With first term well on the way, I've had lots of little learning experiences. Coming back from my trip to Dallas, I felt like I was constantly playing catch up. My section of cabins that I'm responsible for as a KPS is cabins 1-4, so my goal is always to know those counselors and be a support for them as well as know the kids as be there for them as well. Cabin 1 is our only cabin on the girl's side that houses 1-week kampers. So, cabins 2-4 are usually our youngest 12-year-olds at kamp. They are usually fresh from K-Kountry or K-1 and are wide-eyed and excited about being in a new place. They are so much fun! Although I always think I can be doing better at my job, it has been fun to get to know those kids. There are also so many girls here this term that I recognize and know from last year. After I got back from Dallas, it was cool to look around and realize that I already knew a chunk of girls that were there. It has been cool to see how they've grown and matured and continue to build on relationships that started in the past.
It has definitely not been a typical term. Coming back into kamp after changeover just set the tone. The next night, the other two girl KPDs and I drove into Berryville, AR to go to Wal-Mart. We were on a mission to buy supplies for the upcoming "girl day" at kamp and a few other things. The outing took much longer than expected, and we ended up missing all of that night's activities. Beginning my job as 7-day coordinator has brought with it a lot of new experiences as well! Since we are fitting one-week kampers into a two-week world, there are some tweeks that have to be made. For example, the kids who come on the front end of the two-week term miss out on our kamp-wide Cross Talks and Purity night. Because of that, Tyler and I (my co on the guy's side), had to develop our own Cross Talks and Purity for that group of kids. For Purity, one of my wonderful kamp friends was willing to step in, but for Cross Talk, Tyler and I had to plan it all on our own. It was a cool challenge, and something that I had never really done before. I was so pleased with the result, though! We ended up developing a great talk that met everything that I had been hoping it would. Going into it, my goal was to present the Gospel in powerful way that was also understandable for our audience. I never taught in this context to that many people, so I was a little nervous, but the Holy Spirit totally took over and worked in incredible ways. I felt great about it overall and walked away from it pumped up and excited for the next one. It was such a THRILL to teach the Gospel and to pray that hearts would be changed through that. let's just say I'm excited for the next one!
The biggest learning experience of the past couple of weeks was definitely 7-day changeover day. This is when the first group of one-week kampers left and the next come in. Although Tyler and I planned a lot of the schedule together, I found myself basically in charge of making sure that everything ran smoothly. It was funny because I don't think that most people realized that this was my job now until I stepped up to the mic on the morning on the ceremony to help pass out awards. It was much more stressful and crazy than I though it would be, even just making sure that 50ish people were where they needed to be when. The morning ceremony and send off went well, but coordinating things for the afternoon got a little crazy. It was strange being the point person to make decisions about scheduling when activities had to be arranged and making sure that everyone was communicated with that needed to be. Looking back, I loved the day, but was exhausted by the end of it! It was great to take the time after dinner off to recoup before starting another day. A fun thing about the day though was that Erin Groth surprised us at kamp for the day! She is someone who used to be kind of a big deal at kamp (and is somewhat legendary now haha...), but also just a good friend who is near and dear to my heart. It was such a blessing to have her around and get to catch up!
Also this term, we tried something new....split day! This is where the girls and guys split and we had Man Day and Girl Day...it was so fun! As girls we had breakfast in bed, a cake decorating contest, a huge pool party, extra long FOB (rest time in the cabin), and talent show where each cabin did a silly act, nail painting, hair braiding, and fondue! It was such a fun day!
That's the updates from kamp so far. Thanks for the prayers and I'll keep the news coming!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
A whirlwind...
In a nutshell, it's been a whirlwind of a week. Wrapped things up with staff training week, left yesterday for a wedding in Dallas, and am now driving BACK to Missouri for the fun to officially begin!! Kampers arrived right after I left yesterday, so I'm going to go back to a new world of craziness. I've been looking a the K-West twitter (KanakukKWest if you want to check it out) and it's get me so excited to jump back into things.
The wedding this weekend was phenominal. One of my pledge sisters, Camille, got married, and it was a great last time to see some of my favorite college friends before we go our separate ways. It was such a blessing. Let's just saw I'm tired now thought....not a very restful time off, especially when the a/c in your car isn't working, but it'll be worth it.
