Camp Pioneer 2011

Earlier this summer, I learned that Camp Pioneer (where I attended confirmation camp and first met my friends Nate and Laura Hartke) was in need of a nurse. My first thought was "I could do that". After some prayers and phone calls, all was worked out and I'd be heading to NY for 2 weeks in August. The beauty of my traveling job is I can pretty much arrange my jobs however I want to, securing time off when needed.
A huge bonus about the location of Camp Pioneer is that Nate and Laura live about 25/30 min away. I went over to NY a day early to help celebrate 1yo Jacob's birthday. Those little redheads are the best. Being part of so many important days with my surrogate family means so much to me.

I didn't really know what to expect when I was going to camp. I didn't remember a lot of specifics about my time there when I was 13. The first week was interesting and maybe a little disappointing. There was another nurse working with me which made the work not so bad, but we pretty much stayed at our office all day. Most of the counselors didn't talk to us if they didn't have to, and I maybe knew 3 of their names by end of the camp week on Friday. There were good parts too though. Seeing the counselors and kids interact with the special Agape campers was pretty great. My fave was prob Z, who was in a motorized wheelchair and communicated with a dynavox. His humor was infectious and seeing the impact he made on his counselor was touching.
Friday afternoon I spent some time with one of the volunteer counselors and the youth leadership trainees. It was nice to know some names.

Saturday was when things really started to be great. I'd been invited to go ziplining with the staff. So we get there and it's really a high ropes challenge course. It was so much fun. I learned the names of everyone who went and most of them said they were impressed that I joined them cuz none of the previous nurses had done any of the staff activities with them before. Granted, most of the other nurses were 40+, but I like to think that me and my 28 yrs give off an "I'm awesome and fun" vibe.

From there the week went much better, well, once I got through the first couple really busy check-in days. I made myself get out of the office and at least observe some activities. I'd just put a sign on the door with my number and where I was in case they needed me. Apparently that was a novel idea, because everyone commented on it and expressed their appreciation of knowing how to find me. I won't even go into how astounded I was by that fact.
I think my favorite part of the week were the nightly fireside chats I'd have with one of the counselors. At 22, he was older than most of the other counselors who are still in their late teens. There was venting on both sides  and my attempts at sage advice. He says I helped him through some stuff and I can guarantee the talks sure meant a lot to me. It's comforting to my soul to interact with adults who have the same values and can freely discuss God.
The directors of the camp have invited me back next summer. They'd like me to come for the whole thing. If it can be made into a travel contract (which is not uncommon for summer camps), then I would love to do the whole summer. If not, I'll at least be going for a couple weeks again.