One Giant Wrestling Match

The summer is the best time for blogging because of the limitless photos and stories.  It's also the most challenging time to blog because of the nonstop schedule.  I am consoling myself with the promise that I will share many summer camp pictures in the fall.  Here are a few quick shots from the past couple of weeks - in no particular order or relevance. :-)

This summer Phillip Turner has been working as a cabin leader at camp.  He's my best friend's brother and from my hometown in Rupert, Idaho.  He's doing a great job engaging his campers and making an impact in their lives.  Every week we have theme chapel.  Cabins win points for the most creative theme.  One week Phillip's cabin only had 3 boys in it.  So he had them be the 3 Blind Mice.  The kids were really hamming it up, wish you were there. :-)

I love, love, love that camp is multicultural!  It's such a healthy experience for our campers.  Here is Jenessa, Christina, and Love.

The 2 boys in the front are friends from my church in Kalamazoo, Preston and Jordan.  With this job I inherited a lot of relationships and community connections and I love the many places I have friends.  I also love all the older kids that I know at camp from previous summers.

Boys Swim Time = Giant Wrestling Match, LOL

Diamond, me, and Tamia.  Haircut Wednesday is always a good time for pictures. :-)  We have one more week of summer camp, can you believe it?!  Pray for our summer staff to finish strong and for great spiritual impact in our last set of campers.

Mustache Tuesday

Every week we have mustache Tuesday where one cabin wins for the most creative mustaches. Phillip Turner creating a mustache for Julian.

Me with Diamond.

A mustache made out of AirHeads.

Each camper gets their picture taken for the end of the week thank you letters.  Last week I didn't get the pictures taken before mustache Tuesday.  We print the letters in black and white so you can't tell that this mustache is purple marker.  So Cameron's sponsor is going to wonder why this 8 year old boy has a grown man's mustache. :-)

Here are a couple of quotes from this week's thank you letters:

"My cabin is called Fiery Furnace and my cabin leaders are Philip, Zack, and Dan.  These guys are the nicest guys I ever met in my life." - Mark, age 13

"I had a wonderful time doing everything.  And finally I have something to say, drum roll please ... Ba bababa ba ba ba boom, I GOT SAVED!" - Kiyah, age 10

"Zip line was FF: fast and fun.  And the petting farm was fluffy.  And cookout was yummy." - Emilio, age 10

4th of July 2010

I took a quick weekend trip to Chicago for the 4th.  This summer I kept my same apartment for the first time in 8 years!  I'm believing God that my season of such transient living is over and that I will be at home in my new home on the South Side of Chicago for a long time!  I had some concerns with leaving my apartment for the summer but all is well!

I got to see a handful of my kids and go to my Chicago church while I was there for the weekend.  This is Tavaris at the park.  He doesn't get to come to camp this summer because of summer school - pray that he hates it so he'll work hard this next school year.

My friend Jessica came along and we went to visit on of her previous campers, Ella.  We only got to see her for a quick minute, but we found out that Ella just graduated from high school and plans to go to college in the fall!

I went to the JAYs for the family bbq.  This is Jireh, Demans, and Jabri.  Poor Jireh doesn't really understand "I'll be back from camp in August."  Her mom told me the other day that they were all sitting around and Jireh said "What did you guys do to Miss Megan that she doesn't come to the house everyday anymore?!"  lol

So, speaking of the family BBQ ... I'm not very good at eating meat with bones in it.  The thing is, I REALLY cannot put a bone in my mouth.  And you can't really eat ribs with a knife and fork.  I have some friends who won't even allow me to eat ribs and their house because I make such a pitiful attempt at it.  My people are always tryna talk about me for this (you know who you are).....  This made me laugh because apparently lamb ribs are tough to get apart - hence the hammer hitting the knife!!  Funny to me.

Me an Lil Courtney, who doesn't let just everybody pick her up :[)

Fun in the Sun

Camp is rolling right along - we now at the official half way point!  Enjoy these snapshots of our summer fun!

Quite possibly the cutest sisters ever!  Elanah, Emily, and Elise

Me and my little buddy DeQuan.  Why the yellow ribbon?  Well, what had happened was I was giving instructions during table games and just when I was trying to get everyone's attention my chair totally broke and I fell under the table.  At camp we have a Boo Boo can and during chapel the kids vote for which staff member had the best boo boo.  The "winner" has to wear a yellow ribbon for the next day and the kids spend the next day asking them "why the yellow ribbon?"

Cabin leader Justin with Rodney, DeQuan and Sam

This was the pose Michael picked for his camper picture. :-)

Make your own balloon animal lessons with Anty'Shae and Imari.