It's Finally Teen Week! (Tuesday)

TUESDAY

It was an interesting day, definitely more interesting then yesterday.

Today our teens began to emerge from their shells, into the light when others were free to judge them, accept them, embrace them, or reject them; all of the things that teenagers (and parents) worry about. So far it's going okay, although the counselors, village coordinators, and myself are keeping close tabs on how the campers are beginning to respond to each other.

Yesterday we had a trip for the Nature activity that went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and today the campers from the Team Water Sports visited Wet 'N Wild in Palm Springs. Both trips went off without a hitch and I think the campers who had the opportunity to go were richly blessed by the experience. I would say that it's just my own opinion, but I talked with the campers who went on both trips and they really loved it. Now, if only we had the money to build some waterslides and ocean aquariums at PSR Camp... how great would that be?

We also had a group of campers go out to Lake Silverwood this morning, and I woke up early to shepherd all of the trips out of camp. Every time we send campers more than 5 minutes away there is a substantial amount of paperwork, planning, and prayer involved because what's outside of my line of sight seems like it's less under our control. I am really lucky to have adults who've worked at camp for multiple summers on these trips and they seem to enjoy the trips as much (if not more) as the campers.

Today, the entrees for the meals were as follows:

Breakfast: French toast.
Lunch: Enchiladas, beans, and Mexican rice.
Dinner: Spicy peanut tofu, orange tofu, white rice, and a vegetable stir fry.

For a full list of what comes with each entrée, please see the post from Monday. Each meal comes with a slew of alternative choices or different toppings to add to each entrée. According to our parent surveys, our campers really love the food! I'm really happy that we're able to provide you menu options you enjoy year after year.

After breakfast we had morning worship indoors again today. I feel for parents who send their campers to PSR in order to get them away from the mediocre indoors, but camper health is the bigger priority for us and nothing ruins a week of camper faster than dehydration, sunburn, or other heat-related conditions.

Morning Worship: Tuesday

After morning rotations we dismissed to morning activities again, but today something a bit unusual happened. Some of the campers who switched yesterday wanted to switch activities again. We usually don't let campers switch multiple times because it's a headache for the office and usually we're calling the parents again to pay more or do another small refund. Almost all of the parents who we called again to switch activities told us 'no', so don't feel bad if that was you today.

Unless something drastic happens, we won't be calling parents to switch activities for a third time, and while that might make a couple campers unhappy it reminds me of a lesson I once learned from a previous camp director years ago. He told me that when children unwrap their Christmas presents and complain about their gifts, there's an opportunity to teach two lessons. 1) You can go out and order (or buy) the gifts they wanted or 2) you can teach them to be happy with what they have. I'm not a parent yet, but it's my hope that we can help these campers to be satisfied with a morning activity that comprises about two hours every day. There will still be plenty of opportunities to try new activities in the afternoon and during break periods, so here's hoping no one will want to switch again tomorrow.

Skateboarding: Tuesday

Cake Decorating Skills Test: Tuesday

Today after the morning activities I was handed one of the cupcakes in the photo above, and it was pretty good! I haven't had strawberry cake in awhile and it really reminds me of being a kid again. Cake decorating is full every summer but this is the first time I've gotten to sample any of the food created in this class.

After lunch we had a break, I actually went to my room and laid down for a few minutes before heading out to check on the campers in rotations at 3:00 pm. My phone battery died, so I was unable to post to Instagram, but it really looked like the campers were having fun and getting along. I sometimes think the campers are trying to be on their bests behavior while I'm around, but usually that wears off as the week continues.

After rotations we had big event, and it was a real teamwork activity. I hadn't played this game with the juniors or discovery campers and it just seemed to require more coordination then I had to spare. After a few minutes I had to resign myself to watching from the sidelines as the campers ran across the field time after time.

Big Event: Tuesday

Big Event: Tuesday

I think I skipped dinner, which is right after Big Event, to make some phone calls at the office. Before I knew it, it was time to lower the flag and head off to the evening program at the teepees. The second night of our Outpost Play focuses on doing the right thing, even if it's hard. 

The story picks up where we have a character who's trying to uncover the truth about a situation, only to discover that the boy she was hired to defend is innocent of the crime. The problem is that the only person who saw what happened refuses to take the stand in his defense because she's shy and worried about what will happen to her.

After the play was over for the night, Pastor Meshach talked with the campers and told them a story about someone who he knew that took the rap for a crime he didn't commit. It was a really powerful story, and all the campers were completely silent as they listened. It's a real blessing to have pastor Meshach here this week, the campers are really engaged with his talks and his energy.

When the program ended I could tell that the campers were really tired, and they all walked slowly back to their cabins to go to bed. Like I said, it was an interesting day at camp. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and the blessings we'll be receiving as the session continues.

Blessings,

-Jeremy