Crossed Trails & Cajun Confessions

   First off, I have no excuse for being absent from your blog notifications for so long. If it helps, I have been seriously busy for the past month or so: day camp, family vacation, camp camp, lakehouse retreat, and the National Youth Gathering. This is the first day in a very long while that I've been able to breathe and not worry about getting my laundry done before bed.

   If I'm being honest, I would have to say that I wanted to wait and process all of these things after the fact, instead of forcing some revelation each weekend as if it were glue that was left open overnight. 

"I Think This Stuff is Burning my Face."

Omgwow.

It has been too long. So much has happened since I last posted.

• I got sucked into True Blood.
• People got shot on Grey's Anatomy.
• Lady Gaga gave Jerry Seinfeld the bird.
• I turned 23!
• It rained.
• I got curtains!
• There was that oil spill-thing.
• And the EPIC new HP7 trailer debuted.

Possibly the most significant thing to happen since April is summer! For me, a person with a job-job, summer happened somewhat lackadaisically. BUT! I have been able to scrape together a decent summertime in the midst of my first three months on the job.

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I have traveled to Dallas (or Lewisville, rather) to visit the Gomolls (Hi, James and Christi!), to Shreveport to do some serious squandering-of-wealth on those perilous penny slots, to Dallas again to see Wicked (omgsoogood), to College Station for some nuptials, and to Kerrville for camp.

This last item is what I shall be harping on for the rest of this post. :D

We began our loong journey at 6:45 in the morning on Sunday of last week. I, being epically sunburned, got out of my car knowing what was coming. And come it did.

"Hey Daniel, did you forget your sunscreen?"

"Does this hurt?"

"Whoa, did you know you're really sunburned?"

Already I'm excited.

About halfway to Kerrville, we stop at Sonic and I got a Cherry Limeade. Not a plot point, I just lurv them.

On the road again for twenty minutes when one of my girls announces the absence of her iPod. Like the gracious youth minister I am, I turn around, go back to Sonic, only to have said iPod recovered in the back seat the moment I pull into the parking lot. I really should've seen that one coming...

The rest of the trip goes by painlessly, unless you count the pain in my gut after listening to this conversation:

Middle school girl: "Can we give you a makeover?"

Middle school guy #1: "Um. No?"

Middle school girl: "C'mon! You'll smell good."

Middle school guy #1: "Fine."

...

Middle school guy #1: "I think this stuff is burning my face."

Middle school guy #2: "Well, at least you smell great."

We turn down Upper Turtle Creek and I am met with a rush of emotion and I realize how much I have missed this place. My stomach is suddenly in my throat and it has nothing to do with the steep dips in the road.

I pull into camp in the midst of blue-shirted staff waving at me and my kids. Some old faces, so many new ones. My kids' cabin leaders are four new faces and they ramble up to our vans, bright-eyed, joyful, and tan. Just like a cabin leader should be.

The week is a swirling mix of fond memories and new experiences. My kids swam every day, and every day they played boys v. girls keep-away. And every day, the girls were astounded when they would throw me the ball and I in turn would toss it to one of the guys. They STORMed pretty badly during their co-ops, but came together nicely when it counted at the rockwall.

Apparently, Gaga Ball has become a Cross Trails institution in a year's time. They have it on a shirt, for cryin' out loud. My kids went ballistic for the game though. And I must admit...I did too. I totally bought the shirt.

It is now a ministry goal of our youth group to create a "Gagarena". See what I did there...?

Every day, I met my kids at the Cocoon and tried to get them to try the sour watermelon sno-cone. Andlemmetellyousomthin, that is some nasty stuff. Literally, it tasted like gasoline. I got some great pictures from it, though.

On Wednesday, we had Bible study in the tree chapel, which is essentially a giant tree that fell on its side a bazillion years ago. Not at all condusive to a worship environment. But the kids loved it. One loved it so much that he ran into it, got rushed to the nurse, and was put on concussion watch.

Oh! and there are new graces this year! My favorite new one is probably the Safety Dance Grace. It's pretty awesome.

I'm on a mission to turn Baby Got Back into a grace now. Y'know, it's like "I like big meals and I cannot lie! Jesus loves us, you can't deny..."

Yeah. That just happened.

When Thursday evening came, I was more than ready to get my Miley on at the carnival. And did I ever.

Thankfully, the LYLE 1's of that week had been around to see me in cabin leader action in summers before, so they thought my ridiculous moves were cool. My kids...notsomuch. But I loved it anyway. The best part of the night was when I was invited to be a part of the all-male cabin leader rendition of *NSYNC's timeless classic "Bye Bye Bye." We danced on the stage while the female cabin leaders, LYLEs and a few campers (the five who knew who *NSYNC were) screamed with fangirly admiration.

Seriously, I felt like a rockstar. Everyone should feel like that at least once in life.

The next day, it was time to go. I sat in the sports court watching the community celebration and reflected on the week. I, from the bottom of my heart, did not want to leave. I had been refueled- re-energized with passion in only a week. This place and its ministry had been such a large part of my life for the last five years, so much so that as I was pulling out of the driveway, waving to the still-shining faces of cabin leaders and support staff, I knew in my heart that camping ministry is where I ultimately belong.

On the way back home, the kids wouldn't stop talking to each other about camp and what they were going to do next year. From the front seat, I could not stop smiling.

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Well, I hope this is a satisfactory post after being absent two months. I promise I'll do better. :D

But now, I'm off to read poolside.

Bai.

-Danul