I'm looking forward to finally getting into the swing of things when I get back. Teaching classes, driving boats, lifeguarding, and directing the one-week kampers on the girls' side. This is a new responsibility this year and I'm really looking forward to. I am coordinating their arrival and parent's day ceremony, as well as a purity talk and a Cross Talk where we present the Gospel. Should be a new challenge, but it will be fun to see what God does and how I grow through it. In a kamp full of mainly kampers that are with us for 2 weeks, being there for 1 week can be quite a whirlwind! We try to pack it all in though!
The wedding this weekend was phenominal. One of my pledge sisters, Camille, got married, and it was a great last time to see some of my favorite college friends before we go our separate ways. It was such a blessing. Let's just saw I'm tired now thought....not a very restful time off, especially when the a/c in your car isn't working, but it'll be worth it.
I'm looking forward to finally getting into the swing of things when I get back. Teaching classes, driving boats, lifeguarding, and directing the one-week kampers on the girls' side. This is a new responsibility this year and I'm really looking forward to. I am coordinating their arrival and parent's day ceremony, as well as a purity talk and a Cross Talk where we present the Gospel. Should be a new challenge, but it will be fun to see what God does and how I grow through it. In a kamp full of mainly kampers that are with us for 2 weeks, being there for 1 week can be quite a whirlwind! We try to pack it all in though!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Summer 2011. Game on.
It's here already....Summer 2011. Still blows my mind, but right now I'm sitting in the basement of a kamp family, watching the Thunder v. Mavs game and hanging out with some of favorite friends at K-West. A few of us came up to kamp early to get things ready, such as cleaning the cabins and stocking supplies. A handful of boys came up even earlier in the week to really get the ball rolling and open up kamp. Us girls were lucky to come in after a LOT had already been done. Tomorrow, more staff arrive for Klinics. This is when a few people get trained in specific sports, canoeing, kayaking, and boat driving. I finally get to be trained to be a boat driver this year...I'M SO EXCITED! It's going to be great because it is something new for me to do this summer. Being the 4th summer here, it's good to have a little bit of change. It'll be fun for sure. After a couple days of Klinics, the rest of the summer staff will arrive for Work Week. Basically a week of fun, bonding, learning about kamp, and lots of work. Hopefully, it won't get too hot yet. It hasn't been too bad yet. I actually wore sweatpants and long-sleeve shirt to breakfast this morning!
So for this summer I'm doing the same job that I did last summer. I'll be a KPD (Kamper Personnel Director...basically a really fancy title for not that fancy of a job). I'm excited about it this year because I'll be working with some of my favorite friends at kamp: Emily and Kyle!! I'm praying that, even though I'll be doing the same job again, that I will gain a new perspective on it. I don't want it to be the same old same old, but rather find joy in the new things and an energy to do it well! Also, this is the first summer that I officially feel old. Looking at the list of people coming in this week, most of them are freshman and sophomores. And I'm a college graduate. Strange. But cool too. Anyway, I have to head back to kamp now, but just be praying for safe travel and preparation, for personalities to mesh, and for the Lord to be IN THIS SUMMER. Game On, K-West. 2011. Let's go.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The hills are ALIVE!
Our trip to Salzburg, Austria, gave me the chance to live one of my life dreams and go on the Sound of Music tour! It was so much fun to see some of the sights of the movie. These were things that have been a part of my life since I was 7. A big thanks to Lauren and Lisa for appeasing me and going along with the day-long excursion. Here are a few pics from the day:
The Sound of Music cow that awaited us at the beginning of the tour. It was amazing to me that our tour was full even in December. There are so many people, especially in the English-speaking world (ironically the tour was only given in English), that are in love with this movie, even after so many years.
The iconic gazebo! Unfortunately, I found out that this one was only used for the outside filming. The inside, like where the dancing took place, was a set. The gazebo isn't open anymore due to an injury: an 80 year old woman fell and broke her hip trying to dance around like Liesl.
We drove an hour out into the lakes and mountains district to the town of Mondsee to visit the church where Maria and Captain VonTrapp were married in the movie. From the movie, I had always pictured it as being so big! In real life, it was a lot smaller than I expected, and a lot more...pink. But it was still very beautiful!
I had to go on an adventure to find the house. The tour couldn't take us there because the road leading up to it weren't fit for a bus, but they told us where to go to find it. I had to go! So, I hopped on the bus that afternoon, got off at Hellbrun Castle, and made my way up the road to the house. It took me awhile to find it, but it was totally worth it! Since I went out there by myself, I asked a sweet old Austrian couple that was walking by to take my picture. Granted, we communicated through broken English, but they didn't seem to understand why I wanted to have my picture taken in front of it. The lady asked, "Is this your future house?" Oh, how I wish! The gates were open, so I went in to explore the courtyard, too. I wish Abbey Schwada had been there to experience it with me!
