Shining Bright

I'm back from camp, as you can see. It was amazing. I learned so much and grew a lot spiritually, which worked out well because today - the day after I got back - I got to be baptized. But more on that later. Back to camp. Spending an entire week with Christian people and listening to nothing but Christian music and studying the Bible twice a day totally rejuvenated me! On top of that, I didn't have to worry about my hair or my clothes or anything like that. It was just what I needed.

The other parts were great too - I got some good tips on cantering that I'm going to try out on Indy tomorrow. At camp, I rode a speedy and sensitive horse named Mocha. She was great, but only 14.2 hh, so my legs cramped up. :D But she took such light signals! That was really cool. I also took kayaking and sailing. There isn't much to learn in kayaking, but my head is still kind of spinning from sailing information. We didn't get much wind, but I still know the basic parts of the sailboat, how to set it up, and how to steer and stuff. Now when I read ship books I'll actually know what a "come-about" and a "jibe" is.

I have pictures, but they're very bad quality, so I'll wait on them and see

if I can get some from my friend. For now, I'll give you some highlights of the week.

I went tubing for the first time in my entire life! It was cool, but...we went over a big wave and when I came down I chomped on the inside of my cheek and got a cut there. So tubing was fun, but I got other chances to go and I didn't take them. :) I also attempted to water ski. Water skiers out there, I admire you greatly. To make my story short, I'll say that I lost both skis and after that I forgot to let go of the handle thingie, so I was zipping through the water with no skis and my swimsuit was coming off.

I'll try it again - someday.

Another highlight was the all-camp game we played toward the end of the week. That week of camp was the Holidazzle - because of the 4th of July - so each day we celebrated a different holiday. The all-camp game was on "Christmas", so half the counselors dressed up as Hoos from Hooville, and the other half dressed up as Grinch minions. And of course, one was the Grinch him(her)self. One of the minions made me laugh so hard that I was literally crying with tears streaming down my face and the little girls were asking me if I was okay. We had different stations to go to, and one was a slide made of tarp that was set up on a hill. They sprayed the hose down the slide and we got to go down. That was super fun.

I'm going to give you the chorus of our theme song, which pretty much describes my week at camp.

---

The sun's shining bright and it just won't set

Your love is alive and it lights my step

My heart is amazed every day to the next

Your joy overtakes and I

Can't forget about it.

Waoh-oh-oh. Waoh-oh-oh, I

Can't forget about it!

---

And then my baptism was today. I gave my testimony, which was very short. I didn't have time to cry, which was great. But unfortunately, I did have time to be stung by a bee. It got me on the ankle as I was talking, and I crossed my other foot over to rub the bite. When I was done and the pastor was walking up to give the next instructions, he got stung by a bee too, though his reaction was funnier than mine. :)

The water was warm, though the sky was cloudy. I got dipped and it

went so fast that I barely had time to feel anything. After the baptism, I had a great time eating and swimming and playing Ninja and Mafia with my great church family. I do have pictures of my dip.

Until next time,

Ellyn