Day 11. Of aliens, a cow, and a few good men.

In many ways today was the sabbath. Around here we don't get a lot of time on sunday to actually rest since we go to church in the morning and early in the afternoon we're rolling and staff training gets underway so that we're in full swing by monday morning. Due to this fact we are encouraged to rest on saturday in whatever way is restorative for us. For some this means we don't see them all day because they just leave for the weekend or they avoid human interaction as much as possible. For others we read books, play guitars, enjoy many naps, watch movies, play xbox, and so on and so forth.

Today was no exception, I read a bit more of my book (the name of the wind) and am quite enjoying it. The horses made it real easy on me by showing up at the pen and not requiring me to go get them, also the few small injuries they've sustained are healing well and all of em should be ready to rock in two days time. Many of you who read these updates are aware that I also replenish and recharge by having solid conversations with people that I love and respect. Many of you are among that number and even if you aren't the fact that you're reading this means you're benefiting from that tendency as these updates are a pretty important part of that process this year. I say all that to explain how today was full of many great conversations and was incredibly revitalizing in spirit as well as body.

Eventually we grew a bit stir crazy, or cabin feverish and a few of us decided that we'd like to go see prometheus. This involved hopping in a car and zipping over to scottsbluff nebraska and finding a theater that none of us had been to before. In the words of matt brown, twas a magical journey. I enjoyed it and especially enjoyed the delicious burgers we grabbed on the way home and the conversations we had about the movie and other things. (star wars were involved... we're all nerds)

and last but not least I was able to acquire some more sunscreen (aren't you proud of me? I used a whole bottle this week) and a case of mountain dew.

In hindsight I could have just said rations full, spirits are high, and fun was had by all and left it at that today. meh... this is more fun.

-Nick

Day 10ish. (it was day 10 when I started typing)

This morning I had to do one of my least favorite things. I had to say goodbye to people that I wish could be a part of my life always, A few of them were campers and some were partners unto the harvest. It is tough to see someone (or someones) that you care about leave and not know if you'll ever see them again on this earth. It would be devastating if not for the hope of glory and the promise that we'll see each other here, there, or in the air. In the meantime I'll just remember fondly the girl who was too shy to talk to me when we met last year and who has grown into an incredible woman, and I'll treasure the insanity and joy of the man who doesn't have to work at keeping up with the kids, they have to work to keep up with him. May your journeys be swift and peaceful.

As the final sprint unfolded it feels to me like a welcome turning of a page, coupled with the sorrow when a good thing is gone. We worked hard, we had fun, and if we did it right then we planted a seed that someone else will be the beneficiary of.

Since our campers zip out of here shortly after lunch I'll kinda outline what the rest of the day looked like. We do our final cleaning of the week and spend what remains of our energy in an attempt to get ahead of the next week before we collapse. After the cleaning is done we often will do exactly what I just mentioned, we'll collapse and many of the staff will take naps, go on solitary walks, or any host of individual resting routines. Today was no exception.

After I got a bit of talking time with my fellows on staff I too took advantage of the fact that I could sleep in the middle of the day and napped for a few hours, ate supper and then started on a book I bought shortly before camp. It's call The Name of the wind and so far is quite good... I also have been working through the book of james in my devo times and highly recommend rereading that if you havn't recently.

ummmm what else... tomorrow is a fairly open ended day so who knows what we'll be up to. I'm sure I'll find something that seems noteworthy to write about though so by all means come on back.

-Nick

Day 9. Words cannot express...

Before the insanity of the last night at camp swallows the rest of my time and energy I decided I'd drop in a note and do my regular "debrief" mentally on the last 24 hours or so. I am in a semi-secluded spot where I can still hear the music in chapel and let me tell you... it's days like today that make this the most rewarding thing in the world. The sound of 70 campers raising their voices in song and the myriad of staff that are here to serve them.

