Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well. I would love to hear from you about what's going on at home. I can't believe that it's already July. It feels like I just got here, and at the same time it feels like I've been here forever.

We are going into town this weekend for July 4 to see fireworks and participate in the parade! We will leave tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon and take a boat (and later a bus) to Juneau. It's still so light here that they can't do fireworks until around midnight, so the fireworks are always technically at 12:01am on July 4. Before the midnight firework show tomorrow, we'll split up into two groups. One will hike a nearby glacier, and another group will go shopping in downtown Juneau.

On Monday we will be in the parade through downtown Juneau, and then head back to camp. There are no main summer camps this week, although there is a soccer camp, a horse camp, and a few wilderness camps. I don't think I'll be counseling for anything this week, so it will be a nice break.

The past week has been really good. It was Maverick camp, which is 12-13 year olds. I like the age group a lot: the campers are old enough to understand the deep stuff and still young enough that they listen to us and look up to us.

My cabin (Discovery again) had 8 girls, plus my co-counselor Laurie and I. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of things that were similar to the Senior High camp. Our girls had a lot of fun with us, and more than one started crying on Friday when it was time to leave. It's been hard to send them back. I know that none of them this time have Christian households to return to. While I might shoot something if they stayed any longer, I still wish that I didn't have to let them leave.

There weren't any breakthroughs or really amazing things that happened, but I know camp still provided a safe place for these girls from rough homes to come hear about God and have fun. I hope that some seeds were planted that will sprout in the future!

I also have more Alaskan information for you, this time about plants! There is no poison ivy or poison oak here (at least, not that anyone knows about.) There are however two plants from which we keep our distance. The first is called Devil's Club (with good reason.) This particular plant grows all over the place, unfortunately. Most are 4 to 5 feet tall and grow on a thick stalk with huge leaves. The stalk and the bottom of the leaf are covered in thorns that break off on skin contact (and don't come out in the wash if they happen to attach themselves to your clothing.) Devil's Club gets its name because when hiking through the forest, if you step down on some or pull some back out of the way, it snaps back and can quite literally club the person behind you. The thorns are hard to get out, and most people are forced to just let them slowly work their way out over time. Sounds terrible right? Yeah, it is. I haven't gotten attacked by any yet (and I won't ever, hopefully.) I have seen bunches of the stuff though; it grows like a weed, everywhere it can.

The other plant that we avoid is not nearly as bad. It's called Indian Rhubarb. It isn't prickly or anything. The problem occurs if its stalk is broken open and some of the sap or juice gets on you. When that stuff is on your skin, it reacts to sunlight and causes pretty bad blisters for two or three weeks. The upside is that if you realize you got it, you can easily cover the area from the sun and go wash it off. If you do that, you'll be fine. This one also grows pretty tall, on a thickish stalk. It has a pretty white flower cluster at the top that looks a little like Baby's Breath, the tiny white stuff.

So, if you ever come to Alaska, get someone to point those two plants out to you and avoid them! Fortunately, they are easy to spot.

Miss you guys a lot! I'll be in town Sunday afternoon to Monday night, so if you want to call I would love it! Maybe I'll be able to answer. Keep in mind that I am 4 hours behind you.

Enjoy your holiday weekend! I hope that I'll get to talk to you all soon. Stay safe!

In Christ,
Lauren