This Weeks Camp :) I'm Back!

Hey Everyone! Thank you so much for your continued support. Here is a back up of a few posts I haven’t been able to put up because of Internet problems. Read On!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

I just got off the phone with my mom and dad and the smile on my face feels so good.

I have been cut off from the Internet. This message has been cut and pasted from a word document for faster uploading so that I don’t spend the time typing it while using Megabytes.  The way the Internet works here is on a allotment system, meaning each home pays for a certain number of MB for the month. If you use more megs than you pay for it shuts off and you can pay a hefty overage fee for it to be turned back on, or you can wait for the start of the next month.

Apparently I was taking up more Internet than I thought. Woops!  Here I thought I was being good. I am not used to Internet being measured this way.  Now, I am completely beating myself up because we hit our 2 GB limit by the 15^h of the month because of me, I am sure. I told Dave that I want to pay the overage fee and if needed, up the monthly allotment. Such is the reason for the gap between posts.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

We arrived home from camp a bit ago and have unpacked, debriefed, and I am clean for the first time in 4 days.

The camp was nothing like the one a few weeks ago with a survival theme in mind. This was more for fun. We still broke up into 2 groups- a main camp and bush camp (like on the survival trip). But this time Adam and I were in charge of the bush camp while the rest of the team manned the main camp. So the first day, Monday, we took one group up the long way- about 12k. It was longer but not as steep as the more direct route. I decided that I would carry my pack so that the kids wouldn’t complain. I didn’t want to leave anything at the main camp so I had my Bible, devotion notebook, my camera and both lenses, 2 changes of clothes, my headlamp, toiletries, towel, socks, swimsuit, my sleeping bag, rain gear, jacket, sweatshirt, and a hat.  They had nothing to carry because we were trucking their packs to camp for them. We had a lot of fun swimming, waterfall jumping (20ft), and campfire cooking. On Tuesday morning we packed up camp, had breakfast, and started back down, the short way this time. It was much steeper, but took us passed an even higher waterfall (43ft), and about 7k. I brought my pack again.

I had thought that we would have maybe an hour or so to sit and catch our breaths, perhaps grab a bite to eat, before heading up again with the second wave. But as we arrived the kids in the second group were already lined up and waiting. I rinsed off, grabbed some fruit from the kitchen, filled my water, and within 20 minutes of arriving we were back on our way. I brought my pack, again.

Needless to say I was tired. My legs weren’t as fresh but it was important to me to be an example to the kids. Good thing too, because the second group was a pain. They were much harder to deal with, complained more, worried a lot, weren’t very enthusiastic, blah blah blah. They were wussies. It didn’t help that we decided to take the short way up. Yes, its shorter, but steeper. Der. By the time we reached the waterfall we had taken 2 breaks already. It was pretty warm so we let the kids swim in the pool at the bottom. Something had to be done. It didn’t take me long to step up.  I decided to jump it.

It was high. Nothing shorter than 30 feet will even get my heart pumping, but this one I could feel. There wasn’t a lot of water running through, but it was fast and just as the water would go over the top it hit a rock that made it splash out in all directions. Adding to the grandeur was that the face of the fall had a slight incline with different layers of rock that added to the splash. The thing was beautiful.  I had one of the teachers check everything out at the bottom to make sure I wasn’t going to land on a submerged branch or something I couldn’t see. I took a few deep breaths, enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my face, closed my eyes and smiled. I took a two-step running start and went for it. I knew I was going to have to really jump because of the rock incline and I also had to jump at an angle instead of straight out so that I could hit in the white water- the deepest part. Unfortunately the deepest part wasn’t quite deep enough and after a perfect fall and entry, hitting the bottom was a jarring experience. If it wasn’t for the incredible shooting pain through both of my ankles and up lower legs I would have been laughing. I let the force of the water push me up and after a couple claming breaths the pain subsided a little. I didn’t let on to anyone but Adam and the teachers that it wasn’t the best jump, and the kids were impressed which was the whole point so I was happy. I let my feet soak in the ice cold water, pulling them up only to flick off the occasional crab, as the kids played. By the time we got moving again I had convinced myself that it was just the shock of impact and nothing serious. When I woke up this morning with 2 times as much ankle as I had fallen asleep with, I was proven wrong.

I should have iced it, but had no ice. I should have compressed it but had no bandage. I should have elevated and rested it, but who are you kidding? I walked all that day and hiked back down this morning, again with my pack, had to help with lunch, clean camp, and do camp inspections for the girls. What can I say, I like moving more than I like my ankles.

All in all it was a great few days. My favorite part of the weekend was actually right after jumping the big fall. Naturally I had left all of my stuff at the top. When we were done I to get back to the path we had to climb out from the bottom and hike through the forest a bit. I left the group to get moving at the bottom and went ahead to get dry and change. After I had climbed through wet branches and mud, up a pretty dodgy looking wooden ladder, and reached the path I realized I was traipsing through the rainforest wearing only my swimsuit. The jarring pain shooting up my legs with every step I took was nowhere near enough to take the huge smile off my face. I was so happy for those few moments alone, I don’t think you could have put me more in my element.

Thank you Lord for your amazing creation. No one drew it, planned it, or built it. We go on worrying and fretting, planning and building. This gets left alone, almost forgotten, and it flourishes. Thank you Lord for untouched earth, it screams of you.