Emma Fellowship-without-the-hip

Hello, lovely people on the outside world! Camp is going wonderfully, in case you were wondering. I like to refer to myself as the "full-time camper", since I've been camping since week 4 and will continue until the summer is over! I love getting to experience camp as an older camper. It's an odd role to be. You're still a camper and expected to follow the same rules as the nine year olds, but you also are the example for the younger campers. It's like being a counselor without all the effort, haha! One of my favorite memories of this week is teaching Ella, a camper in girls one, how to play ukulele. Normally, I wouldn't let any child touch my beloved instrument, but she was so enthralled by my uke that I thought that this could be a good moment to make a new friend. She had already learned how to play guitar, so playing the ukulele came naturally to her. I helped her with her finger placements as she eagerly strummed out all the major, minor, and seventh chords with reckless enthusiasm. I then gave her the three chords to Riptide (the basic first song for any uke beginner) and she picked it up with ease. That moment was so precious to me. I have a younger brother (who is counseling for the first time in boys one!!!) and my heart always reaches out to the younger campers. The first time I counseled was week 2 of last year. Although it was tiring and hard work, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having been in girls eight theses past two weeks has given me a new perspective of how important the bond between older and younger campers is. Younger campers bring so much energy and a thirst for fun adventures to Camp Swamp, which is much needed in the later weeks, and the older campers bring the desire to get closer to our creator and maturity (most of the time, haha!). With energy and the desire to grow with God, the campers are unstoppable. So here's to all the campers: older, middle, younger, girl, and boy. We are the heart of camp. Let's keep that heartbeat strong. <3