Camp Wedding and Camp Visit

So, it's been almost three weeks since posting and I figure I should get an update goin...

I'm still in Springfield; but in two weeks from yesterday I head to New Orleans for the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference as the beginning of my internship. I'm SUPER excited and honestly cannot focus on pretty much anything else.

Anywho, a couple weekends ago I had the great opportunity to attend a camp wedding in Palmyra, MO. It was the wedding of Pharaoh and Cleo, and it was beautiful. They are both so awesome and pray the best for their new life together. Another reason this wedding was so great to be at was being able to see SOOO many people from camp there. I have not seen many of them for a year (and the rest since staff reunion in December) and I missed them so much. I love all those guys and I can't believe that it crossed my mind not to visit camp at all this summer.

That evening at the wedding, I got to talking to a couple of my current counselor friends and realized that if I was going to visit camp this summer at all, it would have to be that next weekend. So, I made up my mind to do it... I'm not usually very impulsive but after seeing them all at the wedding I knew I had to go visit.

That next Thursday evening, after LuHi summer day camp, I made my way down to Wartburg. I joined in on the evening all camp game (Bibles to China), walked out to tree house for the camp fire, and joined Wacky Water Week for a night swim. Friday morning I got up early and took a walk around camp just to get stopped by one of the full time camp staff telling me some of the cooks didn't show up to make breakfast. So, Flash (that's me, for those that don't know) got to make and serve breakfast for the whole camp Friday morning. For the rest of the morning I got to help with the climbing wall, belaying with Presto for a 4-H group and his one MO Quest camper. It was AWESOME!! I couldn't have asked for a better morning... the afternoon was spent doing luggage runs, equipment runs, and cleaning. It was SOOOOOOOOOO HOT!!!!! So, had I not done all this with one of my best friends from camp and a new friend at camp, it would have been as good as torture. In any case, we had a pretty good time, and I finished the day after dinner and Friday Night Festival with more cleaning. Other people may think that that does not sound like much of a day, but it was so nice to be at camp and be able to help out.

That night I went into St Louis to the house of a couple more of my very good friends from camp and spent the night there. It was great to be able to kick back and spend some quality time with a few of my old colleagues. I got to spend some more time with a few of them next day while we played board games until about 6:30 pm... it was sweet!!

After church and sticking around for their staff meeting the next day (Sunday obviously), I returned to Springfield.

Between the wedding and visiting camp, I am reminded why I love camp so much. It is so nice to feel like you belong somewhere and you're apart of something even if you're not there anymore.

Hey Lord,
Thank you so much for the past two weekends! It is been so refreshing to see some of my dear friends from camp and spend some time with them. Lord, today I pray for the continued and growing ministry of Camp Wartburg and all the other NLOMA camps, as well as other "church camps." Lord, I pray for my counselor friends, both new and old; please be with them and bless them, both at camp and beyond. Thank you for allowing them to be a part of my life.
AMEN