Camping 101

Friday morning we left for our camping trip with the youth. There were about 16 youth, Karen, Rita, me, and the Pastor, his wife, and their daughter. It was about a 45min. drive to get to where we would be camping. Us 3 girls were in the front seat of the van. Lesson #1: When Rita is going to be sitting on your lap for 45min down very bumpy road; go to the bathroom first and wear extra padded clothes. So I have never been camping for real before. I have done the whole camp out at Alissa's house in the country, but never like this. I have always wanted to and loved being outside so I was excited. The camp area we stayed at was really pretty. We cleaned the ground to get all the stickers off the ground before setting up the tarp. Our tent consisted of two tarps wrapped around some trees for the girls. The guys didn't even have that. They just had a little wall. We played a lot of card games, some people went swimming, ate a lot off good food, and had some good devotional time. I ended up hiking back to the van that night with Rita and two other girls who didn't want to sleep outside. Good thing too because it was so cold and I only had one small blanket. On the trip we talked a lot about wisdom. We are God's creation and he gives us the wisdom we need but we have to be smart with it. We need to daily live our lifes like the christians we say we are. You can't act one way and then talk the opposite. This was the main thing that hit a lot of the students. Pastor talked about having a true faith. I really like how he said this was something we should be seeking. We should daily get excited about being in the word and learning about what God has for us. Just before that we were playing a tag game in the dark. Everyone was so excited about the game. Pastor talked about how our journey with God should be like that. It just made me think about that in my own life. Yeah sometimes I get really excited, but it is not a consistent thing. I want that fire to burn all the time. I want my one desire to be following hard after Him.
Lesson #2- bring someone with you when you have to go to the make shift bathroom to stand guard b/c that light blue tarp does nothing in the sunlight. Lesson #3- When cutting potatoes with a bent knife over a pot of boil oil don't look directly into the fire. Lesson #4- when you are going on a walk wear tennis shoes because that means you will be hiking up a huge sand hill and then sand surfing down it! Lesson #5 Gain a lot of weight before you go so you have more body fat to cushion yourself. :)
Lesson #6- when sitting in the sun playing card games for hours put on lots of sun screen.
Overall the camping trip was a lot of fun! Lack of sleep- yes but a lot of fun! It was good to spend time with the older girls here from the orphanage and see them outside their element.
Tonight we are having a girls night just me, Karen, and Rita. Good food and a chick flick are involved!