I'm Back

Back to blogging. . . maybe. No guarantees that this is a permanent return. I think I know myself (and my schedule!) better than to promise that. However, I will try to give a brief run-down of what's been keeping me away from this blog.

1. Summer was pretty great. I worked at Camp David of the Ozarks again, as the Office Manager this year. It was another awesome experience, to get to be a part of changed lives. My friends Mark, Alida, Nathan, Ashley, Ian, Carl, Katie (and other I can't think of right now) also worked there, which made it even more fun! Grace, the camp director's wife, had a baby boy the first week of camp, named Jabari. He is precious and I just loved getting to spend time around a baby, and also getting to spend more time around Grace.

Zephan and Katie, who were married in June
and now live in Columbia with Alpacas.

Jabari (Grace holding him)

2. Summer wasn't all work and no play - I got to take a camping/hiking weekend to Johnson's Shut-Ins and Elephant Rocks early in the summer, with Mark, Zephan, Katie, and Trent. Over 4th of July weekend, we had a nice family reunion at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Illinois. Early in August, my friend Alida and I took Isaac up to the other Grandparent's house, in St. Paul. After that, we spent the week hanging out in St. Paul and Minneapolis, which was great (except for the flat tire I got. . . 3rd one in less than a year). And then, the last trip of the summer was a week-long vacation in Colorado. Andy, Mark and I drove out there - our old friend Hannah, who lives in Denver, hosted us for the week, and our friend Julianna flew in from California. It was such a great time - Mark and I even had a day that we spent hiking together, and it was fantastic.

Group of friends in Denver

3. I'm back at school. Second year, new dorm, new roommate and suitemates, new classes. . . so far it's been pretty good. Nothing too amazing has happened, just plugging away like always! I've been really busy. SAB has been a lot more time consuming this year, but that's good - I like feeling more involved in it. CCF has been really good so far this year too - I feel very at home there, which is a nice thing to feel when you're away from your physical family . . . to feel apart of the family of My dear friend Ashley is getting married this Saturday, and she totally honored me by asking me to be her maid of honor! I was so excited and it's been great to spend time with her helping with wedding stuff. I can't wait to start calling her the Newest Mrs. Eldredge!

Ashley and Joel


That's all. :) You should e-mail me to catch me up on YOUR life now!

Much love,
Becky aka Rebekah

Reaching the Sky

I wrote this for an assignment in my English Composition class last year. I found it the other day when going through my documents, and thought I'd share. :)

Reaching the Sky

"Oh no. Today's the day." That was my first thought as I woke up that cold, dreary morning. I was lying on a narrow bottom bunk in a camp cabin. I slowly sat up and stretched, being careful not to bump my head on the heavy oak frame of the bed. My counselor started singing, "Oh what a beautiful morning" in the shower as I watched the other girls in my cabin slowly open their eyes. Hannah Sue, already wide awake, was perched in her top bunk across the room. She called out, "Good morning Becky! Are you ready for today?" Inwardly, I groaned. Today was the day I had been dreading all summer long. It was the first day of an "extreme" week of summer camp for Christian teens from Missouri and Arkansas. I had been convinced to come by a large group of guys from my youth group, but while they were all looking forward to the extreme activities of the week, I was mostly hoping to meet some new friends and enjoy time away from the stress of life. Timid was my middle name, and the thought of trying to be bold, brave, and "extreme" petrified me. Little did I know that those expectations would be challenged in some rather terrifying ways that very first day of camp.

As soon as the entire group was awake and ready to go, all 35 of us piled into the camp bus. I sat in row 7b, next to my friend Mark. When he asked me if I was ready to be "extreme" today, I replied with a sarcastic, "Oh, I can't wait." He brushed it off. "You'll be fine," he said. Outwardly, I agreed and said I was sure it would be fun. Inside however, I was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. We bumped along dusty back roads for almost half an hour, my fear and tension mounting with each mile. I wondered what our first activity would be. Would we be paintballing, caving, or rappelling? "Or maybe," I thought, "it will be something much scarier than any of those things." I held my breath as the bus pulled around the last bend, and our challenge for that day came into view: a high ropes course. Thirty feet off the ground, the poles and cables towered above us, casting shadows that were lost in the distance. We all scrambled out of the bus and stood gazing at it for a few moments before a sharp clap jerked us out of our reverie. "Let's get going, we want to have as much time up there as possible," yelled out our counselor.

