a month away

It is 11:11 at this exact moment as I'm writing this, and I'm feeling a little sentimental.  Tomorrow morning, I will be journeying to a YoungLife camp called, Crooked Creek Ranch in Colorado to serve on summer staff as a barista. I have all types of emotions right now, and I don't know what to expect or want to think about how it will go because I always just end up becoming more anxious & even more nervous than I was before. Someone once told me it's like the start of college, where you go in not knowing anyone and knowing that eventually, you gotta have friends... sooo you start with a simple maybe awkward conversation.  In all reality though, I mean look at this place!!! How can you not find joy in the month ahead? I am so excited to just walk outside and see the beauty, that I will be without a doubt, in awe of.

So, if you're reading this and care to pray for my journey through this month, here's a few things that would help me out through the power of prayer. For the friendships I will hopefully make, for my heart that will be missing so many people dear to my heart, & for a time of growth by allowing myself to step out and push myself to new limits physically & spiritually.  And OF COURSE while you're at it, pray for these high schoolers that are coming to camp and are maybe even about to experience Jesus for the first time and have their eyes opened to what really life can be about. These high schoolers are the real reason why I will be there and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Until mid-July.

xoxo meredith

YoungLife camp take1

For the past 8 days I was in Weaverville, NC being a part of a YoungLife camp called Windy Gap.

For the past 8 days I formed deeper friendships & had hard conversations.

For the past 8 days I was given the opportunity to love on my beautiful high school friends.

It was one of the most draining weeks of my life, but also one of the best weeks of my life.

The week was jam packed with the craziest/most fun things you could think of.

From western night to banquet night. Being pied in the face to being pelted by cold water going down a zipline. From fighting my fear of horses to singing Celine Dion at the top of my lungs.

Windy Gap was an experience to be a part of.

Themed volleyball tournament. If you couldn't tell we were african cats. some thought we were mice, others went as far as myans? whatever. we went with it.

These girls were my saving grace while living in a cabin with 17 girls.

All of the Baldwin/Putnam leaders.

Probably my favorite night: western night.

Yes, that's right. Those last two pictures were an ice cream eating contest. It was called a T-Ralph (no one actually knew why) with 10 scoops of ice cream, 3 toppings of choice, along with whipped cream & chocolate syrup? Is your mouth watering yet? mine isn't. Several boys did it first, so a few girls thought we could beat there time in finishing faster. Let me just tell you, girls get aggressive when they want to beat boys. This led to scary faces & ice cream everywhere. Yes, even in hair. I know you're hoping I am going to say that we won, but we didn't. sorry. But we do now have a story of eating the biggest ice cream batch we've ever eatin in under 5 minutes!

How beautiful are these girls?!

If you've never been to a YoungLife camp, I highly recommend it. It's something everyone should experience, whether it's being a leader, being on work crew, or taking your family to one of the family camps. God is so good and He revealed so much in such a short period of time. As hard as this week was, it has never felt so worth it to go home with these girls and walk through life with them.

In just two short weeks, I will be venturing out to Colorado to be on summer staff at another YoungLife camp called Crooked Creek for an entire month! I will be making people their yummy coffee drinks, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Can't wait to fill ya'll in soon!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful, relaxing start to June,

 from all of my friends!!