we apologize for the inconvenience

I had my Allagash round-up post planned for this one, but I can't seem to get my head on straight to write that. So I figured I would type something up and see what came out. And because I'm in somewhat of a funk right now, and have been for the past couple of days, I'm going to start with things I'm thankful for.

• I'm thankful for my co-counselors at camp. Maggie, Matt, and Sarah are among the coolest and most genuine people I know. I was talking to Maggie yesterday while hiking up Mt. Lincoln and she mentioned that it takes a special type to be a LDP counselor. And she was one-hundred percent right. We don't get a lot of time off, and when we do it's a day off by ourselves. We are forced to go from full throttle to reverse more times than is good for anyone. We have the honor of living life with twenty-five of the coolest teenagers you have ever met. And we struggle with it. Just last nigh Amy (our boss) asked me what was going on with the group, what the stress was all about. And I didn't really have an answer for her so I started searching for one. I came up with the idea that we are stressed because we just got back from a break, got up at six o'clock to go on a hike, got back at six o'clock (missing dinner), and then had an evening full of activities. So we were stressed. She was worried because, in her words, "groups either pull together or pull apart when stressed, and it looks like you guys are pulling apart." I can totally see her point, but I also see that we are all we have. And just like my brother was all I had growing up, when stress comes along there are sometimes negative consequences. We're imperfect people and are going to get mad at each other. But at the end of the night, we wrapped our arms around each other and prayed that God would re-energize us. And that's my prayer for today as well. 
• I'm thankful for the Allagash. It's hard to explain if you've never been there. But getting to paddle with the same nine people for eight days is, simply put, magic. And getting to spend the majority of that time in the same canoe with the same partner even more so. Before this summer I had no clue who Sarah, my paddle partner, was. But now I feel confident in her ability to not only guard anything I tell her, but also to share Godly wisdom with me. Not to mention that she did a fantastic job of leading the campers and me. Without the Allagash I wouldn't have this type of relationship with her, or with these campers. We fought hard, one day we were on the water for fourteen hours. And because of that we are bonded in a way that I couldn't have imagined.
• I'm thankful for the rest of the staff at Brookwoods and Deer Run. I spent Saturday evening with a mess of counselors that I don't normally get to interact with, and I was reminded how great these people are. It's almost not fair to the rest of the world to have this many amazing, Christ centered, individuals in the woods of New Hampshire. But I am grateful that I get to be a part of it. When I complained that I hadn't had a day off in two weeks they were sympathetic, but better than that they didn't let me dwell on it. And getting to talk to Dan about the LDP program and it's disconnection from the rest of camp was the intellectual and spiritual outlet that I needed at that time.
• I'm thankful for God's word. I've never spent this much time reading and absorbing the Word. We get about an hour a day to do just that, and I hope that by the time the summer is over I'll have been changed enough to keep that habit alive. One thing I'd like to do is re-start a Bible study for those of us in KC.

Well, Hank is here and it's time to have a day off. I'll post again soon.

Luke
luketlancaster@gmail.com