TWOsday

It's Tuesday. I have 2 posts in mind. Today is officially TWOsday! Enjoy~


My dear friend, Erica, has reminded me that I had quite the courageously brave summer. 
For the month of July I work here. I am a counselor & average 12-16 girls in my cabin/week. It is a such a wonderful place to come, learn about the Lord, make new friends, eat great food, & change your life. I have worked out there for the past 4 years (1st year in the kitchen, counseling the last 3) and i have loved every minute of it. 


The theme this summer was "Prison Break" and what a great theme it was! The first game on Monday night is always the "theme" game. This year's game was amazing! 1 counselor from each team (red, green blue, purple) was dressed in prison garb (swimsuits on underneath). A chain with a padlock was then chained around the ankle & they sat on an old camp mattress where they awaited their campers to return with 3 different numbers. The campers had clue & had to go around and try to find 3 numbers. Once all 3 numbers were returned the counselor in jail had to unscramble the numbers to try & figure out which combination opened the lock. Once the lock was opened, the counselor raced back to their team headquarters, took off the prison clothes, put on a lifejacket, & proceeded to run towards the beachfront. Once they hit the beachfront, the counselor had to start swimming towards to raft. The first counselor there was declared the winner!


Well, the first week I was going to attempt this, but it was too windy. So, the 2nd week I decided to I would volunteer to be the "prisoner." 


Before I continue there is something that you should know...
I cannot swim. I have never been able to swim, & that is something that I would love to learn how to do. 
On Sunday I had gone swimming with my dear friends, and we were all going to swim out to the raft. That meant that i could A. not swim out there with them & have no fun, or B. go with the 5 year old, grab a lifejacket, & head out there with them.
I love this family & knew they would not laugh at me so off I went to grab a lifejacket. 
Earlier that morning we had read about trusting the Lord & him not giving up on us & letting us sink.
So, the 5 year old & I headed over to the watershed & grabbed out lifejackets. We then went & swam out to the raft. I had done it! I had my lifejacket, kept my "eyes fixed on the raft", and made it. 


Forward back to the game...
Knowing that I had actually swam out to the raft once already, I knew that I could do it again. I got chained to the mattress & awaited my campers arrivals with the clues. The numbers were slowly coming in & my adrenaline was pumping. My team was the first team to get all of the numbers. I quickly figured out the combination, & bolted to my team headquarters. I stripped off my prison clothes, threw on my lifejacket & raced down to the waterfront. I hit the water & WOW! It was COLD! I started swimming, & quickly became exhausted after running all around. I did not think that I would be able to finish. I then remembered how I had done it the previous day. My eyes had been fixed on the raft. I knew that if i were to take my eyes off of it, I would probably not make it out there in time. I started grunting & just kept swimming. I made it. The green team won. What a victory. I had never felt so accomplished. The next person to swim up was my friend Shane & we shared in the moment together. The game was over. The campers were heading up to get ready for bed (did I forget to mention that this all took place at about 930 at night?) and we were still on the raft. We didnt think about the fact that we had to swim BACK to the shore. Shaking & exhausted we threw ourselves off the raft. Once we reached dry land I headed up to take a shower. I ran to the nurses' office & cried. I had to tell my friend that I had done it. Not only did I swim out there and back, but my team had won. It was a beautiful moment. I don't think I will forget that one for awhile...


Courageously going where I have never gone before, 
Lauren