This is to say I made it back alive

Pictures from camp:

Emma

Heather's leg

OK, not really.  We had a mock disaster and the YCLs (youth camp leaders) dressed up with specific injuries and the younger girls had to use the first aid skills they'd learned to treat them.

There was a lot of teamwork that went into the scarily believable "compound fracture" of Heather's.  Here the fellow YCLs are blowing on the glue (Elmer's Glue) that she used to attach the "bone" which was part of a Styrofoam cup.

They're pretty ingenious girls.  And the mock disaster was a hit.

The girls are pretty much a delight.  Still, there were times when I was at camp that I would consider places like Cabela's.   There's an entire industry devoted to people that go camping...and they go camping on purpose.   It staggers my mind.  Who does that?

I didn't like walking through grass full of mice and ground squirrels (or pot guts as they're called around here).  I didn't like sleeping in a tent.  I didn't like traipsing across the way to use the bathroom in the middle of the night (although I so appreciated Adam going with me--Adam = wonderful).  I didn't like being dirty. The bottom of the shower was full of mouse droppings and there were spider webs ringing the top and the water was cold.  After the first time, I decided the shower wasn't worth a repeat. 

I admit to wondering what in the world I was doing?  I mean, I have a house.

The last night we had some guest speakers and then a testimony meeting.  I felt a unity and love for those girls and leaders!  I thought about the leaders that weren't there and I thought, they are missing out!  Then I thought, wait--does that mean I'm glad I'm here?!?

And I realized, yes it does.

There's a reason for the whole girls' camp thing.  It brings people together.  I got to know the girls in ways I wouldn't otherwise know.  There were a few moments when I shared a smile and laugh with some of the girls that are the hardest nuts to crack.  One girl squeezed my hand when she was getting a really nasty splinter removed from her finger.  Her eyes filled with tears and I wrapped my arms around her.  She's always been one of the cool kids and I'm...you know, not.  Where we were once polite but distant, she was now mine and I was going to take care of her.

So it's worth it.  I'm just OK with the fact that it only happens once a year.