Happy Wednesday! With this heatwave on temporary hiatus, I hope you're all enjoying the grey gloom as much as I am (it was just way too hot for me over the weekend). I felt pretty much like Donald Duck here:
But I digress. Two days ago I had the pleasure of visiting Camp Oselia, where my brother, Damian, is the camp director. I had been looking forward to going to camp because I wanted to experience the kind of work being done out there with the youth of our church so that I could perhaps implement some similar work at St. Nick's. Second, I was really looking forward to some hot dogs (which turned out to be smokies – bonus!). Finally, it's camp! I grew up attending Camp Oselia over several summers and always had the best time with friends, old and new (some of which are still my closest friends today).
So, I packed up my super sweet banana backpack, grabbed Henry the Uke (my ukulele, if you didn't catch that), and zoomed off in my car, Planet Pop 3 blasting from my speakers. A short hour later, having switched to CISN Country about halfway through my journey, I pulled through the gate and bumped my way down toward the dorms.
Ah, camp. It's amazing how a place can instil a feeling of peace by just existing. I knew that feeling wasn't likely to last, however, as I strode off to the campfire behind the mess hall and found myself face to face with a group of about 15 teens, all chatting and laughing together. Damian saw me and introduced me to the group, and I found a spot by one of the logs to dump my stuff. I sat, taking in my surroundings and listening to the cacophony of voices around me.
Yup. This is camp alright.
Since it was suppertime, several of the teens took turns cooking up smokies for the campers, directors, and guests, with not only smokies making the rounds, but the ever-classic marshmallow as well as some mushrooms and even a carrot (I still don't quite know how the carrot managed to stay on the stick...). The smokies were delicious (I didn't go for the roasted carrot) and had me hankering for more. Luckily there was plenty of food for everyone present.
Once everyone was nice and full, Damian and I pulled out the guitar and uke, respectively, and we had a little sing-along. Soon enough, though, it was clear that the pull of Peat Moss was just way too strong for camp fire songs to withstand. So, Peat Moss it had to be!
What is Peat Moss, you ask? It is a game that was introduced to Camp Oselia not too long ago. It's a story elimination game that has players vote each other out of the fictional town of Peat Moss and rip-roaring over the course of about 2 hours (yes, it took that long to play; you'd understand if you were there). It was a total blast and I'm so glad I got to play. It gave me the chance to interact with teens I didn't know and watch how they tried to defend themselves in order not to get eliminated.
Alas, after Peat Moss was finished, I had to start my journey back home; it was close to 10pm, after all. I won't despair, however; I'll be back at camp next Monday to do it all over again!
Have yourselves a great day and fantastic weekend (not dying of heat)!
God bless,
Joyanne :D