Week Three!

This past week was, without a doubt, the most challenging I've had since I became a counselor last summer. I had junior kids--mostly 6th graders--and I had a great experience with that age group the first week, but this week was just one huge problem after another.

I think the biggest issue was that my guys just couldn't focus for anything. Whether it was cabin devotions or dinner announcements, they just would not pay attention to anything. Consequently, it was I whom they would come to in order to find out what was going on, and I of course got frustrated because it had just been explained to them not two minutes before.

Along with not focusing, they would also have a hard time settling down. Chill time (aka nap time) was always a chore, because they just did not want to lie down in their bunks, even for 30 minutes. Trying to get them to settle down at night and think about God was also not easy. All some of them wanted to do was laugh and goof around.

Another big frustrater was that a couple of the kids asked, no joke, about 1,000 questions about everything. I know that doesn't sound so bad, but it can be really frustrating having to listen to all those questions when it's a constant stream. You'll just have to trust me on that one.

On a good note, a couple of my guys did really want to make some changes in their lives, which was really encouraging in spite of the other distractions. Two boys in particular were kind of my shining lights in the cabin. I see a ton of potential in them, and I just pray they keep walking with God and growing in the grace and knowledge of the truth. One of my big hopes for all of my guys is that they'll one day want to come back and work at Skyview so that they can have a chance to impact lives for Christ.

Well, this was the first week that my cabin didn't have the best guys' scores for cabin cleanup. A couple of the days I decided to do my devotions while they were cleaning, and they weren't exactly as motivated as I'd have hoped. Oh well, they still did okay, all things considered.

One thing that I found really interesting about this group of guys was that really enjoyed having ownership. Let me explain. Ownership is the camp idea that the kids want to feel like they have a part in and/or control over what they're experiencing. Obviously I can't give them complete ownership in the sense of letting them schedule all their activities, but to a certain extent I can make them feel like they're in control.

For instance, we schedule cabin challenges before the week begins, but the kids think that they're the ones who are figuring out what to do. Most of the time all I have to do is throw in a little suggestion of what to play or who to challenge, and they think they did it all by themselves.

This particular group of guys was big into being in control. On Thursday there was a scheduling change because of some bad weather the day before, and after having mandatory shower time (believe me, it was getting pretty smelly in that cabin) I didn't know what to do next. My guys had already gotten on my nerves that morning, but I decided to try to let them have a little ownership to see what would happen. It worked like a charm. When I let them pick what they wanted to do, they totally loved me!

They really wanted to play dodgeball, but when I called to see if it was open I found out that it had been reserved for a cabin challenge between two of the girls cabin. I told them that, but I promised that I would do my best to work something out with the girls. Well, I talked with and they let us play with them, and the guys loved it! They were enthusiastic and they paid attention, and it was great. So, all the stuff about ownership that we learned in staff really was true.

As you can tell by the tone of the week, this weekend was definitely a welcomed one. It was particularly so because I got to go to an Indians' game last night with my dad! He and Mom came to pick up Lindsay and me, and while Mom and Lindsay hung out at the campground, Gar and I went to see the Tribe play. It was a great game and a great time to hang out with my dad.

Today we went to church and ate at Pizza Hut before going to Wal-Mart and getting a new shaver. It was my belated birthday gift, and while a new shaver might not sound too exciting, my current one is a piece of junk, so it will be nice to have a working shaver, especially now that I need to shave pretty much every day. After that a lot of us hung out for awhile, watched a movie, and now I'm in the dining hall updating this before our counselor meeting at 9:00.

Next week is Family Camp! I get to work with the Jr. High and Sr. High kids who will be here with their families, and I can't wait! It will also be more of a relaxing week since we won't have kids with us 24/7. I get a day off on Tuesday, so I'll be able to be at the campground with Mom and Gar and just have some time away from camp to relax.

Things to pray about:

Rest: I'm healthy now, but I've got to learn to be disciplined enough to sleep when I need it. There's always so much I want to do, but sometimes I just need to relax and recuperate.

Focus: Even though it's only family camp, I still need to push off some distractions and focus on God and the needs of the families who are going to be vacationing with us.

P.S. Here's my address at camp:

Skyview Ranch
c/0 Nate McKanna
7241 TR 319
Millersburg, OH 44654

e-mail: njmckanna@gmail.com

Any and all letters/e-mails would be much appreciated! Whether you have a question or just want to say hi, hearing from people is always a big encouragement!