We split into our two groups, and quickly got buckled into our harnesses. The mood was lighthearted for the most part. There was a lot of joking about how incredibly uncomfortable and awkward looking the harnesses were, and lots of discussion about which of the elements of the course looked the most challenging. I stayed quiet, trying to acclimate myself to the idea of spending several hours 30 feet in the air. As we got ready, our guides shared a little about the course and our equipment. With a partner, we would first climb up a 30-foot pole. Then, after crawling up onto a 2-by-2 foot platform, we would, with our partner, step out onto a narrow, but incredibly strong cable. Each cable ran between two poles, and there were different ropes and boards suspended in the air above each one to help us get across. The sets of cables, ropes, and boards each made up an "element." The goal for each element was the same -- advance from the first pole to the second pole. Attached to our harnesses were ropes and "lobster claws," hooks which secured us to cables as we walked. These ropes could be used for support, but the guides challenged us to touch them as little as possible. My immediate thought upon hearing that was, "Well, I really don't think I'll be able to do that! It will be a miracle if I even reach the top." After being briefed on the safety procedures and various rules for up on the course, we began to divide into partners.

I looked around, trying to decide who I should ask to partner with me. I knew this was an important decision. This was the person I would spend over four hours with that afternoon. They would be helping me along with the course -- telling me where to put my feet for each step, offering a hand for assistance, and encouraging me with each step. While I was mulling this over in my mind, Hannah Sue came and asked me to be her partner. I had just met her the day before, but I agreed, knowing she was experienced in all things "extreme."

So we set out, Hannah Sue and I. One pair from each group went up at a time. Hannah Sue said that we should be the first to go up; I told her that I wanted to be the last. We compromised, and went up third in line. She climbed first. Up the pole she shimmied, looking like a monkey who was at home in the jungle. She got to the top, calmly transfered her ropes to the cable, and called down for me to follow. I hesitated. As soon as I picked up my foot and placed it on that first rung, I would be committed to going up. I could not turn back. The thought terrified me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My thoughts finally focused on a single thought. "What if I actually can do this? If I don't go up, I'll never know." With that in my mind, I was ready. I opened my eyes and stepped towards the pole. Then I climbed. I didn't look down and I didn't stop to think about what I was doing. I just climbed. Up, and up, and up, and up, until suddenly, I was at the top. Hannah Sue held out her hand and pulled me onto the platform, all the time telling me that I'd done a great job.

Once she had helped me figure out where to stand, she immediately began planning out our route through the elements. I stood there frozen. Although I had made it up, the challenge was not over. I began to doubt my ability to go on. Hannah Sue, oblivious to my fear, selected our first element, and stepped down, testing the tension of the cord with her foot. Returning to the platform, she turned to me and said, "Are you ready? This is going to be a hard one, but I know we can do it. Let's go across together." It was just what I needed to jerk my attention away from my fears, and back to the matter at hand. She stepped out first. Arms out and not holding onto anything, she balanced herself on the cord, then held out a hand. "Just step onto the cord Becky. It's not too far down, and it's a really easy step," she urged. Once again, I hesitated. "I'm really scared Hannah Sue." There. I had said it. I waited, expecting a flippant remark like "don't be silly." But, to my surprise, Hannah Sue stepped back onto the platform and took my hand. Looking straight into my eyes, she said, "Everyone has fears, Becky. Some are harder to deal with than others, but you will never know how far you can go until you push yourself. I know you can do this." My attention was focused on her as she stepped back down onto the cable. "All right. Take a deep breath and just step down," she coached. I leaned out, grasped her hand, and took that first step. Then, I willed my second foot to join my first. We both balanced and slowly started to shuffle along the cable, hands clasped. Suddenly, I lurched to the right. A scream almost escaped my lips, but Hannah Sue quickly leaned to her right and steadied the cord until I regained my balance. We moved on, step by step. Before I knew it, we were finished and stepping onto the second platform. I looked and Hannah Sue and she said, with a twinkle in her eye, "Well, that wasn't so bad after all, was it?" I laughed. We looked at each other, and said together, "Let's do the next one!" This time, although she still lead the way, I stepped out with excitement and anticipation. The rest of the afternoon, we danced across the elements like butterflies, always finding new and more challenging ways to accomplish each one. As we rode down the zip line at the end and landed safely on the ground, I found myself feeling oddly satisfied. Suddenly it came to me -- I had faced my fear of heights, and I had conquered.

