Day 29: Oakcrest

Seriously, where would I be without Oakcrest. Also, why does no one understand!!! Working at Oakcrest was one of the single-most life changing events I've had. I'd like to think I'm a new person because of that camp. Who would have thought that 11 weeks in the mountains with a bunch of girls would do what it did. I miss absolutely everything about that place! Okay, maybe not the homesick girls, camper cards, or Monday mornings. I have a problem and cannot express my feelings without a list... AH! Oh well. So here it is. Things I miss/love about Oakcrest (brace yourself).

• Receiving cards Monday morning and reading things like "doesn't work well with groups", "doesn't like having a schedule", or worse-the blank ones.
• Trying to act as ridiculous as possible in Aspen Grove, even though we were all exhausted.
• Teaching FHE about self esteem and the importance of the Savior.
• The Monday Night Program, especially the video "Our True Identity" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiiadnMvm20
• TEACHING UNIT PRAYER!!!! Favorite part of Oakcrest.
• The sound of girls hitting the mat at the end of the zipline. Never gets old!
• Staff meetings, where counselors show how tired they really are.
• Making up count-offs.
• Singing the theme song, "Stand With The Savior".
• Broken down buses and lingering campers.
• Coloring! We were the "Scribblets" after all....
• Sitting in the bathroom just to have 2 minutes of peace.
• Free time with the girls.
• The smiling faces of the Kitchen Staff. 
• Tuesday night party with costume (made of butcher paper) parade.
• Craft time=nap time.
• Painting finger nails, even if it meant my nailpolish never lived again.
• Realizing on Friday that your girls really do love you! 
• The staff mission statement. 
• Hairy's chicken costume 
• Blank stares from campers. Hourly.
• Side ponytail Tuesdays. 
• Dance parties to Hannah Montana (but the girls would only dance if JB came on). 
• Walking outside to find girls lighting their hands on fire at 2 am. 
• Waking up the first morning to snow.
• Sunday nights with the staff.
• Ticks. And campers thinking every bug in the world is one.
• The attractive attire on hike day. 
• Praying 20 times a day.
• Hike. Mostly seeing girls who wouldn't sit in the dirt.
• Chasing moose off the mountain without the girls noticing.
• Roasting starbursts over the candle.
• Dead mice in rolled up carpet.
• Testimony meeting-even though it was the most nerve racking and most awkward by far.
• Conveniently having the whiney girls clean the toilets during kapers.
• Late night chats with roommates.
• Rainboots. Period.
• Scattering sunshine.
• Girls guessing counselor names.
• 3 page get-to-know you papers from campers when most girls wrote 3 sentences
• Thinking we were cool for learning the Hoe Down Throw Down.
• Salamanders in firepits (with Nesquik).
• Bathroom quotes. 
• The birthday song.
• Painting rock friends.
• Notes from campers (Probably my absolutely FAVORITE part!)
• Jedi braids.
• Tucking campers into bed.
• Girls trying to take pictures of the north star. 
• Successful testimony meetings when they're least expected.
• Oakcrest miracles, where do I even begin???
• Guhnat covering me in cake batter and powder sugar.
• Girls collapsing at the sound of Justin Beiber.
• Campers that tell me they're breaking up with their boyfriends after camp! YAH! 
• Watching girls change their hearts in 5 days. 
• Thursday night fireside from the Womens Committee.
• Foam slide. Mostly because it meant shower time. 
• Overflowing toilets.
• Camper skits, especially the ones about counselors. But even more so, the ones that made no sense at all. 
• Power outages
• Spraying girls with water in the face during human foosball.
• Cookouts! =Counselor bonding+fire+dutchoven-even when its raining.
• Friday scripture study  (especially with Guhnat) and testifying of the Book of Mormon.
• The sunsets at Oakcrest.
• Gospel classes by the directorship. 
• Not having a cell phone all week! 
• Daisy and Aunt Polly in the Trading Post.
• Guhnat wetting her pants weekly.
• Flour fights.
• Waka Waka.
• Mail from the Womens Committee.
• Receiving revelation on how to help campers.
• Listening to the sound of a smile! (When 500 people smile at the same time, you really can hear it!)
• Staff Serenade every week!!!
• Eavesdropping on camper conversations.
• Finding bear poop on the trail between the cabins and Dogwood (bathrooms)
• Watching other counselors with their girls. 
• Listening to the girls singing Lone Tree only on Stake Night so their leaders knew how cool they were
• Alex, the camper who hated me.
• The rivalry of love with Buttercup.
• Cinnamon roll hugs.
• Screaming "Best Friends FOREVER".
• Singing the Beaver Song.
• Singing to the girls are they leave camp.
• Dino nuggets.
• The directorship!

If you've never been to Oakcrest, I'm sorry. One, because none of that made any sense to you. Two, because you're missing out on the greatest opportunity of your life!!!! Oakcrest was definitely the HARDEST 11 weeks of my life. But they were even more so the great 11 weeks of my life. I know I'm still leaving out a million things! No list can be composed to demonstrate my whole summer. But aside from the laughter and fun, Oakcrest strengthened my testimony of faith, prayer, the atonement, and the power of love. As we say at camp, THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! I know this because over the summer, I saw miracles happen daily that would not have happened except through the Savior. I'm am incredibly grateful for the friendships, trials, laughs, and lessons that Oakcrest has brought into my life. I will never EVER forget those 11 weeks.