My Summer at Trout

 Wow! It is so hard to even find the words to describe this summer. God worked in insane ways, and I can easily say it was the best summer of my life! I was initially so sad about my original summer plans being cancelled, but everything God did through me this summer was so fulfilling, and He showed me that His plans are so much bigger than my own. 

I moved up to Trout Lake Camps on June 21st. My first two weeks were training weeks, and as I said in my last post they were full of so much joy! July 5th was our first day of campers, and while I was excited, I was also extremely nervous. I wanted that week, and every other week of my summer, to go well. I wanted my campers to see God through me and to grow in some way even if it was small. I wanted them to like me, and enjoy their week as much as I enjoyed every experience I had as a camper. I knew how much having a good cabin leader could affect a camper's experience, and I didn't want to screw it up. God saw these doubts and eased them as he helped me be the leader I needed to be each week of the summer.

God also provided amazing friendships for me this summer. Everyone at camp was absolutely amazing, and being surrounded by people who are as on fire for God and sharing the gospel as I am was exactly what I needed. One weekend I invited a small group of my fellow staff members over to my house for a campfire since I don't live super far from camp. That campfire turned into a sleepover, and then into a trip to St. Cloud for thrifting and Chick-fil-a the next day! The majority of those people had to leave the next weekend, but before they left we stopped at Crafts & Cones for ice cream and my house for dinner and goodbyes. Somehow in those two weekends of hanging out (plus the time we spent together during the weeks when we could) I grew so close to those people and it now feels like I have known them forever. They are some of the most amazing, joyful, hilarious, and encouraging people I have ever met, and I am so proud that I can call them my friends! We have continued to stay in touch and do a Bible study together, and I am grateful that even though we are now scattered all over the country we can continue to grow together.

While every week had its own highs and lows, the most rewarding week by far was my last week. At that point in the summer I was exhausted, my closest friends had all left, and I didn't know how I was going to make it through the week. I prayed over and over that God would provide the strength I needed to make it through each day, because my campers had a ton of energy, and I didn't. The whole summer I had waited for the night where a bunch of my campers had that "aha!" moment and gave their lives to Christ. Many of my fellow cabin leaders had had those nights throughout the summer, and I wanted to experience a cool moment like that so bad. By the end of the week it hadn't happened yet, and I was doubtful it would be that last night. However, God proved me wrong and that night was spent in tears. Tears of joy because God had given me the moment I had been hoping for all summer. Sad tears, because the summer was ending and the following morning I would be leaving the place I had called home for two months. More tears of joy for the campers who had found Christ both that night and throughout the summer. More sad tears for the campers who had told me difficult things going on in their lives, and things they were struggling with, even though they had known me for less than a week.

Spending my summer serving Him was not always easy. Sometimes it felt like I wasn't connecting with the campers, or getting through to them. Some days I got sick of the food or the games. Some weeks I was just plain exhausted of doing the same activities or watching the same speaker over and over again. But every time, just when I was about to hit my breaking point, God provided. Whether it was through great conversation and laughter with a friend, something we discussed in our staff ministry teams, Chick-fil-a sauce for my chicken tendies, or hilarious improv in a skit I had seen plenty of times, He helped me keep going when things got tough. I have so many cool and funny stories from this incredible summer, and none of it would have happened if God hadn't completely flipped my plans around and put me at Trout! I would love to share more with people, so feel free to reach out and ask me more about my summer and what God did:)