Just Some Thoughts

"Your blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and your heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." Matthew 5

 "When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it - quiet and unobtrusively." Matthew 6

I think I need to work on my insides instead of working on my outside and being concerned with what people think of me.

Pictures Around Camp

back deck Freezer that the bear got into and ate about 20 lbs of chicken and 8 peanut butter pies

we bake ALOT of cookies

wildflowers out front

i like these flowers a lot

homemade bread that i will seriously miss

silverware that i've washed probably a million times

benji, the smartest dog i know

maui, the cat 2 years older than me that has dreadlocks

i'm going to miss the aspen trees

Home Stretch

[The first and second pictures are views from the peak of blackhead mountain...an intense hike we do with the high school kids. The second is part of my team from the "reality check" games which is basically a day of games based off reality TV where you compete against other teams and dress up silly.]

It has been a very long time since my last update. I never have the motivation to update my blog when I have free time.. because I'm usually sleeping. :-)

Things have gotten much better since that last post.. I think I was just really worn out.

Everyone here is exhausted! We have had a very busy summer and the final stretch is really wearing us out. This week is a rental group. Its kids aged 4th grade through 12th grade that are Florida College Alumni's children. They are a specific denomination of christianity that is super duper conservative. For instance this week I can't wear shorts above the knee or tank tops because that is their dress code. They are really nice people though, and AMAZING SINGERS. They harmonize and everything and they sound like a church choir, but I guess thats just the way everyone sings in their denomination.

Last week was 5th and 6th grade. It took a lot of motivation to get through that week. But I was with Katie counseling so it was all good. She left last weekend though so I'm super sad this week. 

The week before that was High School II. Those kids were GREAT. They totally made the week for me. It helped that a lot of them were only a couple years younger than me so it was like hanging out with kids my own age. They have a fall retreat that a lot of these kids go to that I would LOVE to work at... but I need a way to get there which is the problem.

I'm going to post some more pictures of stuff around camp.

Peace,

Heather

Missing

I want to go home. I'm tired, and I miss my friends and family hardcore. I can't wait to see my parents in 3 weeks, and I can't wait to move into my apartment with Jordan and Anna.

It can't come soon enough.

The People Around Me

No matter what anyone says about themselves, we are all influenced by people who we spend a substantial amount of time with. 

There are a few people here who I am completely grateful for. First of all Mary Marugg, one of the camp directors, is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. She has inspired me to be quiet, and instead of running my mouth I should lead by example. She has taught me gentleness and the impact a quiet spirit can make by actions alone. She pours herself into anything and is constantly putting herself aside to help these kids by either cooking, being in the office, working on the website, or being the camp nurse... she's amazing.

An 68 year old maintenance man from Texas, Charlie, is impacting the 19 and twenty something year old staff here in ways that are unimaginable. Who says that the older have nothing relevant or in common with our generation? Charlie works harder than anyone I know, he always has an incredible attitude and has a multitude of advice that he blesses us with. He always shares with us his own life lessons that he has learned by his personal experience and mistakes and tells us constantly the importance of our heavenly Father in our lives. I've adopted him as my honorary grandpa... he loves to fish, too.

This summer has been great; but I'm not saying its been easy or tear-free, its been hard work, frustrating at times, and stressful. But some people here have led by example and shown me love that is overflowing from their Father. 

Peace Out

Texan Catholics

Our rental group this week consists of very Texan catholic teenagers, a few chaperones, and their priests. Its been a crazy week, pretty good for the most part... and the group is really nice. I'm learning a lot about the lone star state and getting called M'am quite often. Its been really fun to have everyone together on support.. its gonna be sad when we are split between support and counseling again.

I got to work a lot in the kitchen this week. It was really awesome. I really enjoy working in there. Next week I'm on support again & I'll get to help Mary out in the kitchen again. Besides the kitchen, I've been a construction/maintenance girl. Its been so cool! I helped fix the cattle fence for a little bit today and learned how to use a wench. This week I've also split tons of wood with a hydraulic wood splitter, learned how to start a tractor, and used a router to make a sign for our cabin... which is now named "The Closet" because of its size and the fact that me and Katie have so much clothing. We saved a cool looking branch from the wood splitter to paint and make into a totem pole, so thats what our sign is now attached to. Its so awesome.

This week I've really concentrated on working hard. In my devo about a month ago Oswald Chambers said that "Drudgery is the touchstone of character, we are not meant to be illuminated versions, but the stuff of ordinary life exhibiting the marvel of the grace of God."

Basically, shining for God is in the small stuff: washing dishes, doing laundry, fixing miles of fence and splitting wood... so I've been trying to really practice that.

I think this weekend we are going waterfall/cliff jumping in Durango, and whatever that entails.

I love you all very much!

Peace

p.s. Check out the "whats new" page at sonlights website.. there are some pictures from the week on there. :-)

Telluride & By Myself Time

Who we bumped into in Telluride!

Telluride was a lot of fun! Me and Katie took the above picture there, which was a highlight, but we felt like total creepers about it. T-Ride, as they call it, is a very beautiful town, I would love to spend the fourth there again;  its a little too pricey and touristy for my taste, however. The fireworks show was great!

Right now I am sitting in a coffee shop in Pagosa by myself and I am super excited about it. 

For the last 24 hours I have been BY MYSELF and its been wonderful. Not that I'm a loner or anything but being with everyone all the time and never being able to do my own thing is not very relaxing. My roomie Katie leant me her car so I've been able to go anywhere I want and just do what I want to do. Just having the freedom to not have to fit other peoples opinions into my plans has been wonderful.

 I have also decided that if I bought a decent sized car, I could totally live in it - highway vagabond style. Last night when I came back into town I went up to camp to get some stuff together, then I drove back down and slept in the car for the night. Now, I know this sounds super sketch but I couldn't bring myself to stay at camp quite yet. I made sure I was in a safe area... at first I was going to camp out in the national forest but I just got super freaked out and had to drive someplace else. 

Anyways next week is a rental group, so we are all on support in the back. Hopefully it will be fun. It means we have some time off every night, so that will be very nice to relax and not have to be "on" around kids the whole week.

Brad J has a quote on his blog that I really like, so I think I'll end with that. 

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

Peace in Him