Jentry experienced her first overnight camp last week. She was so excited to attend Camp Comeca and even recruited seven girlfriends to go with her. We registered her in April with the hopes of finding at least one friend to go along. Apparently she is a superb saleswomen and the word spread quickly on the playground, because I soon had several other mom's inquiring about camp.
As always, the beginning of summer flew by and boom... camp was here! I, with the generous help of another mother, loaded the seven girls and enough luggage for a two week backpacking excursion in two vehicles and headed west. We made a pit stop in Holdrege to pick up Jentry as she had been staying with her dad for a few weeks. Two and a half hours later we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere, on a gravel road, corn on all sides, southwest of civilization, ascending a monstrous hill to Camp Comeca. The girls were squealing with excitement.
Mia thought the view was quite "romantic," Ha!
I spent the next hour filling out a ridiculous amount of paperwork and making up seven little beds. The other mom was worried that her daughter would have a hard time saying goodbye as she is never away from mommy and this would be her first overnight somewhere unfamiliar. I assured her that Mia would be just fine. Next thing I know, Jentry is glued to my hip and bursting into tears. "Wait, what? This was your idea kid. You wanted to come to camp. You brought all of your friends here and now you don't want to stay? I certainly was not expecting this."
A few calming words and a promise that I would be back in just two days and Jentry was back to her independent self. We hugged HUGE hugs goodbye, paused for a quick selfie shot and I told them to have a blast.
As I descended the hill and set out on the quiet trip home, I could not help but worry about my baby girl. "Would she really be OK? Should I have left her there? What if something happens to one of these kiddos? Maybe I should have asked more questions." Then I remembered that God has these precious children in his hands and they will certainly be safe as they grow learning more about Him.
I pushed play on my audio book and let Jen Hatmaker cruise me safely home. Before I knew it, it was time to head my car west again. This time I was much less anxious. I was so excited to see my sweet faced blondie and hear all about camp from some dramatic little eight-year-olds.
One girl had to come home early as she fell and got a fairly deep cut, however all in all Little Lambs Camp was a smashing sucess. Everyone said they wanted to go back again next year. I am so thankful that we live in a country where my kids can learn about God in such a fun environment!
Oh and if you have ever wondered what a 3rd grader takes pictures of at summer camp....
And a few more being reunited at home..,
Little Lamb is not exactly what comes to mind when I think of Jentry, but I am hopeful she learned a few positive things while she was away at camp.
