Varsity started out the same as it has for me all three years I’ve staffed, with me, in the pink and green polka dotted Kitch Girl apron, washing dishes all morning, watching anxiously out the window above the Kitch Boy sinks (which have the perfect view of the drive the buses arrive on) talking with my kitch boy about how I wish they’d just get here already. And then, finally, they did! Varsity Camp 2010!
Since I was Kitch Girl on the first Saturday, that meant that I got the day off on the first full day of Varsity. I’ve always had mixed feelings bout that day off, since the staff are supposed to be 100% campers as well as 100% staff, on our days off we aren’t allowed to go out, but rather stay around camp and mingle with the campers. Half of me always wants to go out, because it’s pretty stressful to do nothing all day and watch your friends hard at work, and those you serve with serving you, but at the same time I like it, because I means that I can take as long a shower as I want, and sleep as much as I want, and sometimes do the things I don’t have time to do because I’m so busy working. Plus, my sister, Emmy, was here now, so that meant I could spend a lot of time catching up with her. Which we did (after I finally emerged around 4:00 after my sleeping in, showering, getting pretty, and computer time) we colored with Jozzy and Katelin. That was about the extent of my day off, but it was so relaxing and really good to spend time with Emmy.
TEAM: Reach for the Sky!
So the teams each get a t-shirt and they are named after the color of the shirts. This year I was on team Sky, and our cheer was “reach for the Sky!” we had a great team, a few people I knew and a few I didn’t, which was nice. Every game we played we won, but we weren’t super competitive, it was kinda just like “oh, hey, we won, cool.” Though we were a little worried when it came to the volley ball game at the end of the week. The team we were playing, Blue, was the only other team that was also undefeated, but, all was well, because guess what! We tied! Haha, I think I’m happier with that out come then one or the other of us winning, rather then lamenting the tie, we all high fived each other and proudly announced that the teams of blue could not be beat! :-)
OUTTING: Little Presque Isle
For the day trip this year we went to Little Presque Isle. I’d never been there but many of the staff had and I’ve heard so many great things bout it.
The staff drove in separate cars, and when we got to the place we were supposed to start our hike, there were no buses. We waited and waited, turns out the buses were stopping somewhere else to eat lunch first, also turns out that the buses had all of our lunches as well. So then the buses finally did arrive, we staff all gathered around the box of extras and leftovers and divied out what little there was. (actually it was quite a bit, but it’s more fun to pretend it wasn’t :-) I wasn’t too upset though that we had to wait so long, because during the wait a bunch of us talked about personality types, my absolute favorite, so I was content.
When we finally got started on the hike, me and Emmy walked with Katelin and Kayla. Me being me, of course took my time, stopping to take pictures of the cliffs to the right of the trail, exploring off to the side of the path, and making everyone stop to look at this or that amazing thing. hiking is my favorite thing and I cant wait to get to CO and hike every day!
Anyways, due to the slow pace I was setting, we kept getting caught by the adults at the back of the pack who were making sure no one got left behind, but it wasn’t a big deal, we’d just hurry ahead of them and let them catch up again.
After the hike (I think it was about 3 miles maybe?) we arrived at the beach, and from there we could walk through the water to the island. The island was pretty much the best place ever! I cant describe it properly. But if you imagine any part of Lord of the Rings when they are walking trails in the woods or over boulders and rocks, that’s what it reminded me of (ok, maybe not quite that intense, but it was great!) around the other side of the island, there were two cliffs we could jump off, one about 30 feet, the other about 15. I jumped the 30 footer twice, I loved that feeling of falling and plunging into the cold water! :-D
After the cliff jumping we ate and then had worship on the beach. After which we drove home and, in the middle of a missive rain storm with the most incredible lightning I’ve ever seen, we unloaded the buses and ended the day.
TEACHING: It All Points Back to Jesus
So basically, the best speaker I have ever heard in my life is officially Phil Warners. He has the most laid back, conversational way of speaking, the things he’d say were so interesting we couldn’t stop listening, and the points he made caused us to think of things in such a different way. he’s also got the funniest humor ever! The very first day, he got up in front and first thing he said was “my name is Phil and I get to do something none of the rest of you get to do…I sleep with the nurse.” (his wife, Connie, was the camp nurse that week) of course that got us all buzzing with shocked laughter and looks of “did he really just say that!?” but, it is true :-D Emmy, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and whispered “I like this guy already.”