Looking back on that week, the first thing that comes to mind isn't all the friends I made. It's not the time spent relaxing in my cabin, or the fun activites I did around the camp. In fact, my fondest memories weren't made when I was safely on the ground; they were made high up in the sky, as I balanced and tottered my way to confidence, holding the hand of Hannah Sue. It was there I learned the importance of teamwork and encouragement. It was there I first found that your fears are only as great as you allow them to be. And it was there I discovered that I could do the impossible.

28. Touch a . . .

Sigh.

I did not touch a cow.

Or so Nathan informed me.

I did touch a bull, however.

It counts.

Trust me.

It does.

Even if my hand was in contact with the bull's head for all of .4672 seconds.

And even if I didn't let Mark take a picture of me doing it.

It still counts.

It was a once in a lifetime experience.

(Mostly, that means that I don't really want to do it again.)

Oh - and cows smell and drool. For the record.

Ecuador!

Yesterday evening, we got back from our big family vacation of the summer - two weeks in Ecuador. Of course, it was incredible. But you know me (if you're reading my blog, you'd better know me!) - I'm so glad to be home!

We have nearly 600 photos from the trip - and that's just our family. It was a family reunion, so that means there were 4 other digital cameras. I'm willing to bet that each one of them took more photos than we did.

On our way home, I had a thought (yes, it does happen) - what if I (oh horrors!) made a paper scrapbook, with printed photos, instead of blogging 7 billion (Isaac's favorite number) posts to show them all? As Harlow Doyle (from Odyssey) would say, "A brilliant idea!"

So - if you want to see Ecuador photos, then swing by our house in about two weeks and I'll let you have a peek. Or, if you really, really want to see some now - click here for an online album of them.

A Summer to Remember

Right before our family left for Ecuador, we had the last week at Camp David of the Ozarks, where I’ve been spending a large amount of my summer. We had 2 “senior” weeks, with campers age 13-16, and 4 “junior” weeks, for kids 8-12 years old. I never really had much interaction with any of the kids – looking at 500+ pictures of them each week doesn’t count. Even so, it was an incredible experience. There were days that were long, and hard, and even stressful, but I’d do it all over again in an instant.

Probably my favorite part was the relationships I made – new relationships, outside my “usual” group, that I wouldn’t have otherwise been a part of. Earlier, I already mentioned Sissy, the camp nurse. She was always such fun to have around, especially since in past years, she did a lot of what I did this year. We always enjoyed comparing notes.

Of course, Grace and Ben were just fantastic. Grace especially, as the one I answered to, really helped me to gain a new, fresh perspective on life. One of the things I heard her saying over and over again was, “It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity.” While there were times when she wasn’t sure how things would work out, I never saw her anxious or unsettled – regardless of the chaos around her, she never lost her peace, and her giggle was always to be heard.

Another person I got to know well this summer, especially during the boys’ weeks, was Danielle Foley, my twin. She got to be office help, and do all the boring, and/or really awful jobs that I didn’t want to do. Apparently, we look alike. . . neither of us can really see it, but several people told us so. Anyways, she was always tons of fun to have around, especially when she played the weird African music on the computer, and made horse sounds when she was frustrated. Love you, Dani!

Linda, the horse director, was also a sweetie. Although her job mainly consisted of outdoor activities, and mine consisted of entirely inside activities, her encouragement and friendly conversation were there anytime we came into contact. She always made me feel so important, and valued, and was a really good role model for the campers and wranglers.

Lydia and Zach were two people who, although I didn’t get to know them too well, always helped bring a smile to my face. Without fail, I would embarrass myself in front of Zach whenever he was in the office. He never said anything about it. . . but I’m not sure he knew what to think of me. Lydia, on the other hand, is one of those people who, after having only one conversation with, you feel like you’ve known a lifetime. She was so very sweet, and so good to me. I loved the few conversations I had with her, and wish that time and space would allow us to become even closer.

Lastly, I just loved it when my friends came out to be counselors. I think I already mentioned Andy coming out in an earlier post. The week after he came, my dear friend Ashley was a counselor, and then several weeks later, Carl and Zephan were there. It’s always neat to get to see them interacting with the kids, having a great time.

