I have returned! *mua-ha-ha!*

Hey ladies. I am back from camp and quickly trying to get organized before my first year as a teacher starts!

Hume Lake was aMAZing! I adore high school girls. I was assigned a group of responsible girls, and girls who were ready to grow. There were lots of hard times--one girl dealing with anger at a father in prison, a new Christian figuring out what it means to follow God, several freshmen attempting to fit in with the upperclassmen while maintaining their own identity (and obsessing over all the cute boys!). I really feel lucky that I am able to have a relationship with these girls, and camp is always such an amazing time.

This one other leader Courtney, who's about my age, is the only adult I felt like I connected with much at all on the trip. She and I are very different, with completely different backgrounds, but I think we stand a chance of developing a friendship. I think I've pretty much discarded the idea of John. (I still can't believe I post this online. I should google myself and see if I can find it, just to make sure it's safe!) He's very good looking, funny, and in love with God. But he's a bit mean. Not mean in a mean way, but...oh, I can't explain it. But considering the fact that I have hardly talked to him still, and I've known him for a couple months...I'm just thinking that that's it. And that's cool. When it's time for me to date again, someone will make his appearance, and till then I'm trying not to worry about it.

Except there's this one guy who's a few years younger than me, and I'm worried that he may like me. He's a laugh and a half, but I'm not interested in dating him or anything. So my suspicions make me leary and nervous around him. Ugh. Males. :P

Speaking of, the high school theology girls group I've been overseeing has been a blast. We've been talking about what the Bible has to say about women, starting with the role of the wife in a marriage. We spent two weeks on that, and are meeting again on Thurs. to talk about women in the church. I definitely have my hands full, but today I felt like we made incredibly progress in interpreting the Scripture. It's so much fun to see the instant when something new and difficult is finally understood. It's really like there's a light somewhere inside that goes off. I love it!

Other than camp, yesterday I took my mom to Yosemite. She's lived in CA for nearly 50 years and had never gone, so we just did a quick trip through, seeing all the big sights. It was much fun! If you girls have never been, I highly recommend finding the time to take a trip. It's breathtaking and leaves me in absolute awe of our Creator God!

Wwweeelll....my contacts are driving me nuts, so I'm signing off. But first, some reply-age:
Hannah--have so much fun with your fam!! Call me and let me know what day you'll be driving through Sac-town so I can be prepared to meet ya somewhere. And stinky about the truck. Are you going to be shopping around for another one?

Val--have you started the job yet? How's it going? Is Joni still in town?

Michelle...where are you? How's life? Etc. Etc. Are all the weddings finally done?

Love you all mucho!