Junior Boot Camp is the Place for me

Week #4

Teen Speaker: Steve Pettit

JBC Speaker: Joe Copp

Prayer Partner: Ashley Hunt

Monday~

Starting off the week with an OP staff celebrating the July-December birthdays! 

I always find selfies on my phone....I should keep it with me more often. 

On Monday night during the service, all the OP staff had a little party! We played games, ate brownies with ice-cream, talked, laughed, and played more games to get to know each other better!

About 1/6 of the OP staff :) 

Rebecca & I beating the Dalton & Emily in foosball :) 

Wednesday~

Surprisingly, Wednesdays are relaxing. After serving two breakfast shifts, we usually set for dinner and head to our crew devotions. This particular week, I had a JBC {Junior Boot Camp} prayer cabin so their Wednesday schedule usually includes tubing after their picnic. My prayer partner this week was Ashley Hunt and she was on the blue team (yay).

Hannah & I both had JBC cabins so we walked over to their picnic together! 

Having a JBC prayer cabin is nice, because it means a more relaxed week. After tubing for about haf an hour, my day with them was over because they have a required nap time {I think it's more for the counselors than the campers}. There aren't any cabin cheers in JBC, but they have one for everyone! It's super fun and usually by the end of the week, the whole dining hall is cheering with the little JBCers. 

Thursday~
Thursdays are hike days for the girls. I was planning on going on the hike, but decided not to. I am so glad I didn't! It started raining and hailing on all the girls out there and most of them got stuck in the thunderstorm.

From my porch! 

That night, the storm was so bad that the lights went out during the service and Steve Petitt preached with the emergency lights!

One dark activity center 

After the service, I changed and found my prayer cabin because JBC also has the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge. I think it's more fun to watch them play than it is to watch the teens play... 

My JBCers 

Before the game, JBC has a carnival that includes: games, snow cones, face paint, and even a dunking tank {where the lead counselors sit}

Heather & I got a flower on our face 

JBCers are so much fun! They are so full of energy and sincerely love their counselors/prayer partners. I met this adorable girl in the craft shop one evening and she was the sweetest little thing. She had misplaced her money so she wasn't able to buy anything, but she wasn't mad about it. She said she really liked watching the rest of the girls paint and buy jewelry. I asked her if she could buy one thing in the craft shop, what would it be? She thought about it for a little bit and then replied that it would be jewelry. I asked her what she would buy and she showed me a gold ring. It was only $2 so I told her to choose one that fit and I would buy it for her. The rest of the week, she would not leave my side. Although she wasn't in my prayer cabin, I unofficially adopted her as mine. :)

I loved having a JBC prayer cabin and was sad to see them all leave on Saturday. 

*Emeralds took the win for week #4* 

Week Three with the Emerald Coast Galleons

Every Saturday after breakfast, everyone on staff has a job. 

Cons: I still stay in the dining hall. Pros: I know where everything is and can get my job done faster. 

We all clean the dining hall together :):)

That Saturday after lunch, we had a volleyball tournament. David and I were on the same team. We lost 3/5.

There were six volleyball courts set up 

After losing quite badly...a few of our friends decided to go tubing! It was so much fun! The guys (Will, David, and Brantley) kept finding big rocks and throwing them right in front of tubes so people would get splashed! Afterwards, we all drove up in a friend's truck and went to dinner.

On the bed of the truck with Will's new friend {Tyler the Turtle} 

Sunday~

Well, three times a charm, right? This should be the church to go to! Not exactly.....we went to a new church in Greenville (almost two hours away) and although it was nice, it was too far of a drive over there.  Because we were in Greenville, we thought we would visit Bob Jones.

We didn't get to go inside & this is the only picture I have. 

We can't have a weekend trip without a stop at Walmart...and we most definitely can't go without our weekly "Selfie Sunday" :)

This picture describes everyone in it perfectly! 

We had a required evening service that night, and got another picture :)

Hannah, Lauren, and I 

Required services mean good dinner for the staff! For this particular night, we had grilled hamburgers and banana splits!!! :) :) :)

Found many selfies after leaving my phone on the table to get my dessert. (-_-)

After dinner, we had a waitress volleyball party! We played with a beach ball at first {because most of the waitresses don't play volleyball} and after I got bored with that, I got a few other girls to play with a real volleyball! :)

Waitresses take lots of pictures..... 

Teen Speaker: Mark Herbster
JBC Speaker: Big Bob
Prayer Partner: Meg Willis

Monday~
Mondays are relaxing for all of us! Our schedule consists of:
1. Brunch- 9:45
2. Orchestra- 10:15
3. OP staff meeting-11:15
4. PDA meeting- 12:10
5. OP staff Choir- 1:10
6.  All Staff Meeting- 1:45
7. Waitress Meeting- 2:15
8. Cleaning & setting for dinner-4:30
9. First Shift- 5:00
10. Second Shift- 6
11. Snack Shop- 8:00
12. Evening Service- 9:20
13. Lights out-11:15

Right before staff choir with Monica & Mackenzie 

After all staff meeting, I found this note in my mailbox. :) 

David and I share a mailbox (some siblings don't) 

I got up early on Monday and did laundry because I wasn't able to all weekend. 

This week, I had a prayer cabin who was on the Green team. As much as I like the team leaders, I am rooting for Blue all summer. :) At the beginning of the week, one of our crew chiefs told the OP staff that because it was a full week, there would be about 2 or 3 of us who would not be able to sit with their prayer cabin. I didn't think much of it...seriously, what are the odds that I would be one of those 2 maybe 3 people? Well, turns out that I was one of those and unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit with my girls. I honestly wasn't able to spend as much time with them as I would have liked, because I worked more afternoons {the snack shop schedule changes every week}. 