Doooooooo!!!!! I wish I could sing like Julie Andrews! This was my moment of pretending to be her. I took this picture with my mom in mind, because she always said that, when she got to heaven, she wanted to strike this pose and sing as high as Julie Andrews in this scene!
Another part of the Do-Re-Mi sequence...pretending to be Julie Andrews.
Ice skating in the Christmas market in front of the Salzburg Museum. 
Posing for another scene from the movie in front of the Mozart food bridge.
Nonnaberg Abbey where the real Maria Von Trapp was a nun and where the filmed parts of the movie as well. We couldn't make it up to the Abbey due to the weather and snow on the hill, but it was still fun to see it in the background.
The Sound of Music cow that awaited us at the beginning of the tour. It was amazing to me that our tour was full even in December. There are so many people, especially in the English-speaking world (ironically the tour was only given in English), that are in love with this movie, even after so many years. 
The iconic gazebo! Unfortunately, I found out that this one was only used for the outside filming. The inside, like where the dancing took place, was a set. The gazebo isn't open anymore due to an injury: an 80 year old woman fell and broke her hip trying to dance around like Liesl.
We drove an hour out into the lakes and mountains district to the town of Mondsee to visit the church where Maria and Captain VonTrapp were married in the movie. From the movie, I had always pictured it as being so big! In real life, it was a lot smaller than I expected, and a lot more...pink. But it was still very beautiful!
I had to go on an adventure to find the house. The tour couldn't take us there because the road leading up to it weren't fit for a bus, but they told us where to go to find it. I had to go! So, I hopped on the bus that afternoon, got off at Hellbrun Castle, and made my way up the road to the house. It took me awhile to find it, but it was totally worth it! Since I went out there by myself, I asked a sweet old Austrian couple that was walking by to take my picture. Granted, we communicated through broken English, but they didn't seem to understand why I wanted to have my picture taken in front of it. The lady asked, "Is this your future house?" Oh, how I wish! The gates were open, so I went in to explore the courtyard, too. I wish Abbey Schwada had been there to experience it with me!
Doooooooo!!!!! I wish I could sing like Julie Andrews! This was my moment of pretending to be her. I took this picture with my mom in mind, because she always said that, when she got to heaven, she wanted to strike this pose and sing as high as Julie Andrews in this scene!
Another part of the Do-Re-Mi sequence...pretending to be Julie Andrews.
Ice skating in the Christmas market in front of the Salzburg Museum. 
Posing for another scene from the movie in front of the Mozart food bridge.
Nonnaberg Abbey where the real Maria Von Trapp was a nun and where the filmed parts of the movie as well. We couldn't make it up to the Abbey due to the weather and snow on the hill, but it was still fun to see it in the background. Thursday, December 9, 2010
The London Eye
The spindle and hub of the London Eye remind me of an airplane for some reason. The spindle holds the wheel structure and the hub rotates it around the spindle. The spindle is 23 meters tall, which is the same as the size of a church spire. The spindle and the hub together weigh 330 tons--over 20 times heavier than Big Ben!(www.londoneye.com for Interesting Facts)
The view from the top of Parliament, Big Ben, and the Thames River.
This is the view from our capsule from below to another capsule. The capsules need to be able to rotate on their axis in order to move smoothly around the Eye. Otherwise, the people inside would fall over or have to stand on the ceiling!
London from 100 meters up!
The view from the top of Parliament, Big Ben, and the Thames River.
This is the view from our capsule from below to another capsule. The capsules need to be able to rotate on their axis in order to move smoothly around the Eye. Otherwise, the people inside would fall over or have to stand on the ceiling!
We had some extra time today since it's so cold here in Salzburg, so I wanted to post some much-overdue pictures from the London Eye. This is a must-do activity in London. It's
135 meters high. On a clear day, you can see for 25 miles around the city. It takes 30 minutes to make a full revolution, or 26 cm per second. That's twice as fast as a turtle sprinting! This way, it's easy for the passengers to step on and off. They don't have to stop the Eye for people to get on or off. If the Eye were completely full, it would carry 800 passengers at once! Wow!
We rode the Eye at night. It was so cool to see the city all lit up! I put up these pictures per request of my students at Robinson Elementary, especially Colby. (
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What's up, Pope?
