Jonesbones5 
In the Shoes of a camp counselor after Camp Kenya.
Camp Nurse?
I have been slowly making my way back to life again. I don’t even know what happened since I left Kenya on Wednesday to waking up at 5:00 am this Monday morning. I landed in Portland on Thursday and hit the ground running, despite my overwhelming jetlag. Thursday night, Isabel had a violin concert which I think I attended. Then Friday, Julia celebrated her 15th birthday with a sleep over. Saturday, I took her shopping for her birthday and then prepared to speak at church on Sunday. Sunday I spoke at church and came home and…..well….. crashed. Now that Monday is here, I actually feel like my brain and my body have been reunited. This morning I am finally getting a chance to reflect.
Each trip I have been on with Compassion has been a unique experience. God reveals new things to me and continues to change me. Coming home and reconnecting is getting easier too. My family knows what to expect and I know what to expect. Actually, leading trips for Compassion reminds me of my years of working as a camp counselor, but the only difference is camp is in Kenya and my campers are adult bloggers, and the experience is much more intense. I mean, instead of building camp fires and singing, “Kum-ba-ya my Lord”, we meet orphaned children who live in extreme poverty, but have a faith that can move mountains. Like camp, there is a life changing experience. Like camp, there is a bond between those that you share this intense experience with. Like camp, coming home has its challenges. You have changed but your life at home has stayed the same.
Well, the campers are all home now and from reading their blogs, their lives have been turned upside down. Ok…I am happy about this. I mean, if you stay the same after a trip then something went wrong. Each trip I go on puts a deeper dent into my heart and I am relieved when others can share my feelings in wanting to change the lives of kids around the world. 777 kids lives have been changed in the last two weeks. 777 kids have been sponsored! So I am thankful for our bloggers. I am thankful for their willingness to get messed up and have their lives turned upside down. I am thankful because through them, a lot of kids now have HOPE!
Check out these post trip blogs.
LV Hanson – trouble maker camper (just kiddin)
Brad – cool camper
Kristen – the roomate and sweet camper
Jennifer and Israel -camp romance 
Shaun The Camp Director with wild hair.
Ryan and Allison – camp romance again…
Keely the camp photographer
Chris – The Camp Lifeguard (Compassion cooperate blog man)
Kent – The Ninja Joker who called me MOM camper
and a cute kid who I wanted to take home.
4 Comments on “In the Shoes of a camp counselor after Camp Kenya.”
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Thanks for visiting our blog. Here you will find stories of our family, our travel, our faith and our mission. We are on a journey to serve Christ and to journey through this life.
Jonesbones5 
Don’t underestimate the power of the MOM camper! 🙂 Every single one of us who went to camp at one time or another wanted (nay, NEEDED) our mom at some point during the trip. With a trip of this magnitude, those campers *needed* a Mom to lean on. 🙂
Thank you for being there for us and for them, so they could be there for us, too.
Lovely post and thank God for using you,I enjoyed the photo’s also.Have a wonderful evening.
Love in Christ Pat 😀
You (and your hubby) are my new heroes. I’m SO proud to know you and to have shared Kenya with you. Your wisdom is profound and your words are an encouragement to this little Mom from Texas.
You led our team WELL, sweet friend.
Patricia – you were the best Camp Mom ever!! 🙂
It was so much fun getting to know you this week. Your advice and encouragement meant so much. My world really has been turned upside down. I thank God for allowing me to experience more of Him this week.