Phil’s teachings focused on taking stories from the Old Testament, and showing us how they all point back to the life of Jesus. I learned so much, growing up we hear all of these stories so many times that we become desensitized to them and they become old news. But the way Phil brought these stories to us gave me a whole new appreciation for them and a desire to dig into them even deeper. One thing Phil had us do at the end of the week was write a letter to ourselves and he is going to send them to us some time in the winter. I put all my notes in that letter, because I loved the notes so much and I want to be reminded of what I learned, I know I’ll be encouraged by that and be able to use it then.
One thing we do after morning chapels is gather together in either our cabins or out teams and have a time of sharing and discussion. One day, Phil joined team Sky, that day we were talking bout what steps of faith we would have to take when we get home, so I was talking about going to MD for the first time. The next morning, before chapel I was in the back working the sound booth, when Phil came up to me and said “God is in Maryland too, that’s what I hear anyway.” That was very encouraging to me. then, that day he was talking about Joshua entering the Promised Land, and something he said really stuck with me, he said “God was asking Joshua to enter a new land, and it was called home.” I feel like that’s so much just what it feels like for me, that God is calling me to a new place, and that place is my home, even if it isn’t yet.
SKITS: Yooper Sound of Music?
So instead of team skits or a talent show, this year we played “Whose Line is it Anyway?” aka, improv skits. Each cabin was given something to act out, and the judges had to guess what they were acting out. The girls staff were given the assignment to “perform the Sound of Music yooper style”, we had 4 minutes to brainstorm, and 2 minutes to perform. We started out singing “lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When we hunt we begin with BANG! BANG! BANG! When we read we begin with ‘Da U.P. Da U.P.’ the first few words just happen to be, ‘Da U.P.’” after which Elyse sauntered out from the behind us singing in a fantastic yooper accent “I am sixteen going on seventeen” after which we sang “hunting and shooting and four wheeling and pasties, fishing and camping and snowshoeing and mineing…these are a few of my favorite things”. It was so much fun, but the guys staff was by far the funniest, and only because theirs was 100% truth. They were assigned to “perform a typical day on staff.” So they started out with Trevor yelling for everyone to get up! Time to go to prayer meeting! Mass chaos as everyone yelled and rushed to get up. “Tyler! Drew! Get up! You're always sleeping!” have prayer meeting, then to breakfast yelling “food! Food!” then, Steve (as Todd) sent everyone out on jobs (Steve performed an excellent mimicry of Todd too) then, “ding ding!” “lunch time! Food!” then back to the jobs (which they all acted out, mowing lawns, building the retreat center, life guarding, ropes) then the 2 minutes were over. But the way they acted it out was so right on how they do it every day, that we all, especially the girls staff, were in fits of laughter.
THE END: Final Jam Night (haha! j/k)
The last night of varsity, after a campfire (which got moved into the Lodge due to rain) we had a little bit of time to hang out. It was so much fun to just laugh with all our friends, me and Emmy told Matt and Mark Reed that they were as cute together as brothers and us two were together as sisters, we wrote a story for Mohawk Chris’s autograph book, we bugged people and hugged people, it was good.
Since the Trading Post (the snack shop) hadn’t opened that night due to rain, we opened it the next morning before the buses left. Even though it was early, I still had fun with Janna and Kara and all the campers who came for that last minute candy or t-shirt. Then, it came that sad, sad moment, when the Griz started to call names and campers began to load the buses. Emmy cried when she was getting on (aka, standing outside the bus when she was supposed to be on it) “why aren’t you crying!? I’m never gonna see you again! You’re only gonna be home for 3 weeks then your going to CO then your gonna get married!!” I calmly told her that there was no plans of marriage any time in my near future, that it’s slightly important to find the guy before deciding such things, and why doesn’t she try to find some nice MD guy for me then so I wont be far away. “ok,” she said, drying her eyes, “I will keep my eyes open. There were a few on our street, they got a rocket stuck in a tree and couldn’t get it out.” Wow, I have high hopes :-D
Anyways, after waving good bye, the buses made their final departure, Varsity Camp 2010 was over, we had grown much together, learned about God, made some memories and friends.
Anyways, that’s all I can think of right now, and it’s about time I head back into the kitch….but I’m sure I’ll remember more later :-D
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