The joy of the summer!

This weekend has been glorious!! G.L.O.R.I.O.U.S. I left kamp on Friday morning and drove down to good ol' Waco for a wedding. It was a good excuse to get out of Missouri for a bit and I've actually been MISSING Waco lately. It's weird to say that, but I have. The wedding was incredible...it was two of my good friends from church in college. They've been dating for I guess 3 or so years now and finally tied the knot! It was so beautiful and so fun. The best part was that SO MANY people were there! I loved it! I saw people that I did't expect to see. It was like a mini Baylor/church reunion. I also got to spend some time with my favorite Waco family, the Smarts, and my old roommate, Kelsey. I can already tell that I'm going to miss this place next year. The reality of going to the Kanakuk Institute next year and living in Branson, MO, is starting to sink in....we'll see.

As for kamp, things are going well. The picture above is obviously from 4th of July, one of my favorite days of the summer!! And these are some of my favorite people at kamp and the ladies that I'm priviledged to work with day in and day out. The 4th was a day of celebration--everyone wears red, white, and blue, we have a HUGE picnic (this year complete with a bratwurst bar), and an hour-long fireworks show with K2 and K7. So fun! Another highlight of the past term was that my little brother, Austin, was a kamper at K2! I got to go and visit him several times throughout the term. It has been so fun to watch him grow up and it makes me so happy to see him thriving, especially now that he's at the bigger high school kamp. He absolutely loved it!

I left to head to Waco at the end of a kamper term and also the end of a staff term. So, when I return to kamp tomorrow, a LOT is going to be new. New counselors, new kids. The past staff that we had was incredibly and are going to be greatly missed, but I'm looking forward to the new energy and perspective that this staff is going to bring. A lot of them have never been on staff before, so it will be exciting to see them learn and lead.

I'm doing OK energy-wise so far. I know that my body has to be exhausted, but my mind is still mentally prepared to be there for another month. I'm praying for energy and focus, against laziness, etc. There are some things that I'm looking forward to changing in the way that I approach my job and some new things that I want to implement. I want to finish well! Thanks for your support and insight, friends. Love to you all!

And CONGRATULATIONS MR. AND MRS. FOSTER!