Josh and I had a very good, very exhausting weekend! We had about 20 kids show up for the retreat on Friday night, and we all had a great time. We left for a YMCA camp about 20 minutes from the church on Friday night and got back in time for church on Sunday. We both felt really good about it as we got back- it seems like the youth both enjoyed it and learned a lot. Friday night we got to the camp, unpacked, had praise & worship time led by our friends Laura Susan and Springer, Josh taught a lesson, and then we played Manhunt. That was really fun. I found one of the youth, a 13 year old boy, laying facedown in sand on the beach right next to a canoe. I was thinking that he must take this way too seriously- who would willingly lay face down in really nasty sand for several minutes to avoid getting tagged with a flashlight? And to top it all off, when he got up it was discovered that he had been laying on an ant pile. Oops. Gotta love those arms covered with ant bites!! We woke up Saturday morning, had breakfast, heard a lesson from Martin, hung around for a while, had lunch, played tons of silly outdoor games, sat around, had a cookout, heard another lesson from Martin, had a bonfire, and went to bed. Sunday morning we got up for pancakes, heard a lesson from Josh, and went to church. It ended up being a lot of fun, and we had plenty of help from parents and folks in our small group, which was just so important.
Here are some stories that were funny. One of the kids brought a friend with him who doesn't normally come to our youth group. This kid was really funny. I think he was in sixth grade, and you just never know what you're going to get with the sixth graders. They're kind of a grab bag of giggling, blank stares, and just all around interesting-ness. Anyway, one of our activities on Saturday afternoon was a slip & slide. The slip & slide was covered with water and vegetable oil to make it extra slippery. Some kids were better at slipping and sliding than others, and this one in particular wasn't that great. On his first or second attempt, he took a running leap and practically planted his chest into the one section of the tarp that sat on top of a pinecone. Ouch. Then he discovered what it was like to be covered in oil. For some reason this kid REALLY liked being covered in oil. The first time he stood up and noticed that he had that vegetable oil all over the front of his body. He kept rubbing his chest and stomach and saying "This feels so weird!" He must have commented on it at least 5 times before he went again. The next time down the slip & slide, he came to a stop rather quickly and started wallowing in the water/oil like a pig wallows in the mud. He continued to rub the oil all over his chest and talk about how weird it felt. I thought that someone needs to give this kid a day at the spa complete with an oily massage. He gave us all a good laugh.
This camp was right on the lake, and all of us would have gone swimming had it been warmer, but only a brave few went in this weekend. Most of them were middle school boys, mind you. I loved hearing one after a few minutes say "I can't feel my legs." Why the heck are you out there?? After getting out one boy was sitting on one of the picnic benches, hanging out in his wet shorts like it was a hot day at the beach, but the fact that his lips were seriously blue and he had goosebumps all up and down his arms told you the truth. I love middle school boys. What possesses them to do the things they do? They will always be a mystery to me. We finally made the blue-lipped boy go take a warm shower before falling prey to hypothermia.
We told some ghost stories around the bonfire on Saturday night, and those always manage to freak me out just a little. Especially when one of the kids talked about someone getting kidnapped from a camp by a murderer. Oof, that one sticks with you. I always just say that those are all made up and make it OK again in my little mind.
Josh has softball practice tonight- the season is getting cranked up in the next few weeks. I think he'll be playing 3rd base this season. We are having a huge conflict of interest because 24 is on Monday nights at 9:00, and Josh will have games every Monday and Thursday night for a couple of months. AHH!!! What do we DO?? This is serious. He might just have to fake injuries every Monday night, get taken out of the game, sneak out of the dugout, and high-tail it to the car. Our Monday nights are currently built around this show, so we're having some problems.
We were so thankful for the good weekend. The weather was beautiful! I'm convinced that spring is here to stay.
Have a great night!
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