I wish I could say that my comments capture even the slightest realism of what camp is, This is truly where I am at my best and feel like I'm in the absolute center of the will of God. I wish I could adequately explain the recent experience of lying on the basketball court after playing soccer with two dear comerades against about 20 kids... so tired but giddy with laughter. Or the mighty encouragement of a dear brother while we discuss the nature of God's call and the incredible confluence of events that brought this group of people here for this. Or the privilege of being around some of the most incredible women that I have ever met, faithful servants and incredible beauties all. And finally the humbling experience of a elder brother coming up to me to share a verse of encouragement and to say that he sees the fruit of the spirit evidenced by me and poured out on those around me. I am along for the ride but I am not worthy...

How do I explain a thursday night? the final burst of energy, the incredible comfort that comes from knowing that God took your feeble efforts and did something with them. The power in knowing that no matter what you do at this point the week is basically over, so you just have to do well with the few short hours you have left. And on top of it all the overwhelming exhaustion that speaks peace to the soul and stands as quiet testimony that on this day near the end of this race you left it all on the field, you poured out everything you could and did not hold back any sliver of your passion, strength, joy, or pain.

Tonight and tomorrow will be over in a blink and then the weekend... Another week of camp completed in this place. Old friends and new will move on and only God knows if I'll see them again this side of heaven, but for this time and place, here in nowhere Wyoming we were brothers and sisters in this work and we were a small part of what HE did here. The lion is on the move my friends...

-Nick

Day 8. About a boat, birthday, and bloody toe. (not necessarily in that order)

I almost didn't sneak this in tonight but I'll type fast to get an update in and then m'off to bed.

First of all today was lake day... a day infamous for being super stressful for staff and the site of a great many disaster stories. For instance one of our directors lost his wedding ring in the lake 2 summers ago, I lost my glasses last summer and so on and so forth.

Anyway,the boat is our pontoon boat. ACK has gone all out and built an aluminum frame on the boat and attached 2 playground slides to the sides of it, so we have ourselves a little portable waterpark. Well one of the many things that I do during the week is to make sure that portable waterpark gets to the lake, runs, and is securely anchored offshore by the time the campers show up... Inevitably there is always some sort of problem that causes delays but today really took the cake. Launching the boat went fairly smooth but about 5 seconds out on the water the engine died, the wind being fairly stiff and the physics of a mini waterpark being about the same as a sail we quickly drifted toward shore.... eventually we got the boat started and managed not to hit anything. Anyway to jump ahead (because i'm tired and want to go to bed) we got everything set up, but our floaty trampoline (in the shape of a turtle) had so many holes in it we were forced to pack it back up, in the process of trying to anchor the boat I severely damaged two of my toenails (hence the blood in the title) and one of my comerades was fairly sick from too much effort shortly after breakfast... so on and so forth. To top it all off by the time the kids showed up we were subjected to some cloud cover, a few rain drizzles, and a cold wind. The good news is we stuck it out until lunch and God blessed us with an incredible afternoon. The skies were clear (or mostly so) the sun was warm and most of the kids happily frolicked in the chilly waters. Now the real reason I wanted to tell you this was to set the mood for my story. At the end of the day on the lake we naturally had to take the boat to the launch and attempt to load it on the trailer. Now I say attempt because that's all we were really capable of doing, by this time the wind had really picked up and getting the boat near the trailer was difficult, getting it on it was near impossible. I tried time and again to get the thing loaded and got to the point where I really and truly had no idea what we should do. About this time a few random strangers showed up and helped us muscle the boat on the trailer, perfect proof that God gives you what you need when you need it but sometimes getting to that point looks fairly hopeless.

and on to the birthday, today is the birthday of one of the coolest gal's I've ever met. Camp tends to attract an incredible breed of female and I am constantly amazed by the quality that keeps showing up every year. Well even though I've only known her for (checks header) 8 days, She's one of the most incredible gals I know. I know it's a bit cowardly to say that in this context because she might never see this... but it's true. And if she does ever read this, happy birthday! You're amazing and it's an honor to work alongside you this summer.

