C-A-M-P

It has arrived a bit earlier than I had calculated.  That is to say, instead of feeling sick Friday morning because I've been at camp for 11 days, I felt it Thursday night.  But I've been downing peppermint tea like it's going out of style and had soup for breakfast and lunch, so I'm well on my way to overcoming the usual camp hangover.  I still feel like there are ogres living in my lungs trying to keep my every breath captive.  Also, coughing up a cheese grater is not good for morale. 

But, let's face it, how could one not get sick after being on an 11 day road trip with high school kids, living off of 6-7 hours of sleep and that spent in tents in a sleeping bag?  There are other physical signs I've been at camp besides the nasal congestion, dry scratchy throat and ogres living in my lungs.  There are a few bruises, mosquito bites, and boy is that Chaco tan getting dark again!  It's the mark of camp.

This was no ordinary camp.  It wasn't even called a camp.  It was called a pilgrimage.  They called it The Pilgrimage to Uluru.  Our little van drove to Ballarat, where we met the rest of the Victorians and Tasmanians and stepped onto our temporary home for the next 11 days.  SG and I didn't really know anyone going on the trip, though we'd met a few of them at training events.  Little did we know how dear those faces would become by the time we stepped off that bus for the last time. 

If you want the cut to the chase version, here it is.  We drove to Uluru (Yulara), camping in tents along the way.  We took 30+ jr. high and high school kids, and went with the organization Fusion.  There were several purposes of the trip including personal growth, reconciliation between whites and Aboriginals, multicultural education, fun, getting away from the busyness of normal life, spending time thinking about and talking with God. 

In honor of our 11 days of experience, I'll share 11 things we learned...

1. Unperfumed high school boys are the strongest smelling mammal on the planet. 

2. High school girls win the award for most piercing scream when confronted with a mouse or spider. 

3. The flies are just as bad as they say.

4. You know you're growing up when you're doing a risk assessment before climbing a tree.

5. Behind every attitude and sassy comment there's a story with baggage.

6. Most of the time, the way God works in people is sloooowly.

7. There's something magical about candlelight and singing.

8. Sunrises are worth getting up for.

9.  It's a really, really big rock.

10. Young people have the potential to be responsible, capable leaders.

11. Growth and challenge should never have an age limit.

One of the difficult things about camp or travel or a great hamburger is that only you can experience it in that way.  Even if I were to fill a page with enough adjectives to satisfy Charles Dickens, it wouldn't mean you'd experienced it.  You could understand it, to a degree, but you wouldn't quite be able to feel the very weight of that great rock pin your heart to the earth or feel the delirium of two 4:30AM mornings in a row.  I want you to catch a glimpse of that red dirt and understand the giggles that an American forging an Aussie accent can elicit and how proud I am of the team and how we worked together.  That said, the next several posts will be dedicated to glimpses of the trip. 

Much love from bed with lots of tissues (think Meg Ryan on You've Got Mail, just without New York and flowers)

Little Miss Sunshine