So there you have it – that’s what I’ve been doing with my life most of this summer! It’s been a truly growing experience, and I can’t wait to see if I get to keep being involved in this ministry in years to come.

8. Cartwheeling with Style!

This is me. I did a cartwheel. Over the equator in Quito, Ecuador. I went from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere on my hands. It was thrilling.

(It took Andy like 10 tries to get this shot. My hands were tired.)

Cartwheels. They rock my socks.

31. MS&T

As a Truman Bulldog, I felt that it was my duty to check out our technical counterpart, MS&T, and draw comparisons accordingly. Also, I recently realized that I've lived in Rolla for 5 years, and never been anywhere on campus except Havener Center and Leech Theatre. This afternoon, when the rain let up, a kind and gracious MS&T student gave me a tour of the campus. For being populated by a bunch of engineer students and professors, it was surprisingly beautiful. :) My favorite building was definitely the Mechanical Engineering building.

I really enjoyed it.
I'm glad I'm going to Truman.
That's all.

-Rebekah

16. Floating Away on a Cloud

Completed one more item! Our family float trip this past Monday was a smashing success. Kudos to Mrs. Hickle for being the great mastermind behind it - I love her mass amounts.

Basically, the trip consisted of:
Nathan and David tipping their canoe.
Nathan and David trying to maintain control of the bag of Sour Patch Kids.
Nathan and David tipping Abby and Sarah for unknown reasons.
Nathan and David trying to sleep on our trampoline afterward.
Nathan and David both serving the volleyball very close to the vicinity of my head.

Do you see a recurring theme? Nathan declared it the worst float trip he'd ever been on. I must admit that the weather was a bit chilly, and the water even chillier - and guess what? He confirmed that it was cold all four times he was tipped. I asked, just to be sure.

w00t for fun times, and being squished into the back seat of a van with three boys. I can't really imagine much more fun. OH! And I found a heart-shaped rock, as did Esther Nail. She basically rocks my socks. As does Abby. "Aflack!"

Fourth of July

Everyone in our family, except Dad, headed up to Forrest, Illinois for the fourth this year. It’s become something of a tradition, and a sort of family reunion – we always have a picnic at the park, and do games and stuff at Grandma’s house afterwards. This year was no exception – although it rained all day on the fourth, we braved the wet-ness and had lunch in the enclosed pavilion at the park, even venturing to do a cherry seed spitting contest! Here are some pictures from the trip.

  Abby had been in Michigan for about 2 weeks before this trip, and we met up with her at Grandma’s house. Apparently, she missed Zeke. :)

 

My Grandma, Aunt, and Mum with Isaac and two little cousins

 We know this game as “Redneck Golf,” but they called it Ladder ball. I was the worst, by far. :)

 

Andy got to judge the adults’ cherry seed spitting contest – and here I am, trying to get Aunt Kiersten to explain how in the world one spits a cherry seed. I never did figure it out. :) See? Here’s Grandpa doing it – he actually did a pretty good job!

 

           Elizabeth’s birthday was on the 5th, so we had an ice cream cake to celebrate.

 

So, my almost-7-year-old brother can play pool.  Who knew?

 

 

Aww, look at how cute they are! Nick and Ben, my cousins from Dubia. They made the weekend quite fun – I think in this photo, they were showing me what they did when Abby was reading The Odyssey to them the night before. lol.

30. Collecting Eggs

A new item was added, and subsequently completed, for my packing list yesterday. I, Rebekah Hall, collected eggs. From real chickens. All by myself. And I didn't get pecked or clawed or scared one little bit. Okay, well I was a little scared when one of the chicken flew suddenly down from it's little box onto the floor. But I didn't scream or anything like that. :) It was an exhilarating experience, and something that I would not object to doing again.

Sick and Alone

That sounds so depressing, doesn't it?


I'm just going to wallow in self-pity for several more minutes.


Okay, I'm done.

