Sunday, July 10

Hello everyone! It’s been a nice week on work-staff for me; hope your holiday went well!
Last Sunday morning I played back-up guitar for chapel. It actually went really well, considering that except for the past couple weeks, I haven’t played guitar in a few years.

The parade on Monday morning was great. It was actually really cool, because we got to see how many people the camp has impacted. We had a little “float,” a trailer with a miniature cabin on it. All the counselors walked around it, sang camp songs, and handed out candy. Every so often, someone would get on the microphone and shout, “Who here has been to Echo Ranch?” It was really cool to see all the hands go up: adults, teenagers, kids. Sometimes you would have parents who had gone a long time ago who send their kids now. Even the Starbucks barista has gone. It’s awesome to know that I’m a part of the ministry that ensures that the greater part of Juneau has heard the gospel.

This week on work-staff was nice. It was a soccer camp, so there were only 40 campers. There were a lot of people not counseling which means a bigger work-staff, so we all had less stuff individually to do. We’ve been painting over the graffiti-covered bunks in the cabins. First we taped and primed each bunk, and then we’ve been painting them a dark reddish brown. I learned to drive the small tractor this week! It’s really fun; I love it. Our tractor is a stick-shift (I guess they all are?), and I’ve mastered everything except the fine art of reversing. I almost ran over my trailer while attempting to back up yesterday.

Also, possibly one of the best parts about camp, we went strawberry picking! There are strawberry plants that grow like weeds here, everywhere. The berries are finally ripe! They’re really small, not usually much bigger than a dime. Not all of the berries are red either; they’re usually a pinkish-red, but the white ones are still fine to eat. I have to tell you, I have never had better strawberries in my entire life. They are so sweet! Even the white ones are amazing. It’s so rewarding to crawl on your hands and knees to find berries growing near the ground, pick one, and then eat it! I got a Ziploc bag full of them. They usually grow most abundantly near piles of horse poo. We try not to think about that while eating them.

On Friday night, we went into town to see a Christian illusionist called “The MAZE.” It was really good. He’s got a great testimony, and he did some tricks that were amazing. It was really fun because we got to see some of our campers too.

Last night we went out to the wilderness camp to hang out around a campfire. Kern (my cousin) and some of the other guys fished at the river, and we watched them fillet the fish, and then cook them in the fire. I ate a piece of salmon that just hours before had been swimming happily in the river. (A little strange to think about that!) We also had s’mores and peanut butter.

After that we went star-tipping. It was so much fun. I’ll have to tell you about it (and how to do it) when I get home.

Today is a rest day, and then we start the second Bronco camp tomorrow! I am counseling for it, with a girl named Tracy. Broncos are 10-12 year olds.

Only one month and one week left before I come home. Not looking forward to school when I get back, but I miss you guys dearly so that will make up for it. Love you all!

In Christ,
Lauren