THey're here!!

Things change quicly at Barnabas! Our campers and precious families arrived around 4:00 p.m. By 6:00, I had been bitten by a camper and had food thrown at me!(a first for me) However, drop off time never ceases to bring tears to my eyes. To see all these cars waiting in line with some excited campers, some not-so excited campers, wheel chairs, medicines, Pediasure, baskets of medicine, and frazzled, hopeful, nervous parents is something to behold. To watch the parent's faces, as their child gets out of the car and 150 people are cheering for them, is a beautiful thing. Then their counselor comes up, takes them by the hand, and says "I'm so excited to meet you. I can't wait to spend this week with you." Some of these kids have never heard these words before. Their parents have never had anybody excited to take care of their child before. I can't help but think that heaven will be like this with people cheering for you and Jesus taking your hand saying, "I'm so excited you're here, I can't wait to spend time with you."
The rest of the evening was wacky and crazy. CIA's were trying to figure out their campers and getting used to their behaviors. (I learned to keep my arm away from Anna!) Since we have so much autism, many campers roam outside because even the music can hurt their ears. Jake has a runner, so I am pretty sure he did at least 30 laps around the Mess Hall already. On the other hand, James' camper got out of the car said, "I missed you Camp BAnrabas. We're going to be good friends James. I love you!" So I would say varied chaos would best descirbe our evening last night. Please pray for peace and wisdom for our kids today, it is reality and it is hard to figure out how to take care of your camper and what they need. My daughter is having trouble sleeping in her cabin, so please pray for her too. At this point, we all feel a little lost, overwhelmed, and wonder why on earth God thought that he could use us this week. I know even after all these yeats, I feel incredibly overwhlemed and unworthy to lead this team here as well as all my Barnabas duties. However, I am beginning to wonder if that is the point, I NEED to depend on God here. There is no other way. That is how I should always live my life. Love you, LCF!