2013 April Barn-A-Break

This past week I attended the Barn-A-Break out at Camp Barnabas!!! *grin* Ever since the moment I found out that they were having one, I was EXCITED. When I was accepted to serve for the weekend, I prayed toward the weekend. What happened was SO MUCH BETTER than I ever could have imagined! *grin*

Upon arrival, there were hugs ALL AROUND. *grin* There were SO MANY people there that I didn't expect to see that I was grinning and felt like I was at a family reunion. Truthfully, that's what it was in so many ways. Several of the staffers that the Lord has moved on to other things had come back to serve for the weekend, and I was blessed by them in ways I cannot put into words. Those young ladies are growing into AMAZING women of the Lord! *grin*

Barn-A-Breaks are a whirlwind from start to finish.

I waited with everyone when campers arrived, and no one was saying they were part of cabin "B9". I was perplexed. Over and over again I was hugged by some of my favorite Barnabas people, but I was left thinking, "Um, what about B9?" (Girls and boys share the "B" side of camp for cost reasons and let's be real, it's closer to EVERYTHING. I LOVED IT!!!) So, I decided to walk to the cabin.

I'll start out by saying my cabin was in the BEST place in all of camp! It was literally the closest cabin to everything. It made me wish that side of camp was the girls side, honestly. *grin* Okay, let's be real, my TOE hates me these days, so the shorter walk was AWESOME.

So, I walked into the cabin and FOUR people there. I explained who I was, and learned that I was serving in a SIBS cabin. (Sibs is what it is called when you are in a cabin with SIBLINGS of those with disabilities.) As it turned out, we had one CIA, one staffer, and TWO campers. TWO. I laughed. There were more campers expected and another staffer too! I was grinning and silently thanked God for the weekend that was ahead of us. *grin*

Friday night included dinner, watching Charlotte's Web, and Wrap Up!

The biggest smile came across my face when Laura showed up after the movie. Truthfully, I think she had been there all night, but I had been up front with my cabin so she hadn't seen me. When she walked over and said "hi" I hugged her, and LOVED it. *grin* She was there for a brief time, but I have to admit, that was an AMAZING surprise! I loved it.

I also found myself beside Sara. Sara was in my cabin last summer during Term 5, and while I liked her, we weren't super close. So, I was surprised when she wanted to be beside me during wrap up that night. Sure enough, as the weekend went on, we hung out quite a bit. She has the "Mike Wazowski you forgot your paperwork again" line down to an art! It makes me laugh every time she says it. She snorts when she laughs too, which makes me laugh, and it just starts all over again. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday included IP, Devos, Cafe, Egg decorating, an Easter Egg hunt, and a carnival. That night we had a dance too! It was so much fun! I'll admit, I didn't feel like I did much work, since we had sibs. During the carnival I sat and talked to various people which was a true highlight. *grin*

The dance gave me a really special moment that I will never forget. We were doing the cha cha slide and I turned and Anna was there. Anna was a camper that I've never seen before, but had already seen her throughout the weekend. Anna had been upset at one point, so I had seen her frustrated, but I hadn't talked to her or anything. Her vocabulary is limited, so I knew a regular conversation might be a little much for her. Anyway, Anna was beside me at the end of the cha cha slide and I was about to move to go somewhere (can't remember where, and it really doesn't matter) and Anna was standing in front of me. I said HI and she took my hand. I knew it was a special moment, so I started talking to her. She didn't talk, and I started dancing, but she didn't dance, so I slowed down and asked her if she wanted to stop. She said "No" and danced for about...2 seconds. So, I gently swayed and she just held on. So, I held on. It was very cool for me. It lasted for a few minutes and even after the song was over, she just held my hand. So, I stayed there. Her two CIA's just waited patiently (that's a lot of camp, waiting :-)) and when she released my hand and took one of the CIA's hands, the CIA mouthed the words, "Thank You." That didn't need to be said though, because that was one of the coolest moments for me this weekend. At closing ceremonies yesterday I told her Mom about it and she had tears in her eyes and gave me a hug. Clearly that Mom needed just a little encouragement in this season with her daughter. It was priceless. *grin*

I found it interesting that after that, another camper walked up and took my hands and danced with me too. She could talk, but we danced and at the end she quietly said, "Thank You" and walked off. I stood there and thought, "I love camp!"

One of the perks of having sibs in our cabin was being able to do things that wouldn't work with some cabins. For example, I found myself (for the first time in over ten years) playing the cup game. Our cabin did the cup game for quite a while, and a few members hadn't played before. It was SO MUCH FUN, and one of our campers finally had it right before closing ceremonies. It was FUN. *grin*

Martha Grace was there again, and she made me smile EVERY TIME I saw her. I love how some people don't know her at the beginning and at the end people just know you'll walk with her or she'll take a hat or whatever. She's loved very well out there. *grin*

This weekend Camp Barnabas reminded me of how we're called to love one another. While this wasn't new to me, I'm always well-loved out there (I believe everyone else is too!), it was fun to experience it again this weekend.

You won't be surprised to hear I'm ready for summer break too! I'm serving out at camp Terms 1 and 7. I. Can't. Wait.

*grin*
LIFE.
IS.
GREAT!!!