I'm Alive!!! (cont.)

June (continued)
I was placed in the first rotation group (RO), meaning I was still working but instead of being a counselor for a week I was living in the staff lodge and during the days I taught archery. It also means that I got a lot more free time and got to participate in the skits. The very first week of camp I was on rotation, but my job as the archery instructor was on hold because the bow strings and targets were somewhere in shipment lala land. However I did make myself useful by the pool and helped where needed although I did frequent the pool it wasn't until after helping out around camp. This was also the week that I really met CJ and hung out with him on breaks and at the pool. Who is this CJ person? Well I was introduced to him (during training week) by some mutual friends who went to school with him at APU... however there was something else about him that caught my eye, he was wearing a Turlock High School t-shirt. Being that Turlock is the neighboring city to my hometown I made some joke about Turlock and from there the conversation took off. It turns out his family happens to be close family friends with one of my best friends (she's in the lunch bunch, but we go way back) family. So, we may have already crossed paths at some point in time....
The 2nd week of camp was one of the best weeks at camp for me but was also one of the worst... I was counseling and had the best campers ever! They were going into 8th grade they were curious about having a relationship with Christ and they came together as a whole (if you were looking for one of them you'd find the rest of them.) but were very independent and didn't need me hoovering around all the time, but they always wanted to include me. Now you're probably wondering why I said that it was my worst week right? Well as many of you know I have food allergies which include: kiwi, most melons, and pineapple... Here's what happened every morning I would have yogurt with some granola and fresh strawberries for breakfast, so like usual I was eating that for breakfast, I took one bite I knew that I was having an allergic reaction so I went to the head nurse CAM (Carol) who was eating her breakfast told what was happening she so she gave me some Benadryl and then started asking me questions about allergies and reactions. I mentioned I was allergic to pineapple she knew instantly what I had ignored there was crushed pineapple next to the yogurt and so there must have been some juice in the yogurt and who knows how much was in there... I was told to stick around the nurses station (or at least not go too far) just incase yep the just in case was necessary because all of a sudden my breathing became labored and I was rushed to the urgent care (they were the closest facility that had epinephrine on hand. Epinephrine aka epi-pen aka anaphylactic shock treatment) I was there for about an hour as they watched my vitals and they asked Kyle (House one of FR nurses that drove me there) all sorts of questions because I was having a hard time breathing it was easiest to ask him. It was one of the scariest moments in my life. I was informed that I would need to get an inhaler and an Epi-pen and carry it on me at all times. When I got back to camp I had to hang low from all the benadryl and Dr.'s orders, but I was greeted with concerned co-workers all who heard through the grapevine that I was rushed to urgent care. It was then that I knew how blessed I was to be working at camp.

July
I was asked to work down at the conference center (the flats) for a week during Covenant Family Camp (it is the biggest/ busiest week at Mission Springs). The downside was that I only had an hour after all the campers left to clean my cabin and move (instead of having 27 hours off) the upside was that I would have a 4 day break (finish on Thursday and be back on Sunday) and I would be working closer to CJ. For the week I got to work in the nursery on the walkers side these kiddos were cute to boot! The week was amazing being able to spend time with my besties.
The crush I had on CJ grew and he let me know that he shared the same feelings... We were boyfriend and girlfriend a couple without titles and our relationship wasn't like any that I had ever had before. There was communication and an emotional bond (that really can't be explained any better than that) and respect and the best time spent was just being together. I was actually comfortable being completely and entirely myself (who can honestly say that?).
I received an email message on Facebook, from a family friend asking what my plans were for the school year and proposed an opportunity to be a nanny for her 2 children. She had asked me to prayerfully consider. I asked for more info. and prayed and prayed and prayed.
I made friendships that will last a lifetime with not only staff whether they were in college or in high school but also campers.
I counseled the last 2 weeks of July. Both weeks I had an LIT (leader in training/high school student). One week was better than the other... somewhere in there I had another allergy scare this time it was someone giving me the wrong order from Jamba Juice... It was completely an accident on her part both of the drinks were the same color... Luckily the Benadryl and in-haler were enough to keep me from going to the emergency room, but being on an upper and a downer makes one loopy Kaitlin Sweet Pea. I was sent to bed orders from the nurses... 15 hours of sleep later I was feeling slightly better.

August
The summer was coming to an end and everyone was getting restless and snooty with each other. Things that didn't bother me were starting to get under my skin, but God continued to teach me how to love even those who didn't treat me with the respect that I deserved.
"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" was what my mom kept reminding me (4 months later this phrase is still helping me).
I touched base with my family friend to see if she was still needing a nanny, this was the door that God had left open, and she was! I would start right after I got home from the summer.
I stayed an extra couple days to help run a few activities for a large group that was at the conference center that also wanted to use Frontier Ranches facilities.
Summer was over... I drove home to start real life, not school. Still in a relationship with CJ (who lives a short drive from my house) and would be home for a couple of weeks before heading off to school.
Only a couple weeks after CJ went back to school things ended between us and since I rarely hear from him, and when I do it's because he is home and it's convenient for him... I'm not looking to be back in a relationship with him, it was fun while it lasted, and obviously if it were meant to be we would still be together. 


My summer was gearing up towards finding my place in God's bigger story. I cannot say that I have figured out how I fit in God's story, but I can tell you that it has helped me realize how important surrendering and giving it all to Him, leaving it all at the cross, is and will forever be.


I've had a lot of time to spend in His presence to reflect and rely which both are difficult at times and have been a struggle. So far this has been THE most life transforming years of my life! The doors that God has graciously opened are both honoring Him and both are for a certain amount of time and are not in the small smelly cow town that I reside in currently. Both require prayer lots and lots of prayer for guidance. Opportunity 1.) is a 2 year internship at Mission Springs, 2.) is going to Discipleship Training School DTS with Youth With A Mission YWAM in either England, Ireland, or Scotland for 5-6 months. Both opportunities applications start in the beginning of this next summer would begin the following September. Both are phenomenal opportunities.



Sorry, that this took so long to write I should kept up with it over the summer, but I was busy... Please forgive me?






Next you'll hear all about being a NANNY!!! :)