What a wonderful birthday!

I had a really good birthday on Monday!!! I slept in a little and when I woke up there were streamers decorating my bunk! I was really suprised, because I usually wake up at the slightest noise and there were several girls that decorated my bed. I was the only one in the cabin, because everyone else had to work. There was a cute little sign on the stairwell with a crown, glasses, a ring and a candy bracelet that I was told to wear. I got ready then walked to the front of the campground because our cabin was a little boring. I didn't wear the crown or sunglasses as I was walking to the front, because I didn't want to get strange looks from all the campers. I was chided for it when everyone saw that I wasn't wearing them, so I put on the crown.


I helped out with the basketball activity and showcased my "awesome" skills. No kids showed up, so it was just several SummerShiners playing knockout and PIG. It was really fun to just hang out and play basketball games.


I had to work at 2, so I left right after basketball was finished. It wasn't too busy of a day, and I was with another girl so it wasn't too lonely either. She got off at 4:30 and I had to work till 6. About 5, a group of people showed up and started unloading a U-Haul with a bunch of sound equipment. It took me a few minutes to remember that there was a sign on the door of the main office that said there would be a choir from Texas performing that night. It was kinda a bummer that we had to miss it, but we were leaving for staff night at 6:30 and we weren't going to make it back in time to see them.


As soon as I got off of work, I started to walk back to the bungalo(our cabin) and it was raining a little. It wasn't bad, because if it hadn't been raining, it would have been really hot. I got back, got ready as quick as I could and then we left a little before 6:30. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Sylva, so it took about 45 mins to get there. The food was really good and the wait wasn't too bad. After dinner, one of the guys got up and told the waiter that it was my birthday. I told him not to, but he did anyway. A few minutes later, a really heavy sombrero was put on my head and the waiters started to sing. A pair of sunglasses were on the table and one of the waiters put them on my face. I was a little confused, then I got a pile of whipped cream and chocolate syrup in my face. I was a little taken abak, but it really wasn't as bad as some people make it out to be. After I had a bunch in my face, they flicked crushed up chips into it as well. I was laughing the whole time, but everyone thought I was crying, because I had my face covered. It took me a few minutes to clean it all off my face, and I was smelling chocolate syrup the rest of the night, but it really wasn't that bad. When we got back to the campground, we sat on the porch and talked until the other car of people got there. It was a little while till they arrived, because they stopped to get cake and icecream. We all ate cake, icecream, and English's apple dip. It was fun to talk to everyone and hang out for a little while. I was up a little late hanging out and playing on the playground, but it was so much fun!

All in all, it was a wonderful day, and i'm really excited to celebrate father's day with my family when they come to visit me this weekend!!

Please Pray for Me

I really love it here as a whole, but I keep having those days where I wonder why I'm here and not at home with my close friends and family. My job is not the hardest, but it is really stressful when I get blamed for stuff that I have no control over. Some of the campers don't realize that the girls who work in the tours office don't make all the rules that we enforce. It's ok every once in a while, because some people do understand and are really sweet to us, but there's always those who are not polite and quite obnoxious. Please pray that I will have patience and be polite to all the customers even when they complain about things I can't control. God has already enabled me to have more patience than I did when I left, but I'm still a work in progress...

It's been a full week!

I'm almost suprised i've made it! I got here last wednesday night, so i've been working for a full week. (Only 11 more to go!!) As the days go by, I get more comfortable with my surroundings and enjoy the job that I have been given. I work with great people, and usually the customers are nice and pretty polite. I didn't think I would enjoy working in the mountains, but it's just about the perfect temperature all the time. There are times when it is hot, cold, or rainy, but for the most part it's great! I'm getting to know all my fellow staffers better, and many of the staff that work here full time.
I miss my friends at home and at school a lot, but i'm making wonderful new friends that are doing a good job of distracting me! Part of my family is going to try to come visit me next weekend, so i'm really excited about that!

It's a little hectic sometimes...

...but it's amazing so far! I'm still working in the tours office, and it continues to get less stressful every day. I enjoy the people I'm working with in there, and I'm starting to get used to the computer program we have to use. I feel very blessed because my job is not extremely physically demanding. Don't get me wrong, its hard, but in a different way. It's mentally stressful at times and others it's hard to find enough to do that i don't feel like I'm wasting my time and the company's money.

My first two days off were quite fun. On Monday, I didn't do much of anything other than hang out and meet some of the campers. Tuesday, I went swimming in the pool (we have a really cool water slide that is really fun to go down!), washed laundry, and went tubing down the river that flows past the campground. It was a really fun, but I'm still in pain from the all the rocks that poked me as i was floating...

Tuesday night was staff night, so we left the campground and went to a place called the Fun Factory. It was fun, there were lots of arcade games as well as bowling, laser tag, and mini golf. We had a great time just hanging out as a staff and playing games.

Tonight we went to Unto These Hills, the outdoor drama that tells the story of the Indians long journey until now. It was pretty cool to see, and now I will be able to answer many of the questions that the people who come to my office have about it.

God's going to change and grow me greatly this summer, I can already feel it!!