Last but not least, as me and my good buddy adam were walking the camp grounds in search of lost of mischievous campers I happened to glance up and was literally stopped in my tracks by the incredible sight of a beautiful panorama of stars. We only had a few minutes to spend looking up but it was absolutely incredible.

and with that (and 18 minutes to spare) I'm off to bed.

-Nick

Day the seventh, memories I don't want to forget.

Heyo! Once again I'm a bit late to update but I'm still in the 24 hour window so I don't feel too bad. I think today I'm just going to share a fairly random assortment of quotes and/or stories that I want to record before I lose the memories. Here goes in no particular order.

Yesterday night I showed up for evening snack and grabbed my little package of string cheese, Decided I should probably be sociable I sat down next to a group of wee little girl campers and as I was opening my cheese I asked them if it was any good, dead serious this tiny girl looks at me and with a completely straight face says "I dream of this cheese".

On one of the trail rides today about half of the kids were terrified as we left the pen, by the time we got back (about an hour later) they were loudly proclaiming their love of the horses and how our activity was the best ever. (even better than tomahawks). Makes the job worth doing.

A few days ago? (maybe yesterday) I heard a story that will forever define what camp ministy is about. We've recently put in a few ziplines (600 feet long!) but we're still working out a few kinks and when the wind is just right or a camper is just light enough they'll get stuck just shy of the platform on the bottom end. Now to preface the next part, One of the guys running the zipline was talking with me at dinner and confessed that he was a bit nervous about it and wasn't sure what he'd do if something went wrong. Well as you might have guessed... camper goes down and gets stuck, the staff member on the bottom end hooks himself up and hand over hand until he reached the camper and helped her complete her journey. If i'm ever in the position where I'm training a summer camp staff, this will be the story I use to explain what our job is all about.

I've seen homesick kids hugged by so many people it made them happy just to be told they're special, I've seen servant leaders put themselves on the line for their staff time and time again, I've seen old men capering about with kids, and I've seen the word of God proclaimed faithfully time and time again. If ever there was any doubt that this is where I was supposed to be during this time and in this place those doubts have been obliterated by the last 7 days.

I hope that you get to see a glimpse of the goodness of God through these posts, this is an incredible time and I wish you all could join me.

-Nick

Day 6. Ready or not!

I want to you remember something for me. Remember when you were a child and you played the inevitable game of hide and seek? The growing sense of trepidation as the seeker counted down and then the acceptance that you better make wherever you're at work when they hollered "ready or not, here I come!" remember that? Now take that feeling and stretch it out for at least a few days and you're emotionally prepared for the beginning of camp season. What we have now is what we've got, no more time for fixing or prep, ready or not here we go.

That having been said I don't know a single person out here who isn't absolutely floored about this process, it's finally here, today we get to see in no uncertain terms that God has prepped us and this place in ways that we were completely unaware of until now.

On the topic of good enough keep the zipline project in your prayers, despite the engineering involved in making it safe we're still having problems with ironing out the kinks so we can get a kid consistantly over to the other side, wind speed, ambient temp, and such things are causing a great deal of minor adjustments and I'm  not 100% sure as to the status of it today. If we don't get it done this week that's not the end of the world but it could be a very powerful tool/experience and we'd love to have it in our arsenal as soon as possible.

Since I last updated we have also grown from the core activity staff (which will be around the entire summer) into a large barbarian horde of about 3x as many people. I'm always encouraged and surprised at the diversity of people God calls to this place, we've got a few small kids running around, a few gray heads (or bald heads) who are counselors, and everything in between. Despite the differences in every case all of the staff I've talked to (I'm a talker so it's a pretty good chunk of em) share a few things in common that I'll expound upon very briefly. (because breakfast dishes are approaching and today's my day for that)

They are as follows:
1) We've all sacrificed something to be here. Everyone has soemthing whether it's our time, finances, opportunities, vacations, or connections with family, friends, or simply just time away from our typical areas we've all put something on the line to be here.
2) The call. It might be christianese to say it like that, but what I mean is that we've all felt a tangible pressure and prompting that this is where we should be during this time. For many the reasons why are unknown, and even for those that have an impression of why we're all eager to see how it plays out.
3) The passion. From the youngest CIT (counselor in training) to the executive director we're all excited about this arena and are eager to see the mighty work that has begun unfold in front of our eyes.

