Hmmm... Camp. I'm very surprised to be here right now. It is, as some cheesy movie (the name of which currently eludes me) phrased it, "surreal but nice."

I remember, back when I was young, and 16, and idealistic, making a pledge to myself, after having spent a full 8 years here as a camper, proudly carrying on the Cochrane tradition, and upon becoming a camp counselor for the first time, that I would not be one of those people who comes to camp for one summer and then "moves on". I pledged, then and there, to work at camp for at least 2 summers.

When grade 12 started, I got my first real, good paying, not for my mom's catering company job. I was a Sandwich Artist. I was a great Sandwich Artist. I could write customer's names on their subs. In Mayo. Or Mustard. Upside down. (For better customer-name viewing). The applause was deafening. (My friends thought it was cute).

After graduation, I continued my work-more-than-humanly-possible approach to the tuition payment plan, and such as been the state of my summers ever since, with just the tiniest niggling and nagging of that one little "woulda-coulda-shoulda" in the back of my mind.

Which brings us to the present.

In the midst of the zillions of possibilities and scenarios that swirled about me as I tried to nail down the substance of my summer months, somehow camp grabbed a hold of me once again (thanks in no small part to the aggressive recruitment techniques of the dear Carma and Richard Bankert, terror tactics which I have now come to embrace unquestioningly, since my official christening as "one of them").

Here I am, taking the biggest dive of my life (debatably), joining the Dauphin Bible Camp Crew this summer as Program Director, no less. This means that when people have questions, they ask ME. ME! And then I make up an answer, and deliver it as confidently as possible. Me, the girl who worked here one summer five years ago. Yup, she's the new go-to.

After a few days of blissful ignorance to the "weight of my duties", and then a few days of pretending to have a clue, I think I finally got up to speed about a week and a half into my new employment arrangement, which started the first of May. Now, at 2 and a half weeks into it, I'm getting very excited for both the challenge and the opportunity that faces me.

Great things about being at DBC:
1) I'm fulfilling that old personal goal/resolution of mine to be here for 2 years (at least).
2) Front row seats to the first days, weeks, and months of DBC's official coolest child ever, Carma and Richard (director)'s new baby, Brooklynn Dawn.
3) Back at camp, aka back to my roots. It's weird, even though I've only worked here for one summer (besides that one week they roped me in last year for Special Needs Camp), I've spent SO much of my childhood out here, and it is (fortunately) all coming back to me, the intricacies of the schedules, the Wide Games, etc. I mean, programming for crafts for a whole week before realizing that we cut the crafts skill 2 years ago? I call that nostalgia.
4) Living in the past. Sure, my friends spent a good portion of the last half-decade up here, while I made my fortunes (BAH!) out there in the wild, wild... Parkland. But now that I am here, how dare they not return to counsel another year? Basically, my recruitment list consists of several fantastic people who are at this point so deep in student loan debt that they'd laugh at me to my face if the crushing weight of it all weren't so stifling. So....

New list. The "staff needed" list. If you fit any of these things (and more!) please direct your fascination and enthusiasm towards our website, www.dauphinbiblecamp.com , where you can access online applications for virtually anything imaginable! (Well, mostly just these things listed below). We are currently still looking for:
-Assistant Program Director (male). Or, as I like to say, the person who will fetch my slippers and get my coffee. Gee, I wonder why no one has yet applied?
-Head Wrangler. Must have serious skills in the area of horsing around. If you are good with horses but not THAT good, we also need just regular wranglers.
-Head Lifeguard. NLS required. We have a beautiful salt-water pool (trust me, it's sweet) just waiting for kids to lounge, splash, and have a riot in it, and if you enjoy blowing whistles and can swim like a fish (or a duck, or a bear- they're good too), please apply!
-Camp Nurse. Or, the politically correct version, Health Officer. Actually, Health Officer is far more accurate because you don't need to be an RN to be one. If you think you've got what it takes, check it out at www.dauphinbiblecamp.com.
- CLT Program Instructor. Basically, you need camp background experience, the benefits of age and wisdom, and a heart for camp, for the Lord, and for teaching.
-Senior Cabin Leaders (male and female). Over 18, must have camp counseling experience, or some pretty sweet character references.
There is also a need for kitchen staff, male junior cabin leaders, work crew- you name it, if you're willing to give it, we need it.

Alright. The Kelly Recruits Readers Worldwide! segment is now officially over. Relax. You made it. And just in time to hear my thoughts on the glorious thing we know as Dauphin Bible Camp:

It's beautiful. It's serene. I'm so isolated I think I may go nuts. But as spring hits, the creek thaws, and the squirrels and bears wander like they own the place, there is a second life renewing and regaining force here. Something Else is stirring. Someone Else is moving.

5 people inhabit this camp in the month of May. One of us is no older than May itself. But in the midst all this deafening stillness, God is doing something out here, among the empty cabins that wait in eager expectation. And I think I'm right where I want to be.