So, Week 6 ended well. Week 7 came. It honestly was the best week ever!! At the beginning of the week, my co was unable to be there, so the SWAT, Daniel, took over as counselor for a little while. And thus, we decided to forgo the name of Warriors for that week. We became famously known as...
THE FLYING MONKEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it truly was my best week ever. My girls and my guys were awesome! Not to say that all my other kids weren't awesome, but my flying monkeys bonded in a way none of my other groups bonded. It was beautiful. We did the mirror/makeup fast with those girls, and had lots of testimony time with them. I felt so connected with that group that I hadn't felt all summer or have felt the rest of the summer. (Side note to any of my other kids reading this, I really do love you guys as well!!!) That week had been amazing. I cried when they all left that Friday. Then, the weekend hit, and everything came crashing down, or at least it felt that way to me.
That night, I found out that a friend that I consider to be my brother wasn't coming back to Bryan this fall. And the next day, I found out that my other closest guy friend wasn't coming back. Now, if you remember in my last post, I mentioned that I was struggling with not being around my closest guy friends. Well, in the course of 24 hours, two of them were gone. Now, I know that they would still be contactable, and I could see at least one of them on occasion, but they wouldn't be physically there. I wouldn't be able to see them, hang out with them, cry to them, laugh with them, do anything, cause they wouldn't be there. The two guys I felt closest to at school were suddenly going to be absent from the picture of this semester. And I was devastated.
Yeah, needless to say, I was an emotional wreck all that weekend. My co-workers that saw me that weekend can testify to it. I cried practically all weekend. I had come off of the best week ever to all this suddenly thrown at me. I was lucky that we had the weekend off from Dayquest. It would have been horrible having to work it with how I felt. My one thing that I was really struggling with, and God just stripped it away from me in one swoop. I didn't know why He would do this. I knew it was all in His plans, but it was hard trying to fully accept it. But, even though that was probably the worst weekend and the hardest week ever for me emotionally, there was something to show for it.
God stripped from me what I was struggling with most, and that was missing my guy friends from school. He took them away, and I had to learn the hard way that sometimes in life, I have to put aside my struggles, my hurt, my pain, my needs, and focus on what's really important, and what was important was my kids and their struggles, their hurts, their pain, and their needs. During that week, Week 8, first of two little kids weeks in a row, one of my girls got saved. She was my first one all summer. I had to put myself aside for the sake of these little ones. And it was very humbling. Very hard. But totally worth it. And since then, I've found out that one of them will be coming back in the Fall after all. So God really does have a plan. He wanted to teach me something, and now He's given me something back in return for persevering through the trials.
That was the big highlight of the rest of the summer. Other than that, Week 9 showed me once again why I don't want to be an elementary school teacher. Week 10 was good as well, but it was very sad cause it was the last week of camp. That week, I finally went on the SRX (big zipline). Hated it, but did it. Debrief weekend was immensely sad. I cried a lot. I hate saying goodbye. It tears me apart every time I have to say it. And after a lot of emotions, goodbyes, and hugs, I departed from the beautiful place called Doe River Gorge that I have come to love. If it's God's will that I work there again next summer, I'll be there in a heartbeat, if they'll have me back. :)
And that's it of Doe River Gorge. I'm at home now talking to my roommate Wendy through Skype, looking forward to seeing my friend Sarah tomorrow, and looking ahead at next week, when I will be moving back into Bryan for my Fall semester of Sophomore year. Who knows what this next year holds for me and my wonderful friends. I know one thing though. It will be an adventure. And I can't wait to seek the adventure ahead of me.
By the way, this is Gorgeous Gertie. She's a goat that lives back in the gorge. Just thought I'd share her lovely picture with you. :D
~Katie Grace~
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