The Path to Camp Part 2

So here goes part 2 of this journey, words don't describe my amazement at how beautifully God orchestrated this part of the story up to this point. He works in ways that I didn't ever see coming and it is so cool (for lack of a better word).

I wrote about my nearly catastrophic first day at FNBA a while back, but these last three months have been such a blessing. The way it started should have been a warning sign to me that what I think is best, isn't always what is really best.

It started with quitting school after one semester with the goal of working full time, but not having a job. For a month, I halfheartedly job hunted and applied to some random jobs here and there. Nothing ever came back to me and after four weeks I was still in square one and starting to feel frustrated. Then I got an email. It was from a close family friend who wanted to alert me to a job opening at the bank where he worked. I read part of the description and promptly deleted the email. I would have to be on the phone 99% of the time and that alone was enough for me to decide that it wasn't the job for me. Sitting at a desk wasn't what I had pictured at all either. So boom. Delete. Move on.

A few days later my dad asked me about the email. Apparently, he had gotten the email sent to him on my behalf as well as a phone call from our friend recommending that he encourage me to apply. I told my dad I wasn't interested and why and right as I hung up with my dad I got a phone call from said family friend and his wife. After about half an hour they had convinced me that I should at least apply. They told me about the extensive hiring process and I figured if, at some point during the process, something went wrong, then I'd know it wasn't meant to be. (I basically assumed something would go wrong because I had convinced myself this wasn't the place I was going to be working.) I went through the interviews and tests waiting for the something that would go wrong to prove that I was right.

So about a week and a half later when I was starting my first day on the job I was shocked by how smooth the whole process had gone and how God had worked it all in ways that I clearly didn't see coming. I had a lot of things to learn (I still do) but everyone has been so helpful and easy to work with!

I figured that once I had a job I wouldn't want to leave for the summer only a few months after I started working. So once I got the job at FNBA I just assumed that summer would definitely not happen even though I had considered it a few times during the month without a job.

During one of the interviews, while looking at my application, my current supervisor asked me about my past experience working at camp and if I would ever want to do that again. I told him just that I had thought about it before having a job but probably wouldn't once I started working. He said that a lot of the college students working at the bank either go home for the summer or do an internship, so if I wanted to spend another summer at camp it would be perfectly fine. He brought it up again about a month later and restated that it would be okay to apply. This past week I got to tell him that I'd be leaving for camp at the end of May and that I would be gone through the middle of August.

Not only was I astounded to get a job that I certainly never expected to enjoy but then also be able to leave for the summer and know that I will be able to come back and continue working! Such an amazing gift. As God continues to point me to camp this summer, I'm most excited to see how He will continue to work and show Himself bigger than my expectations and stronger than my doubts and assumptions!!

The Path to Camp Part 1

(I decided to make this story into more than one part so that it was both easier to read and type, especially since it spans the last 8 months)

Have you ever made plans? 

A silly question, right? We, as humans, like making plans. And we especially like when our plans end up going... well... according to how we planned! Even if you don't specifically enjoy the planning process, I'm sure you still appreciate when your hopes or ideas take place and become concrete. There is just a great feeling of accomplishment that comes when we see our ideas, hopes, or dreams come to fruition. Sometimes though, I'm so completely thankful when my planning fails or when I can't even begin to contemplate what I desire because of the sheer enormity of it. That is when I can see that God's plans are so much better than anything I could have ever dreamed up!

Example A: Spending a summer at Camp Barakel counseling

End of summer / fall

I spent last summer as a YAP and truly enjoyed it, but in the back of my mind I kept remembering the week I got to work as a counselor. It was by far my favorite week! The energy, the exhaustion, the joys and sorrows, everything was so exciting for the campers, but it was also pretty exciting for me. I left the summer behind me and started school thinking that as much as I loved the idea of another summer at camp I just didn't see it happening. There were several reasons why I told myself it couldn't happen. Mostly, I was trying to figure out a way to start managing my small cattle herd by myself. (Quick recap on a long story: someone else had been caring for them for me over the previous fall-summer and once I got back, requested that I take over and move the herd.) So I looked into several options. Including trying to make the logistics work to put up fencing and keep them at my house as well as looking into purchasing 18 acres and starting a farm. None of them made sense and I was getting discouraged. 

January
Then I talked to a family friend who has a lot of experience in farming and especially in cattle. I thought he would give me the perfect answer and that I'd have everything figured out after that with a genius plan of starting a farm and raising cattle for the rest of my life. It challenged me though because that's not what happened at all. He said to not let the idea of starting a farm take over my life and get in they way of other things that could be important... like college (which at this point I had already stopped after 1 semester of uncertainty) and whatever else God might be calling me to do. 

February

After a lot of prayer and thought, I decided to be done with the cows (for now...someday I will hopefully be able to have a little cattle farm, just right now was not good timing). The way God worked it out was somewhat painful during the process, but on this side looking back I see His hand in it in the way He took away the desire to keep the cows and replaced it with a desire to start considering spending the summer of 2013 at camp. 

(and that's all for now... more to come soon)

Taking Pictures of a 3 year old

Sometimes she behaves and the pictures turn out cute... 

...and sometimes, I apparently ask just a little too much.

Winter is just about over and I'm finding that I fell into a photography slump even though I had tried really hard to not let that happen. The cold bleak outdoors don't inspire me to take pictures and the lack of sunshine and natural light makes my photo imagination quite pathetic. I dusted off my poor neglected camera today though and found a sunny place in the house (since outside is still too cold and windy). 

It was super great to spend some time with my sisters this afternoon, doing hair and dressing them up like princesses! Bethany is such an adorable little model but she is so easily irritated as well. It is a trick to keep her entertained and looking cute long enough to get good photos. (She probably acts like that to make sure I get good experience working with kids for the future... :P)  

In other news, I received notification this week that I'll be counseling this summer at Camp Barakel!!! I'm really excited to see how God will use this summer to grow me and challenge me! I've been so blessed to see God working it all out in ways I never imagined (I'll hopefully do a post about that soon). For now, I've got 2 more months of working and getting ready for an exciting summer :)

Now that the sun is starting to come around again, I will hopefully start using my camera more often again :) SPRING IS SO GREAT!!! 

** and in case you were anxiously awaiting the outcome of our March Madness tournament (as I'm sure you were)... what has been named "Emily's reign of terror" (3 out of 4 years) has come to an end. Ben beat me, but just barely, much to the delight of my whole family. They really didn't want me to win again. haha!**