I encourage you to look at that list if you're struggling with where you're at right now and think pretty seriously about where those things might line up in your own life. If you know the call and have the passion then don't be afraid of the risk, I've never seen God ask for sacrifice without Him returning a blessing tenfold. If you are thinking about a call but aren't sure that it's your passion you should look back and find the times when you are your best self, odds are those times are linked to your passion. And finally if you know your gifts and are growing them the best you can where you're at, you're prepared to sacrifice whatever you need but are spinning your wheels without a call... hang on. Last time I was in that place (about 18 months ago) I got a call from ACK and started my first whirlwind with these folks. As I enter my second summer here I've never been happier, I've never been more fulfilled and I certainly am at my best in this time and place. May you find that as well.

Nick
p.s. also if you find yourself very interested in this story as it unfolds then maybe we should talk about you getting involved in this ministry next summer, even if you can only give a few days for a work project, or if you can spare a week to help us out we'd love to get you involved in what God has given us out here. 

Day 5. In which I might wander... but am likely not lost. (not unlike those crazy backpacker types)

I waffled a bit on whether I was going to update today.. being the sabbath I had committed to myself that I did not HAVE to post today in order to fulfill my goal but that If I could find a topic and the time I would allow myself to post that here.

That having been said this is an evening update instead of a morning one... I decided my little bit of free time this sunday would be better served chilling after morning feeding and just seeing what happened instead of forcing myself to spend some time with ye olde lappy. The morning began as expected, All of the horses were still in the pen, the water was still full, and all of the various and sundry things I have folded into my camp routine went smoothly. The only real noteworthy bit before we rolled for church was that I had frosted flakes for breakfast. I don't usually let myself buy that sugary of cereal at home because it doesn't keep you going very long and then it's just extra calories buuuut at camp s'ok. :)

We rolled on out of here and took our caravan out to lingle at north hills baptist church. It was pretty fun to see/hear the response when we played the video proof that our newly installed zipline works! (although to be fair it has a few minor things that still need to be worked out). The sermon was pretty solid and the pastor challenged us to live a life of courage instead of complacency, it really hit between the eyes as a great sermon to start camp with.

It was at this point that I really noticed the day take a strange twist, after the sermon we sang great is thy faithfulness... For those of you who are in my immediate family (most of my readers I suspect) you already know the emotionally laden nature of that song to us, but for the few of you that aren't in the loop here goes... Great is thy faithfulness has been used as a family theme many times over the years, we've sung it at family reunions and my parents have quoted it at many pivotal moments over the course of my own life as well. I have very fond memories of being in a large room packed with relatives and everyone belting out that song...

To add to that already significant emotional response as you might (or might not) be aware my oma (grandmother) went on to be with the lord on the 6th of this month, not being able to afford the time or money required to be in attendance at the funeral my greiving process has been a bit more drawn out and unpredictable too... so slightly to my chagrin as we're singing this hymn in church I'm barely managing to keep the tears to a sub akward rate, and my mind was instantly drawn to the memories of oma belting out that song and all the joy and energy she brought to everything she did.

On top of that a few days ago I was challenged by my good friend adam with the question about "what do you bring to the table?" in regards to camp, spiritual gifts, and generally the team that we've been blessed with this summer. And despite it stealing a large chunk of my processing power I've still had trouble verbalizing what that is... today I got my first tangible answer (at least in my own mind).

One of the incredible things I bring to this season/team/ministry is the very thing that had me in tears this morning. I am the son of john and anna, the grandson of john, gonny, martin and ada. I am the heir of an incredible heritage and the benificiary of a mighty love that mirrors the saviors love for us. I have been compared to my grandfather and my dad many times and I used to find that annoying, but now I am super excited about such things.

I am incredibly grateful to my parents for modeling for me a life that pursued passion and the leading of God and I would not be the man I am today without them.

Nick