On the River

haha. sorry, when i think about trying to communicate the past 2 and a half weeks i can't help but laugh. the day we got back from the river trip i got to go off after we had unloaded our canoes and trailer and gotten the girls to showers (we had a couple on the trip... but those are different stories). so right when my co-shief, sharon (who is amazing... and also another story) and i got off we went into the office to check our mail and get our car keys. i ran into chief betsy in the mail room. besty is one of the two chiefs who trained me, in case you didn't know. so she sees me and asks me how i am doing and how the trip went. i just looked at her and laughed and said, "betsy, why don't i have a clue what i'm doing?" to which she laughed. then i added, "i blame you and brooke." (who is the other training chief) i actually saw brooke today and told him the story. he laughed, after he quit crying... just kidding.
so yeah, i've been in group for about 21 days, only one of which was at camp... and it wasn't even a full day. gosh. this must be so hard to follow. see, we got back on tuesday and sharon and i went off. sarah covered the group and sharon and i went back on wednsday around noon. then sarah went off and the girls went home today (thursday) at 10am. except allison. she isn't allowed to go home because she is at camp for well, a few issues, one of which is serious drug abuse. the last time she was home she reoffended and then lied about it. which i feel like was the real problem. i mean, if she would have been honest from the begining it would have been better. but since she lied and then came out with the truth bit by bit, and to other campers and not to chiefs, it was bad. basically, she can't go home because she has shown that she can't be trusted when she goes home. so she "lost her homestay." she'll have another chance to go home over Easter. but her behanvior at camp now and over the next two weeks will determine whether she can go home or not. and that goes for all the campers. if they are a risk to themselves, others, reoffending, or running then they can't go home. they are safer and better off at camp. off course, some kids are better off at camp anyways. they just have it so hard at home. parents (one or the other) or guardians who don't care. of all the 11 girls i work with not one of them has a father and mother who love them and love eachother. that just makes me sad.
i have had a lot of good conversations. kati curses a lot using one name in particular. see, it prolly wouldn't be that big of a deal. except that it is the name that is above every name. it is the name that at the sound of every knee will bow on heaven and earth and under the earth. and finally, one night, i asked her if she knew what that name meant. she said, 'no.' so i began to tell her. our conversation lasted close to an hour. all from the name of Jesus to the meaning of salvation and our need of it. she asked a lot of questions but ultimately she just needed to read it for herself. so i gave her my Bible and she was more than curious. she read most of matthew during the rest of the trip. the staff and i (myself, sarah, sharon, and celeste, who is a family worker for eckerd) stayed up late one night after the trip and talked a lot... we even prayed together. i know sharon loves Jesus... i think she just forgot over the year. we've all been in that place where we forget. i think a part of why i am here might be to remind her.
i hope.