Day at UGM Camp Service Project

Hi girls.

Yes I missed last week. Oh well. I just didn’t write, that’s all.

I was super busy over the weekend. My church does a UGM Camp Service project with the youth and we all help clean up and re-bark the camp so it’s ready for the summer.

I got there with my cousins at 8 in the morning and we played a bit of ping pong with our friends in the dining hall before heading out to work. I was on the bark crew with two other girls and the youth pastor’s wife.

It was a lot of hard work spreading the bark all the way down the path, there were two paths and they were very very long and uphill so it was tiring. But it looked nice when we were done.

After the bark was done (it took about 2.5 hours of hard hard work. We were all so tired) we had lunch and took a small break before getting divided up again into new groups. This time, I was with another girl, a boy, and the youth pastor’s wife. We got car washing duty. I actually wanted to do that so it was fun. We dusted and washed all the dashboard and the doors and windows on the inside and then washed it down on the outside with a hose and soapy rags. I couldn’t believe it, but there was no water fights! Which I was glad about because I hadn’t brought any dry cloths to change into.

I did however bring an extra pair of socks, which I’m so glad about, because I was wearing running shoes which had airy netting to help air flow, so by the time car duty was done my socks were so wet and when I changed them I couldn’t even believe how much more comfortable dry socks are!

Then we went hiking on the bike trail to clear up pine cones and branches and rocks to make the trail clear. It was fun and I got a lot of PE but the mosquitoes were sooo bad! In fact, I have an allergic reaction to a bite I got on my arm and it’s spread as a slightly swollen rash half way up my arm from my elbow. Thankfully, the itch has really subsided today and it’s not as swollen, but I’ve been taking some allergy supplements (which work really good actually,) and it’s been helping with my pollen allergy too.

By 3 o’clock when we were finished hiking I was ready to go home. I was homesick. XD. But there was no service, and we agreed that my parents would pick me and my cousins up at 7 in the evening so we could get home before dark, so I still had 4 hours to hang out.

I was tired, but we finished the work and honestly we did so much I’m actually surprised. It’s a blessing to be able to help out this camp that reaches out and shares the gospel with kids in our community that wouldn’t be able to go to any kind of camp otherwise. (UGM runs o donations and church funds, so kids don’t have to pay to go the camp)

After dinner of lasagna and garlic bread and salad (this “camp” was not at all like actual camping. There were fully functional bathrooms, showers, cabins, a dining hall with good food, and snacks and drinks to help rehydrate us. It was really good!) we headed up a very steep path to the ball field, which was actually very flat and well taken care of. Most of the people played ultimate frisbee and ran around, but I was to tired and instead I chatted with my friend a whole bunch. Then it was chapel time!

I headed to the chapel very early, and played a little on their electric keyboard. I don’t play piano, but I know a bit of the song “Take These Wings” and it’s fun to play. I got some quiet time and rested and enjoyed the silence of just being by myself. Then my friends came and we had Chapel. It was really good and one of the lady camp counselors played the guitar for worship and it was very good.

And then when we got out of chapel my parents were there to take us home! I was so happy. I had missed all my sisters and home and I was ready to go home.

So it was really great to be able to help and I was able to get PE hours, but I was very ready to go home. And so we did.

That was my Saturday. What about yours? Did you ever go to a camp? What did you think?

~B. R. B.