Camp Forest Springs

There is no other way to say it: the past couple of weeks have unquestionably been a gift from God.

We left on July 7 in a rented blue minivan, much to Rachel's disap-pointment (she thought the van would be pink). We spent that night (Fri.) in Shaumburg, a suburb of Chicago, where we indulged in (what else?) Chicago-style pizza at a place called Lou Mulnati's (When the hotel personnel described it to us, it sounded like they were saying "Illuminati's"), and went paddle-boating at a nearby park. We arrived in Westboro, Wisconsin, Saturday evening, and drove into the camp. Danny had agreed to be the speaker for their jr. high week (grades 7-9).

Camp Forest Springs is amazing. It is incredibly well-run and upbeat, but what stood out most to me was that fact that spiritual matters are THE major focus, even with everything else they have to offer - boating, swimming, a mini-farm, a challenge course, hiking trails, river trips, air rifles, archery, and wacky games. No camper leaves at the end of the week without having heard the gospel repeatedly via sessions and interaction with their counselor.

Back to our "vacation." We stayed in an air-conditioned one-bedroom apartment for the week. It actually worked out great, although I must confess that at the start I had visions of us all wanting to kill each other by the end of the week. There was a pack-n-play for Karis, a mattress which Zekers claimed the minute he laid eyes on it, and Rachel got to sleep in the "special secret room" (otherwise known as the closet), on a couple of sleeping bags.

We ate all our meals in the cafeteria with 300 other campers, staff and volunteers. The best part? NO COOKING FOR ME!! Now that's what I call a vacation. It was also a treat to get to spend time with Matt & Tarah and their family. Tarah & I attended the same HS and all four of us were at Grace together. Rachel had a blast with their daughter Anna, while Karis and Leah pretty much sat on the beach sucking their binkies and getting sand all over themselves.

I cannot even begin to describe to you the soul-cleansing beauty of this place. All week it was nothing but blue skies, green trees, fluffy white clouds, and sunshine. Several times I was able to get away for a little while and walk along wooded paths, revelling in the solitude, and wishing like anything that I'd remembered to douse myself in bug spray before I left.

The kids all seemed to get so much bigger on the trip. Karis began walking - really walking, chubby legs stomping and arms waving. She was incredibly impressed with herself, judging by her squeals of delight.

Rachel officially became a "big girl" when she went off to VBS - put on by a church in the community - with Renate, a Brazilian woman who she had never met but who became one of her best friends by week's end. Each day at lunch she educated us about the stars & planets, and showed us the little craft she had constructed. She also got to take part in the ultimate special activity - going to night sessions with Daddy, while the younger two went to bed. I wondered at first if she'd be able to hold in the chatter while he spoke, but she did beautifully (mostly because she ate snacks the entire time!).

As for Zekers . . . his big thing for the week was coming up with the phrase "I said muffin" when he was about to get into trouble. The randomness of it just sent me into hysterics every time; which, unfortunately, only encouraged his antics. He did learn a few things about handling animals when we visited the minifarm, and was very proud of himself for his newly-developed nurturing abilities, although my heart goes out to the hapless little chicken pictured above.

My original plan was to teach myself to knit on the trip - hahahaha. I actually thought I was going to make everyone I knew a scarf for Christmas on the way there and back, and during down time at the apartment. After several futile attemps, I gave up, without much of a fight, really. So, most of my time after the kids had gone to bed was instead spent playing guitar and reading a book by John Piper (not simultaneously), which I plan to review in my next post. The day after we got back, I returned all the knitting supplies to Walmart. I need another hobby like I need a hole in the head.

Danny had the double privilege of spending relaxing time with the fam, and impacting the lives of 200 jr. high students. He thouroughly enjoyed speaking, and having some quiet time each morning at the ministry center to prepare/email/blog. Many of the counselors commented to him that the messages sparked amazingly deep conversations between them and the campers. It was also wonderful for him to get to spend rare one-on-one time with each of the kiddos.

We left Saturday morning, again spent the night near Chicago, and again stuffed ourselves with Chicago-style pizza (at Lou Moulnati's). The kids were angels the whole way back. It was the perfect trip: we loved getting away, and we loved coming back home at the end of it.