You Just Have "The Look"

Last week I went to Estes Park, CO to spend a day with a few of my friends at a Student Life camp. Student Life has been so instrumental in my own life, but there is nothing magical about the camps themselves. Like most things in life, it's the people who made the countless experiences extraordinary.

After a 3 1/2 hour drive that was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour drive (thanks to the 1 hour spent traveling 4 miles in Denver's rush hour traffic) I finally arrived at the YMCA at the Rockies. I did a few camps in Durango, CO in 2008, but I had never been to Estes Park. The first thing that totally caught me off guard was the wildlife. I mean shouldn't these giant animals be in cages? Never in a million years did I think I would have to tell kids to watch out for elk poop on the rec fields.

Then there was this little guy who decided to become our next door neighbor.

Truth be told, I had no intention of working at all during my 24 hour visit. I was along for the ride. I didn't need anyone to entertain me or keep me busy. I wanted to enjoy the worship services and enjoy spending time with the people I knew on the team.

I can't pinpoint an exact moment when this plan was destroyed, but all of a sudden you realize you are on a rec field chasing balls, getting accident report forms for a girl who is being rushed to the hospital, running errands, moving tables, packing up office equipment, offering pep talks, and making name tags for the next week's camp. So much for hanging out.

That being said, I never wore a staff shirt, name tag, or backpack the whole time I was there. There is no reason anyone should have thought I was on staff, and yet in 24 hours I had THREE youth ministers come up to me and ask me random questions. I know what you are thinking, obviously they thought I was a staff member by proximity. Umm...nope. I was standing totally by myself all THREE times. Two of my friends said it's because I just have "the look"....whatever that means.

The biggest reason for the visit was to spend time with my friend Jessica Dodd. She is one of my best friends in the world. We worked together in the summers of 2008 and 2009 and we are as close as can be, but at the same time, we are pretty much the odd couple. You have never met two people who are more different but who love each other so much.

She is the rec director and I worked in the office all day. In fact, when I went to visit she kept leaving me in the office forgetting I wasn't on her team and that I didn't have to finish any work before I could go play on the rec fields with her.

Dodd is all kinds of intense - on stage, on the rec field, and in normal life

When I worked camp I was all kinds of NOT intense.

My favorite line of the week was when a student staffer asked Dodd if she could leave while he explained the rec game to a group of campers because he got too nervous when she was around. I don't blame the kid. I wouldn't want to explain a rec game in front of her either. She catches everything!

Even though we are nothing alike, there is something so right about me, Dodd and camp. It's just how camp is meant to be.

Then there is this crazy girl, Robin. Robin and I technically met through Student Life, but we really became friends because we both go/went to the best university ever...but my degree says the school's real name is Texas Tech. I love Robin because no matter who is around or what the situation is, she is the queen bee. Everyone listens to Robin and she is just one of those people who can get away with saying just about anything. When I met Robin in 2008, she was a student staffer and now she is a 3rd year staff member returnee.

Have you ever met someone and you have an instant bond? It can't be explained, but it's just there. Well, that pretty much sums up me and Jordan. He was (and still is) a mission director and we met in 2009. At the time he was recently engaged and just adjusting to his new leadership role.

Now Jordan is married and him and his wife serve together on the team. It was such a joy getting to know his wife and seeing him so comfortably help to lead his team. Lauren is quite a catch, Jordan!

Most shocking transformation was Baby Barron. This kid is so sweet but his snippy comments are always perfectly timed and totally crack me up. When Barron and I worked together in 2008 he was one of the youngest team members and was a first year actor.

Now, he is engaged and graduated from being on stage to front of house, where he serves as the program director and one of the oldest members of the team.

Just having me sitting in staff devotions and running around the worship room brought back a lot of great memories for Barron and me, but this time we actually got to eat dinner together.

You see, as an actor he was pretty much the camp equivalent of Zac Efron, meaning screaming, teenage girls were literally surrounding him at all times. The whole situation was just a little too intense for this office girl. I can't handle the attention and as much as I would love to take the billionth picture of Barron and some random camper, I much more preferred my quiet meals with the other behind-the-scenes staff members. So Baby Barron, (who is not a baby anymore) it was nice to hang out with you on a non-travel day.

Speaking of travel days, next up is my travel buddy, Benjamin Cranford. He rode shotgun for me on almost every mile of our camp travels in 2008 (and there were a LOT of them). Then in 2009 I worked with his older brother.

Cranford has also made quite the transformation over the years. He went from being the extremely shy video guy to an active and constant servant member to his team. Upon my arrival at Estes Park, he even greeted me in a sweater vest and tie. My goodness.

Even though he was working at a camp in Georgia while I was at Estes Park, I feel like a post about camp just wouldn't be complete without mentioning this guy.

This was the first camp that I have ever worked at or been to (since meeting him for the second time in 2008) where he wasn't there. I honestly spent 24 hours expecting to turn around and see Jared Brown. Don't get me wrong, Bo is a fine camp director and I was so happy to spend some time with him, but not having Jared Brown running around that campus was just too weird. Buddy, you were missed.

I am so glad I took the time to go to camp. If I were to go back in time I would have spent two days instead of one. It was great to be reminded of all the wonderful things Student Life brought into my life and of the things they are continuing to do in teenagers' and other staff members' lives. I needed that reminder.

However, after 24 hours of camp there is one thing I know for sure. I could never go back. Goodness gracious. I forgot. I forgot about the constant workload, and I mean CONSTANT. I forgot about the emotional, physical and spiritual toll it takes. This is the kind of job that is one in a million, but you can't do it forever. I am so thankful for my new season of life. No lie, the following Saturday I slept for 13 hours. It took me 13 stinking hours to recover from 24 hours of camp. I may still have "the look," but I no longer have the stamina.

Thank you Blue Team 2011 for making me feel like a part of your team. It was a pleasure getting to know each of you. Now you all stay devoted...