Halfway Through Session Two!

So in a week from yesterday, we will have finished our second session of camp. It's hard to believe that we're about halfway through not only this session, but the summer! I've been here for almost exactly a month, and I half just over a month left to go. Time flies for sure.
Today I'd like to write a bit about some things that have worked better for me this session, about some challenges that I'm discovering, and about what I'm learning in my personal Bible study lately!

Success Stories:

• Cabin Orientation. This is a part of the evening on Opening Sunday when I sit down with all of the girls in my cabin and go over things like rules, and policies, and where we start to get to know each other. This didn't go too well in the first session... so this time I planned it much more carefully and things went much better!


• The Buddy System. This way, I ask my girls where their buddies are, and they tell me who is missing instead of me trying to count heads like a crazy person.


• Assigning meal chores. This way the clean-up is shared equally and we don't have four girls taking all of the responsibility.

Challenges:

• Middle Sunday. It's SO HARD to get through Sunday of each session. My day starts as usual with breakfast at 7:15. The difference is that there are very few campers coming along. There are two rounds of breakfast, one for those attending chapel, and one an hour later for everyone else. I'll be in chapel every session because the Vocal Ensemble always sings. Then I'm off to Symphony Band rehearsal, followed by a Staff Choir performance for all of the choir campers. Then it's lunch, and after lunch we're back to a regular schedule. Middle Sunday is challenging because I lose a couple of hours of free time in the morning, I have to wear the formal uniform all morning, and I have to sing a lot in the morning. It's a long day, but it's always very rewarding because of the performance for the choir campers. There's nothing like singing for an enthusiastic audience!


• The Brahms Requiem. It's SO HARD. Musically, it is challenging, but definitely do-able. The challenge is to put it together with our conductor. He is a wonderful gentleman from Austria, however, there are some small issues. The language barrier is definitely a factor. Another interesting thing is that he asks for straight-tone singing throughout. This is very hard to do, especially when singing forte in the higher part of my voice. The other challenge will be the emotional demands of performing a Requiem with texts as brilliantly set as these are. The Brahms is definitely challenging, but it will be extremely rewarding as well.

Bible Study:

• I've been going through Kay Arthur's "Lord, I Want to Know You." It's a book about the names of God, and I've learned a lot. I'll list the names and memory verses that I've learned so far!

1. Elohim, Almighty Creator God, Rev 4:11


2. El Elyon, Might God, Psalm 57:2


3. El Roi, God who Sees, Proverbs 15:3


4. El Shaddai, All-Sufficient God, II Cor 12:9-10


5. Adonai, God our Master, Psalm 16:2


6. Jehovah, Self-Sufficient God, Exodus 3:14


7. Jehovah-Jireh, God the Provider, Phil. 4:19


8. Jehovah-Rapha, God who Heals (haven't finished this one yet)

So that's that! Those are my thoughts here at the halfway point. :)