hangenout with liz

Camp Joy-O my soul

Ok, brace yourself- this is going to be a long almost minute to minute account of my weekend retreat to Camp Joy. So grab a snack, use the potty, and grab the tissues...
Friday, Day 1 (Yes, we were only there for two days)
Arrival:
Everything was going great. We headed up to the Welcome Center to load up and go, totally prepared-or so we thought- for the weekend ahead. So we load up in two vans and my car and head 45 minutes west to Whitewater, WI. (There were some mighty fine examples of God's creation on the trip if I may so myself)
At Camp Joy:
So we pull in, totally excited and fired up for the weekend when suddenly we realize that we are the only ones there, save the camp director. Odd right. Yeah, so when we ask the camp director where everyone else is, namely the other counselors, what do we get, "What other counselors? You guys are it." O my goodness. So here we are 15 poor college students alone in the wilderness without any experience of being at Camp Joy before. (I mean, none of us even knew where the bathroom was) And we are expected to counsel kids for twenty four hours. Ok, right, bad, but do-able.
Campers Arrive:
So we are all kinda prepared now, I mean, we found out where the toilet was and where the dining hall was and where our personal cabins were at, and now, time for the campers!! So proudly wearing our Miss Elizabeth, Miss Karen, Mr. Brad nametags, we head to the chapel. Here's where it gets funny. I'm standing there, awaiting my cabin full of sixth grade girls, third grade girls at the youngest, and what happens. Um, Miss Elizabeth, we have some first graders who arrived and we are not going to turn them away, so could you have them in your cabin. And, before I could respond, I had six little six year old girls hovering around me. So ten minutes later when I could get them all to stop telling me who there teacher was, who threw up on the bus, and what time they normally go to bed, I got them to the cabin. You want to know what six year olds do on three high bunk beds- they jump. We are talking here girls who are no taller than 4 ft jumping seven feet high and telling me to catch them as they fall. Then after no one thankfully broke any bones, we bundled up and headed to the chapel, where I asked where the gym was so that they could all play, seems harmless enough right. Come to find out the gym is down the hill and to the left. Six year old girls hate the dark, and in WI, it's dark at like 4 in the winter. So here we go, screaming and running on icy concrete down the hill at 6 o'clock in the evening. Upon arriving at the gym, the girls promptly remove their shoes and coats and begin to run around. Then what, "Miss Elizabeth, we have to go pee." Seems harmless enough right? WRONG!!! The bathroom is all the way back in the cabin, and we have to stay together all of the time. So we all bundle back up, march back up the hill screaming and yelling, so on little girl can get to the potty in time, which, praise be to God, she did. Then, off to chapel, where we sing songs like animals, ( You'd never know there were thirty verses to I've got the Joy Joy Joy Joy would ya) and then back to the cabin. Here, we bundle up and decide we are all going tubing. Great right? Get them all wound up and exhausted in the fresh air and then shove them down a hill at super speeds, what can be better than that? Well, sixth grade boys like to push the six year old girls down the hill. Fun at first right? But, before I could stop it, down goes Brianna, one of my girls, using her head for a tube. She didn't cry too hard, so I figured she was ok right? Well, when she got into the light, I noticed she was profusely bleeding from her face. Wonderful. So off to the nurse. And guys, she looked really, really, REALLY BAD!!! So, try answering all of the questions associated with that. Why does she look so bad? Why did she go tubing on her face, is she stupid? Why didn't you tell her no? You are like the worst counselor ever, aren't you? I have to pee.........
More Tomorrow, just wait, it gets even better ...

posted by Liz @ 7:14 PM