these my friends, are but a snippet of the many stories I have to tell from one year of camp. Imagine how many crazy stories I might have after two summers. Stay tuned for more hilarious stories through out the summer. I'll keep you updated.

Til tomorrow.
#CantWaitForLookUp

Happy Mother's Day!

First off, Happy Mother's Day! Yaya!! I am so excited for all the moms out there. Just to let ya'll know I have the best mom in the world. I honestly have no idea what I would do without that woman! But now that you know about my mom and how wonderful she is, I shall continue. When I go to camp in 4 days (4 DAYS!!) something that will keep me at camp is my mom. Reason number 4 I am ready for camp to start-my mom.

When things get tough at camp (and life in general) I turn to my mother. There were times last year when I was super tired, doubting why I was at LUL, and times when I just needed someone to talk to other than my fellow staffers and my mom was the one I turned to. Once, It had been a very long and hard week and I was so exhausted I had to call my mom about things going on and ended up calling my mom at about 11 o'clock at night. And did she answer?? Of course! She also stayed up for an hour or so, listened to me cry, scream, and frankly she just gave me great advice on how to make it through the rest of the summer. It was incredible. I could not have made it through that night without her. So, I know I can make it through the summer with my mother's support. I just love er! She always offers the best advice and encouragement in times when I need it most. I know I can make it through the summer with my mom's support and encouragement.

Til tomorrow.
#cantwaitforlookup
P.S. My dad is very supportive too! :)

20ish T-shirts

Reason number 5 why I am ready to go to LUL-T-shirts.

As I was packing yesterday for LUL I realized how many T-shirts I actually take to camp. The what to pack list says 8-10 shirts but I'll be honest... I'm an over packer and I like to have a variety of choices so obviously 8-10 is not enough for this girl. I think it's solid to say I probably have closer to 20ish shirts. But wearing t-shirts during the summer is so much fun! You don't have to worry about if things don't really fit right and you just put a t-shirt on and go! T-shirts can also be great conversation starters with fellow campers and staff members as well. My dear ol friend Miss Eleni was even taking opinions on various t-shirts she had found. Yeah, we take t-shirt picking very seriously! If you are going to be at camp this year you will realize Miss Eleni has some of the best t-shirts including her new addition to the collection. But t-shirts are really awesome because they say a lot about a person. For example, I am in ADPI and low and behold I never realized how many t-shirts I had with ADPI on them until I started packing. I guess I will be repping my sorority this year! T-shirts are so cool groups even gave some to their summer staffers. I was super excited! Nothing screams college kid than getting excited over free t-shirts or free food!

Til tomorrow!
#cantwaitforlookup

Every Starry Night, it was His Design

Well hello fellow reader! As you know today we have six days until camp starts. The closer we get the more butterflies I get in my stomach and the shakier my hands become while typing. I know this summer is going to go great but there are still small things that even makes a returner nervous. For me, I feel like the experience might increase but the nervousness never goes away. I digress, reason number 6 I am ready for the camp life to begin-The orchard. 

To me the most beautiful place is the orchard, day or night. If you were a camper last year you know a little something about climbing the orchard hill. Last year boys had to carry rocks up one of the toughest hills LUL has to offer. Girls had to just walk up the hill and for me that was more than enough. Now obviously I never accompanied the boys up the hill but I did walk along side with our girl campers. Starting out wasn't so bad. You had a slight incline and you could still talk to your campers. However, once you got about midway you felt like you were climbing Mt. Everest... It felt like it went straight up and I told campers I'm sorry if I quit speaking but man, this is taking a lot of the air out of me! Once we made it to the top, everyone was always just so tired they could crash down right where we stood, but we kept hiking more to the very top of orchard hill where the view is breathtaking. The sun would be beaming down on all of us and we'd be sweating, hungry and tired, yet I would look around at the view and say man, so worth it! 

Not even going to lie, one night we went to the orchard to star gaze and I never thought I could fall in love with nature but that night I believe I did. It's crazy to see how amazing a view like that is. It blows my mind that God was so creative and had a designers hand. When I have moments like this I can't help but think, okay God, I am tired and not feeling well. I feel like I have ran a marathon and I don't know how much more love is left to give to the campers. BUT you are so good. As long as I have you by my side I know these campers will have more than enough and I will fulfill what you have called me to do this summer.

Til tomorrow when we will have five whole days to LUL! It's crazy cool and I can't wait! :)

#cantwaitforlookup