Only 19 days to go....YIKES!

It seems like just yesterday I drove away from Lutherock knowing (for the 2nd time) this was it for me, my last summer on staff, my last summer spent hiking into breakfast, enjoying the beautiful views, and watching both the campers and counselors faith grow, as well as my own.  Back in 2008, when I reluctantly left at the end of the summer I knew (or thought I knew) this was it for me, that it was time to get a real job.  However, that didn’t quite work out since I was layed off after a year and like so many others had a hard time finding another job.  Sometime, during the search I began seriously thinking about Peace Corps.  At the time, it seemed like a crazy thing to do, to contemplate leaving everything/everyone behind to go work in another country for 2 years.  However, the more I thought about it, it seemed like a good idea.  What better time to do Peace Corps than when I’m not married, don’t own a house, and wouldn’t be quitting a good job since I didn’t have one.   

Thus, here I am sitting at my parents’ house, packing up everything I own, trying to figure out what to take and what to leave, and completing my very long to do list, including starting this blog.  It’s hard to believe that in 20 days I’ll be in D.C. to start my Peace Corps adventure.  This of course means I also only have 20 days left to get everything done, to have a little more fun with friends and family and to say the rest of my goodbyes.  While I know I will miss out on a lot while I am gone, I know that this is my perfect chance to go out into the world and do something like this. 

It seems perfectly fitting to me that I would once again spend my summer working at camp right before leaving since I know the only reason I ever contemplated doing this is because all those years ago Hillary and Allison Smith talked me into being a camp counselor at Lutheridge.  It is because of that first experience and all the people I’ve met there and at Lutherock that I’ll be flying to Mexico August 29^th. 

So I would like to say thank you to all the people that are the reason I am doing this.  I would especially like to thank the 2012 Lutherock staff for reminding me why I love camp so much and for sending me off to Mexico with peace in my heart, a smile on my face, and many new friends that I can’t wait to send mail.