This summer, Kelcee and I are working as councilors at a Christian camp called Camp Good News. On the first day of our training, I fell in love with it and couldn’t wait to go back for more. The camp’s a great place for kids to be, with devotions every day, and fun songs with solid Christian truths woven into them.

 This past week was our second week working there, and God taught me a lot over the past four days. (Since Friday was the 4^th we had one less day of camp.)

 On Thursday, I woke up very early with a sore throat and a severely stiff neck. My first thought was, “Oh no, and today I have the early morning shift.” I was assigned along with another councilor, to the 7:00 shift in a small building called Oak, which is basically big playroom. (The kids who are dropped off arrive at 7:00 and have a playtime in there until 8:30.) As I was lying in bed and thinking about this, I cried out to God and told Him, “God, I can’t do this today by myself. I can’t do it in my own strength. You’re going to have to be my strength today. Please be with me.” The alarm went off at 5:30, so I got up and we left at 6:30.

 When we arrived at the camp I went down to Oak Hall and found the first drop off just being let in. I felt a little lightheaded while playing battleship with the camper, and struggled through the game. An hour and a half and 5 kids later, Justin and Mary Anne came to take the kids outside, so I was relieved of my duty. I gathered my backpack and Bible and trudged up the sidewalk to Cypress, the main building. I walked in feeling discouraged and sick. As I made my way to put my stuff down, I spotted some of the other councilors sitting at a table eating breakfast. I walked into to the kitchen to get my food and saw Randy one of the councilors, standing with a plate in his hand. He looked up and asked, “One biscuit or two?” I didn’t know what he was talking about so I answered absently, “How about one.” I grabbed a plate and a biscuit and waited for Randy to finish dipping his gravy. He looked over at the plate I held, laughed and said, “No, this is yours, it’s for you!” He handed me the plate he had just fixed and smiled. I was very surprised and thanked him and sat down to eat.

Even though that was just something small, it really encouraged me and seemed like God’s way of saying that He would take care of me that day.

 After councilor devotions, flag raising and devotions with the kids my group the 5-8 year old girls along with the 9-12 year old girls had our field activity time. This was really the part I was dreading the most. I didn’t think that 45 minutes running around in a hot field would sit well with my queasy stomach. But, God showed me again His incredible grace. We made our way to the activity field, however, God had a surprise for me. The activity leader, Joel, called to us from the tires, so we made our way over to where he was. We found out that we were going to play a different kind of game, one that was only for the kids. The councilors always participate in the activities, but this time we were just the judges. I didn’t have to do all that running while feeling sick after all! And we were in the shade. God blessed me yet again and made it clear that He was watching out for me.

 The rest of the day went pretty normal, and at the end of the day I was exhausted, physically and mentally. Keeping track of kids is definitely mentally taxing. (But very worth it. :) I looked at the chore list and saw that I (along with another girl) was assigned to mop all of Cypress and the kitchen. Once the building had been swept, I retrieved the mop and bucket and set to work. There was no sign of the other councilor, and I discovered it was because she was assigned to watch the kids outside that day. So my spirits sunk a little lower. My neck was still very stiff, my throat felt constricted. I felt overwhelmed with the job ahead of me. I began thinking about how long it would take and thought how nice it would be if I had one more person working with me. I thought it was kind of a selfish prayer, so I didn’t pray it. Just then Stephanie, another councilor, came up behind me, didn’t say anything, but grabbed a mop and began mopping. I stared at her in awe, that God had given me my desire, selfish though it was, and helped me when I was sick. We were about halfway done when my brother walked in and told me that they were here to pick us up. I went outside to the car and asked my mom if I could finish mopping. She said that would be fine so I trudged back inside and continued to do my job. After a few minutes, I saw two hands suddenly reach from beside me and pull playfully on the handle. I looked up and saw Randy once again. He took the mop from me and said, “I’ll finish up here, you go on home.” He smiled and began mopping. I was very surprised and so grateful to Randy for relieving me of the rest of this chore. He didn’t know I was sick, or how bad I was feeling, and how he had known that it was time for me to go home I don’t know, but God used Randy to bless me that day.

 I told my mom later that night that that day had been the "best day.” Sure, it hadn’t been the most fun, I hadn’t felt the best, but the Lord taught me a lesson that day. He showed me that He’ll always provide for our needs, and meet us wherever we are. That day when I couldn’t carry on in my own strength, he met me where I was and blessed me. I had been working at camp in my own strength up until that day, and God showed me that, when we let Him take over, He’ll pour His blessings out on us. If that’s the only reason why I got sick, it would be well worth it.

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