And it is...!

Wednesday afternoon, halfway through what is whispered with a mixture of excitement and trepidation:
Junior Camp!  This is the camp for young men and women ages 9-12, they come from Montana, Idaho, Washington, and join together for this week at Camp Bighorn.  We run events like: rock climbing, zip lining, challenge course, archery and shooting, low static course and rafting.  Their time is structured from 8:15 in the morning, to 10:00 at night, which is pretty impressive for a bunch of 9-12 year-olds!  We have chapel sessions with skits and songs, and a mud pit, and a lot of very tired staff!
     As the facilitation manager, my time this week has been in demand more than usual.  Considering that I am pretty familiar with how this age group works, and that many of the facilitators are young and in need of more counsel, my work has been close to non-stop.  Which is great--because I really like the work I do here, and it is very gratifying for me to be able to help others   The campers get here Monday afternoon, and events don't start until Tuesday morning.  We have a facilitation meeting every morning, while the campers are playing games with other staff for an hour, this gives them a breather and a chance for me to connect with them,  Tuesday morning, barely into the week really, the facilitators were all of a sudden as talkative as their campers!  So many things to talk about: lack of sleep; the inordinate amounts of hot chocolate being drunk; conflict between campers; funny moments; how to empower youth, and lack of sleep.  Counseling facilitators, playing with campers, and hunting down night lights, have kept us all running!
     But then, all those projects I was counting on getting done this week in my "free time,"  suddenly are not looking possible anymore.  But I keep on hearing the same message all over: Be still, and know that I am God.
     My brothers, Micah (10) and Jesse (12) are here for Junior camp, which is pretty fun!  It's special for me to be sitting in the lodge, a very familiar place for me, and look over and see my brother who is very familiar, but not in this context.  They are having a blast and fitting right in with all the other high energy crazy kids!  The other staff keep on mentioning how much they are "Doty's," whatever that is supposed to mean.  Apparently Micah approaches situations just like Anjeli, and they both talk about the same amount as well.  So five Doty's at Camp Bighorn, and the roof is still on!
     DeLancey is facilitating this week, and she is doing such a great job.  Guiding and loving these young women is such a natural fit for her, and she is excelling, whether she feels it or not.  It has been good to have this window into her leadership style and see her work.  I have been very impressed with all of the facilitators this week, they are doing such a perfect job, and I get this weird paternal pride for them. :p   Even though I can see what a wonderful job they are doing, they are still for the most part very stressed out and exhausted.  And yes we are halfway through the week.  I was tempted to laugh Tuesday morning, when they were (what they thought was) totally exhausted.  But they ain't seen nothin' yet!  If you would send up a prayer for them, I believe it would be answered.
     Anjeli is loving working on Admin, and if you go here: http://www.campbighorn.org/bh/2011/07/2907/ you can follow Camp Bighorn's blog on Junior camp that she is writing for them this week!  If you like pictures, and I know you do, check out these on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150241778575583.315769.344035665582&type=1

Thanks for reading y'all!  Look for more updates in the near future!

--faith