One day afternoon when I was free, I decided to go on the giant swing....but after waiting in line, in the scorching heat....I decided to get my free ice-cream and simply walk around. :)

From Left to Right:
Heather (waitress), Caleb (kitchen), Brantley (clean-up), Drew (clean-up), Jonathan (kitchen), and me. 

With the three other Hispanics on the waitress crew :)
Mafe, Monica, and me. 

Heading to watch the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge
*Yay Blue* 

Scarlet Cove Clippers won the week for week three and I thoroughly enjoyed having a green team prayer cabin. :)

S.S. Bounty

Week #2
Teen Speaker: Rich Tozer
JBC Speaker: Bob Roberts {Big Bob}
Prayer Partner: Emily Sitton

After a busy and overwhelming first week, we enjoyed a relaxing weekend: tubing, trying out a new church (about 45 minutes away) and doing laundry (of course).

Blurry because my phone was in a plastic bag-smart, I know. ;) 

On the weekends, we have buffet-style meals that consist of: leftovers, lots of fruit and vegetables, and of course, one new food.

We found a random green grape growing on a red grape vine....
So of course we had to capture this odd sight. 

Tuesday~
The Thackers and Abby Ski came for the week! It was nice to see and spend time with them. Abby had grown so much since the last time I saw her.
On Tuesday, I had a free afternoon, so Alyssa and I decided to go ride the zip line and then get coffee....

Third Falls from the observation deck 

After riding the zip line, we decided to take a hike to first falls...........It had been about six years since I had been to first falls, and we ended up getting lost. Who gets lost on the Wilds hike? Ummm... apparently, I do.

Tired & sweaty after wandering the woods... 

Wednesday~
Wednesdays mean picnic in the field....they also mean we wear bright orange shirts.

Is there a thing as too many selfies??? 

Selfie Sticks come in handy when you have a large operational crew! 

23 of the 32 waitresses 

Thursday~
On Thursday nights, after the service and Tic-tac-toe challenge game, we have a "late night". It's pretty much just an evening of: pizza, pop, krispy kreme donuts, miniature golf tournaments, and Giant Swing/land trolley for seniors & graduates.

With the Davis siblings :)

That night, I went to my prayer cabin and gave devotions. Because the girls were a little bit older, my lesson was a little different. I gave them each a glowstick and challenged them to be glow sticks for God. In order to for a glow stick to be used to its full potential, it must be broken, and once it is broken, it is used to light up. Many times as Christians, we categorize sin. We do not see: pride, worry, bitterness, or unthankfulness as sin, but it is. God does not see sin as large and small. Sin is sin and as hard as it is to believe, pride and worry are in the same category as murder and stealing.

This was probably my absolute favorite prayer cabin {and partner} 

The Sapphire Bay Schooners won the second week of camp! :) 

All in all, it was a fantastic week!  

The First Week

Week #1 

Teen Speaker: Ron DeGarde 

JBC Speaker: Mark Herbster

Prayer Partner: Ciara Weant 

Monday~

What makes the first day of any job a lot easier, is working with people who have done that job before. What makes waitressing at the Wilds really hard, is the first official meal with 30 other waitresses who, like you, have no idea what they are doing. 

Pizza for dinner was chaotic! Yes, we had been waitressing for a whole week already, but add campers to the confusion, and it just makes our job a lot harder! However, like every other waitress before us, we survived our first meal. 

Celebrating our first official "camper" meal 

Wednesday~

We found out that on Wednesdays, we would be in the field for a picnic. Sounds awesome, right? Well, to start off the summer, our first picnic ended with a downpour! Thankfully, all the campers had been fed and we were just beginning to clear our grills before it rained.

Selfie under the tent 

We decided to wait for the storm to pass because our rooms were simply too far to walk to....

Ian (Matt & Christy Taylor's son)
staring at the water rising up to his feet. 

 We waited....and waited.....and waited for the rain to stop, but it didn't, so we decided to take a group selfie. You can't tell in this picture, but it's pouring all around us!

After waiting for over half an hour, we decided to just make a run for our rooms; we were, after all, wasting our precious free time {nap time}. 

Wednesday Night~

 After fun time, I was able to go with my prayer cabin and give my first devotions! Talk about nerve-racking! I had been able to sit with the girls for the services, so I wasn't too worried.
I shared my testimony, told them how God has been working in my life, and quickly gave them a lesson to always: Depend On The Savior.

Depend On The Savior

Thursday~

The following day, I left a pack of DOTS on my prayer cabin table, and a few waitresses told me that my girls were telling people around them that DOTS stand for a reminder to Christians to always Depend On The Savior. :) 

There are three bookselves for counselors to keep their
valuables {electronics} 

The cabins on my aisle were really nice my first week, and they kept trying to be "better" than the cabin next to them. This was nice for me because they would race each other in cleaning, and give me little candy or notes:)

From one of my tables.... 

There is one thing that I could never get tired of at The Wilds...and that's the sunsets.

God's masterpiece 

On Thursday, I was finally able to ride the zipline! Me and a few waitresses took advantage of the campers being in Christian Life Seminar and ran to get in line before it got long.

Suited up & ready to go! 

 Friday~
All week long, I had been sitting with Morgan McCarty's JBC cabin, and I really enjoyed getting to know all the girls, especially this little girl! She made me laugh with all her little stories and sense of humor. Little kids are definitely the best!

We had to get a picture before the week was over! 

Well, in JBC, the Red Team won! And in teen camp, the Blue team won the week!! Both teams that I was rooting for! :) 

That about sums up the first week of camp. Until next time.....