Hello, Rome! I was blown away by the history, art, and architecture that this city holds. I loved exploring it's streets, although I quickly realized how much I missed having my family there for special trips like this. It was weird not sharing this with them. This is also the first BIG traveling that I've done with just myself and some friends. It's weird not having the security of my family right by me. Despite some stressful travel moments and confusion, we still ended up making the most of our two and a half days in Rome and got to see some incredible things. I wasn't able to put up all of the pictures that I wanted to, but here are some highlights from our trip:
Things we experienced-- it makes me tired and so thrilled just thinking about it all!
Standing in Vatican City outside St. Peter's Basillica. Absolutely breath-taking!
What's up, Pope? Yeah, I got to hear you speak...in Italian and English! Thanks for making an English shout out!
Preparing to climb the Spanish steps with Lauren.
The Trevvi Fountain! So surreal to actually be here. It's something that you see in movies and hear about a lot, and there it was! It was just sitting in the middle of a neighborhood. I think my favorite part of seeing all of these famous things is realizing that they are normal to the people that live there. It's just something that's there...something real. It's no longer a story; seeing these wonders in their context really puts things into perspective.
Seeing the Colloseum and the Vatican were the highlights of the trip. I could have wandered around here for hours! I love to imagine what it would have been like to experience the Colloseum in action. It's crazy to think that those things really happened! It was also amazing to see the level of architecture and skill that went into designing this building that was made so long ago!
Things we experienced-- it makes me tired and so thrilled just thinking about it all!
- Vatican City
- listening to the pope give his Sunday blessing from his apartment
- St. Peter's Basillica
- climbing to the top of the dome of the Basillica
- Vatican museum
- Sistene Chapel
- Trevvi Fountain
- Spanish Steps
- The Colloseum
- Palatine Hill
- Roman Forum
- Piazza Novano and the Fountain of the Four Winds
- Pantheon
Standing in Vatican City outside St. Peter's Basillica. Absolutely breath-taking!
What's up, Pope? Yeah, I got to hear you speak...in Italian and English! Thanks for making an English shout out!
Preparing to climb the Spanish steps with Lauren.
The Trevvi Fountain! So surreal to actually be here. It's something that you see in movies and hear about a lot, and there it was! It was just sitting in the middle of a neighborhood. I think my favorite part of seeing all of these famous things is realizing that they are normal to the people that live there. It's just something that's there...something real. It's no longer a story; seeing these wonders in their context really puts things into perspective.
Seeing the Colloseum and the Vatican were the highlights of the trip. I could have wandered around here for hours! I love to imagine what it would have been like to experience the Colloseum in action. It's crazy to think that those things really happened! It was also amazing to see the level of architecture and skill that went into designing this building that was made so long ago!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Pictures from Dublin!
Dublin was absolutely wonderful! I wish I had time to tell you all about it, but I wanted to share a few pictures.
Lisa and I at Trinity College in Dublin. We got to see the Book of Kells here. It's a beautifully ornate copy of the Gospels that was written in 900 AD. Crazy! Notice the snow on the ground...that was the day BEFORE it really fell. It was so cold and icy!
Apparently, this means "Dublin" in their language. Ths was in the main shoping area of the city, O'Connell Street. It was already beautifully decorated for Christmas!
After our day in Dublin, we went out to the cute seaside town of Howth. It was nice to get out of the city and be in the countryside. We even met some new friends...a seal and three walrus just hanging out in the harbor! So cool to see them in the wild. They didn't even mind that there were tons of people staring at them.
More of Howth. So cool to see boats above the snow!
Malahide Castle...so cool to see this in the Irish countryside!
Lisa and I at Trinity College in Dublin. We got to see the Book of Kells here. It's a beautifully ornate copy of the Gospels that was written in 900 AD. Crazy! Notice the snow on the ground...that was the day BEFORE it really fell. It was so cold and icy!
Apparently, this means "Dublin" in their language. Ths was in the main shoping area of the city, O'Connell Street. It was already beautifully decorated for Christmas!
After our day in Dublin, we went out to the cute seaside town of Howth. It was nice to get out of the city and be in the countryside. We even met some new friends...a seal and three walrus just hanging out in the harbor! So cool to see them in the wild. They didn't even mind that there were tons of people staring at them.
More of Howth. So cool to see boats above the snow!
Malahide Castle...so cool to see this in the Irish countryside!
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