7/8 Camp

I was incredibly nervous to be study leading. But it turned out really well. I prayed a lot and just trusted that God would do his thing. And from the feedback I got I would say that it worked. It was uncomfortable for me. But I know that if we don't do things outside of our comfort zone, we don't grow or do anything significant. So I am happy that I did it even though I didn't enjoy it all the time. Some of the support staff got the pleasure of dealing with me in the mornings as I nervously counted down the minutes until I had to talk. Once I was done talking, I was able to enjoy the rest of the day. And then the next morning I would wake up all nervous again.  But a fun thing was that I got to teach a bit of Canadian history and culture too. I talked a bit about the discovery and settlement of Canada, snow days, and of course I taught them all about Terry Fox. I discovered that a reasonable number of people here don't know what curling is. I know it is a boring sport to watch, but that is a little bit ridiculous. But I guess I didn't know what AFL was before I got here. 

The theme of the camp was Canada. Alex and Tamara did a fabulous job, it was so much like a CROW camp. I enjoyed it a lot. And the Canadian things that they tried out here all seemed to work really well. I don't know how many of them will last, but the leaders seemed pretty keen to continue doing chores, campfires, and hot breakfasts. Oh, and polar dip as well, or penguin dip as they are calling it here. It was much warmer than Canada but it had the same effect. Tamara even made an awesome penguin dip flag for them to sign. We even did one of those classic CROW leader hunts where the staff are actually on a break and there is no one for the kids to find until the very end when the leaders all sneak back out. 

On the first day we hiked Mt Gnomon. Alex and I reconed it a couple days before and it was pretty ugly for me. I think I almost passed out. I'd like to think it was something to do with lingering jet lag and hiking at a different altitude than I am used to and not just because I am so out of shape that I can't walk uphill for 20 minutes. Regardless, it was rather embarrassing. 

When we went up with the camp, I was totally fine. So I am chalking it up as jet lag, even though according to Alex my jet lag excuse ended exactly a week after I arrived. We got the our entire group up to the top! It was fantastic. There were a few kids who had never climbed a mountain before. And even though it was not as long as an outtrip, it had the same effect. By the time we got back it felt like we were on the second day already and the campers bonded much quicker than normal. Sometimes I feel like leading outtrips or hikes is an awful lot of work and I would rather not bother. It is good to be reminded of why we do it at camp and to see how effective it can be.

Campfire was my favourite part of the week. I hadn't realized how much campfires are ingrained into my idea of camp. At 9/10 camp, there were no campfires and it just seemed so unnatural to send the kids to bed after a game or something like that. So I was so happy to have campfire every night for 7/8. 

The biggest thing that I was thankful for this camp was the staff. We had such an amazing group of leaders and support staff. I can't get over how similar the community here feels to CROW. The staff here are the same type of people. The same personalities and the same motives and the same love for camp ministry. It is so incredible to see so many people willing to give up their time to come to camp, get far to little sleep, and spend a week chasing kids around. And the group of staff we had this week were just so exceptional. It is because of them that this camp went so well. They were all super keen to try all of Alex and Tamara's new ideas. They even called things by their Canadian names all week. 

I think it is so cool that this sort of relationship exists now between CROW and Camp Clayton. It is so crazy how it has all come about. It is amazing that I actually ended up here. I am so thankful that I did. And I have talked to a few people here who are keen to come to CROW. How cool would it be if this all just continued? Or got bigger? I don't know what that would look like. But I know it would be amazing just to have staff continue to go back and forth between the camps. The people I have talked to would do so well at CROW. I am so confident that they would love it there and they would have so much to bring to CROW. I have high hopes and dreams for the future of our camps.

I didn't take any pictures of camp. I probably should have. But I do have a couple from the top of Mt Gnomon before camp started.

I don't remember what those are called. Alex probably told me but it is gone now.

You can see Ulverstone in this one. 

If I remember correctly, that is Mt Duncan behind me.

This was also the week I was a complete badass and held a huntsman spider. I have been sort of working myself up to do it for a while. Alex and Tamara caught one for me a while ago. And it kind of freaked me out even in the container. The are just so freaking big. And Alex mentioned something about how I should get a picture taken with it to send to Percy. I started thinking about it and realized that I really should get a picture holding one, just to prove I could do it. So when Caleb caught one during camp I went for it. It took me a bit to psych myself up and I did scream and run away once. But it really wasn't so bad. It was just the initial bit where I had to hold out my hand and actually have the spider put in it the first time.Caleb had to hold my wrist so that I would stop pulling my hand away every time he tried to actually put the spider in my hand. Here is the proof. I kept my sunglasses on so that you couldn't see the fear in my eyes. 

This picture was about 5 seconds after the spider was put in my hand. I was still reasonably freaked out. In about 30 seconds I drop the spider, scream, and run. 

But after the scream and run, I came back and held it again. I crawled all over me and I was all good. Along with the picture, Tamara also took a video. It's quite funny. My favourite part is camp mum behind me telling kids to stay away while try I to hold the spider. We were playing a water game and the kids kept coming up behind me and throwing cups of water at me. So I am no longer freaked out of huntsmans. However, I still don't know how I would react if I one jumped on me or fell on my head or something. Hopefully that is not something I will have to figure out.