Anyways, the title of this post, while it may sound rather melodramatic, is entirely accurate. I am sick, which is just awful in the summer. But, I'm also alone, all weekend. Zeke and Andy both have baseball tournaments - Zeke in Kansas City, Andy in Joplin - and Abby is up in Michigan. So here I am, the whole house to myself. But I'm sick. Hopefully, this weekend will consist of several things. 1. Rest and recuperation. 2. A crazy awesome fun evening with my dear friend from St. Louis, Jenna. 3. Cleaning house. 4. Running several loads of laundry. 5. Catching up on my letter writing. and 6. Scrapbooking a large number of Pirates pages.

Hopefully.

4. Let's Take a Hike!

Well folks, another item has been checked off of my Packing List! This Saturday, a small group of us took a hike out to Bray's Lake, over grown woods, ticks, and all. Although the lake itself isn't terribly scenic, I thought it was pretty, and had a fantastic time with my friends. And playing volleyball, grilling hot dogs, and having a game of Balderdash afterwards was rather fun too. Thanks everyone, for helping me knock another thing off my list. ;)

Camp David

As many of you are aware, I've been working out at Camp David for the past few weeks. The last week in May was staff training week, and then the past two weeks have been actual weeks of camp - Sr. Girls Week, and Sr. Boys Week, both for kids ages 13-16. I'm the Camp Secretary, and do pretty much anything and everything in the office at camp. Aside from the typical office work that you'd expect, I also get to put together a scrapbook for each of the campers every week - 6 pages of photos of them, from the week of camp. It's a very challenging task, but I've had some great photographers to work with, which helps make my job easier! I really do enjoy it, although it exhausts me to work a full day, then come home and have all the usual things our family does going on too!

This past week, I had a helper in the office, which was terrific! She'll be helping every other week (she's a counselor on the weeks that she isn't helping me), so I am definitely looking forward to having her back. :) Here are just a few photos of the going-ons out at camp. Now, I spend almost all my time in the office, so I don't actually get to experience any of these things. However, becuase I'm doing the scrapbooks, I get to see countless photographs of everything that goes on! Which is nearly as fun. ;)

Group Shot from Sr. Girls' Week

One of the things the girls do during the week at camp are "Life Skills Classes" - babysitting, sewing, or cooking. Mum, Abby, Mrs. Hickle, and Sarah all came out three afternoons that week to help the girls, and they actually completed several projects! The girls raved about the sewing class - it's really important for them to have that feeling of accomplishment.
The sewing class with the quilt they completed!

Group Shot, Sr. Boys Week
My favorite thing about Sr. Boys week was getting to see pictures of Andy having a good time. :) Several weeks back, Grace told me that they were still looking for counselors for this week. I suggested that Andy might be able to, and it worked out that he was! He did a great job - his campers really liked him, and for a typically reserved guy, he can get pretty crazy. Here he is at pool time. . .

Dani and I decided that this guy looked like the kid from Holes. And the lizard thing just completes the picture. I pretty much fell in love with this photo.

Because I'm in the office, I have very little contact with any of the campers, counselors, or most of the staff people. However, there are a few people who spend more time there than others, so I'll introduce you to some of them. Today's lucky pick: Sissy!

"Sissy" is the camp nurse. Her real name is Elizabeth Marchbank, and she is the sweetest young lady. She did the scrapbooks last year, so we have a lot of fun comparing notes about that. She also ocassionally has things to do on the computer, and sits and keeps me company. Sissy has a lot of spunk, and a huge heart for the kids that come to camp, and the ministry of Camp David.

This Sr. Boys week, Sissy got to join in the archery lesson. I thought this picture was darling, although she informed me it was terrible form. ;)

Here she is all dolled up for the Princess Dinner - so beautiful!

I'll cover some other people in future posts. Please keep the camp in your prayers - we have four weeks left, all Junior weeks (ages 8-12). Pray for the counselors, and the campers, as well as all the staff, especially Ben and Grace. It's a fantastic ministry to be a part of, and I am so blessed to get to work with them! Thank you God for this opportunity!

A Regency Tea

Abby and several other young ladies have had a book club this Spring Semester. They read Pride and Prejudice, and sewed Regency Period Dresses. On Friday last week, they gathered to celebrate the completion of their dresses and the book. They made butter and English Muffins, had an outdoor tea party, and went tramping in down the road and in the woods. Quite an adventure, and these dear girls were gracious enough to allow me to attend, as official "flip-flops bearer," "photographer," and "servant."

What lovely girls, and what blessed friendships they have formed! Thanks for including me in your fun, darlings!