This week is the third week of counseling for me. I'm so excited to get to know the girls in my cabin more! They're all going into 5th grade... they're a bunch of wild little munchkins! I love it. Last week I counseled girls going into 8th grade, and my sister Faith was in my cabin. It was a lot of fun! It's so cool to interact with all the different age groups.
Last week was a little challenging for me because there was some drama in my cabin that I didn't really know how to handle. Prayers that God would give me wisdom in those kinds of situations would be appreciated so much! It was interesting having my sister in my cabin last week but it was definitely fun! I could tell that she appreciated the comfort and security she got from me being her counselor.
One of the things that stood out to me from last week was that middle school girls go through some tough stuff. Like I mentioned before, the whole drama thing started with one of my girls feeling left out, and then there was also a lot of insecurity issues they were all dealing with. Oh, the good 'ole days of middle school. Working with that age group brought back memories of myself struggling with the same kind of issues, and so it was easy to relate to them and talk to them about it. One night during debrief at the camp fire, I talked about how there are so many lies that we as girls believe about ourselves. For example...
- our worth is found in what other people think about us
- we have to live up to a certain worldly standard
- we are defined by the mirror
- we need attention from guys
...and the list goes on. I then talked about how only God can define us, and that we are made in His beautiful image. I gave them each an envelope with a paper in it titled "Who I Am In Christ" with a list of bible verses underneath that showed them who they truly are. I hope they keep them forever and that they will be able to look back on them whenever they're not feeling the greatest about themselves.
After closeouts and chores Saturday, me and the other SSTers were thinking of stuff we could do. After a long week of camp, all of the staff is always ready to have some fun! We finally decided to go to Dave's Falls to take a hike and swim. Woohoo! Once we got to the swimming hole, I realized that I wasn't wearing my swimsuit and so I wouldn't be able to swim. Well, that's not what everyone else thought! Two of the guys starting chasing me around trying to get me wet, and then my friend James scooped me up and threw me in the water, fully clothed and everything (the nice thing about being in the boonies is that you never have your phone on you, and so everyone always assumes it's okay to do those kinds of things :P)! It was so fun! We played some chicken and also had a mud fight. It was truly AWESOME. After that adventure, we all went to Ranger Family Restaurant and then to a friend's house to watch She's The Man. What a day! The next day, me and some pals spontaneously went white water rafting. It was SO fun, and SO worth the $50. :D
After that, I was in my cabin just reflecting on what an awesome weekend I had. I began to think how cool God is, that He would create the little places like Dave's Falls just so that His people could enjoy His creation to the fullest, fellowshipping the way He made us to fellowship, and having fun with nothing but each other, water and mud. No phones, no internet, no board games, no TV's...just His pure creation. How cool is that?! God is so good. I can't wait for more adventures like that!
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to help me reach my financial goal this summer as well. Go to www.llbc.org, and donate to my mission from there! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a letter, a text, or a Facebook message!
-Mackenzie
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