So I have been here 18 days. Wow the time has really gone by fast. When I got here it seemed like it was a long time to be away from home but now here I am with only a week to go. I am so glad that I was able to be here. The experience has exceeded my expectations in most ways. I have learnt a great deal about cooking while working in the kitchen. I'm sure Mrs Krueger will be glad to not have me around questioning her like a kid - "why this", "why that"!! Mrs K is a wealth of knowledge about cooking and also health and herbs. I hope to work on learning more when I get home. Yes, I miss hubby but I'm sure he is going to find it was worth the sacrifice when I come home with some new recipes and much inspiration.
It has also been invaluable working side by side with the other workers and having time to chat and get to know each other. I think I got a glimpse of how it will be in the POS with us doing our various jobs together. The kitchen space is limited and with so many people workspace was sometimes hard to come by but we all worked to accommodate others without getting too flustered. People are always asking if you need help when they finish their job. Yet the the atmosphere is relaxed. It's been a while since I worked in the this kind of team environment and I enjoy having my task or working with another person on a task and figuring out the most efficient way of doing it.
Seeing the campers every day has been wonderful too. I have really seen how they have become more relaxed as they have got into the groove of camp. While working campers passing by will call out a hello or come and give you a hug. Priceless! Listening to them do their cheers and songs or hearing their comments at say etiquette night topics or Mr Flurry's visit, was so delightful and touching to see young people earnestly wanting to follow God's way and take the lessons learned in their classes. I do hope they have name badges though at least in the first week so I could learn all their names.
By the way, Mr Turgeon knows all the campers names - very impressive. It's wonderful to see him and Mr Burns (Asst Director) interactions with the campers. Very hands on, talking to them and also spending a lot of time with the counselors in daily meetings. Teens need to build that rapport with the ministry and that's what is also great about them being able to visit Mr Flurry's house and the faculty home visits.
I've enjoyed talking to HQ staff at meal times (mainly lunch) and finding out more about the specifics of what they do and the challenges they face. You can see how hard they work as many come in and just take lunch and go straight back to work.
Not having a car has been a bit of an inconvenience since I'm not staying on campus and if I came again I would drive. However, my colleagues and housemates have been great at giving rides and I'm only about 3 minutes away from HQ.
Hearing the views of the teens is interesting to me because I was a teen when God started opening my mind and I came into WCG at age 18 and was baptized at 19. I think it's somewhat easier to have a lot of excitement and motivation when you come in out of the world and had to fight resistance from family to be here. So for those who are second generation I pray that this will be real to them personally and not just because their parents are in it.
Seeing the reticence of some teens to having their photo taken is interesting. It reminds me that they are going through that phase of not feeling confident and sure of themselves. Some literally hide their faces or feel like they don't take good pictures because of wearing braces. I try and encourage them by showing them how good the picture looks.
I'm thinking about what I want to accomplish this final week. I would like to talk to get to know more campers, talk to more HQ staff, sit in on a Bible class and another womanhood class if possible and to watch soccer and archery.
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