It is very hard to say goodbye to five people.

I'm hoping we could make some wishes out of airplanes.

Last night me and Nathan took our cabin to sleep on the skate park for the night, and we told them to lay back and look at the stars. As we did, an airplane passed overhead, and a couple of my boys started singing: "Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?" Some of the other boys told them to be quiet, that it was a dumb song, etc., when all of a sudden an actual shooting star joined the airplane and shot across the sky. Then the whole cabin burst out "CAN WE PRETEND THAT AIRPLANES IN THE NIGHT SKY ARE LIKE SHOOTING STARS?" and all the ones who'd been down on the singing before kept raving, saying how cool it was, and Matthew did you see that, and wasn't that incredible. Junior high kids are hilarious, and I always take away the funniest memories and inside jokes with them. These weeks are so sick.

At least we live tonight.

Jamie Tworkowski just blogged on a pretty cool song called "Ring the Bells" by the band Satellite. It's pretty sweet, and got sweet words. You should check it out.

those that know you most can help you to live again

so keep them close, as you make your new start.

well, ring the bells that lead you home

'cause the only truth i've ever known is that nothing ever hurts us more than love.

so circle up your best of friends, and we'll celebrate the way it ends.

at least we live tonight. at least we live tonight.

sometimes the best in all of us can still break down

and still give up on love, but it's never gone.

There's nothing left to beg for,

You're not sorry anymore.

I see the King of glory, coming on the clouds with fire.

This week is already looking like something fantastic. Not only is counselling with Nathan, a guy my age from New Zealand, a super sweet match, but it's a Junior High week! My favourites. It gets better though... for the first time ever, I have some campers who I had last summer for a second time! I actually had a picture of me and them glued in the back of my bible since last summer. It's so sweet. We had the most incredible conversations ever last night, huge questions... By far the best first night in a cabin I've ever had, and one of the better ones in general as well. My prayer is that this would be tip of the iceberg, and I echo Nathan's prayer that we'd really see the heart of what's going on with these boys, in their lives and faiths. I'm praying that parting with these boys at the end of the week would tear me apart like never before.

Also really sweet is being made a Club Edge host this week, so I get to hang out with a group of 5 guys and 5 girls during activities this week, and go with them to all of the more intense activities (challenge course, rocket dock, water skiing, biking, etc), and I have a boy in my group who I counselled during a retreat in Kaleo and had made a note to pray for when he left (hadn't kept up with that very well, unfortunately...) so that's really sweet as well! My prayer is that I'd be able to build really significant relationships with these campers as I adventure with them, as one of my few clear memories of being a camper was hanging out with my Club Edge leader.

That's all for now, I'll try and throw pictures up as much as I can... Often I haven't uploaded them and gotten them sorted until after I've blogged, so they might be in separate posts.

"Oh happiness, there is grace enough for us and the whole human race." - 'Oh, Happiness', David Crowder Band.

You won't relent until you have it all; my heart is yours.

It's just past midnight and I'm writing you from the Hogwarts owlery, also known as Spring Woods cabin line (first came many a Deadmau5, then it was just Owl City... And then came the endless band name / Harry Potter puns). I just finished a testimony sesh with kiwi Nathan, aka "Ping-Ping", my co-counselor for the next week. The junior high kids come tomorrow and I am so stoked! The last two weeks of juniors camps have been valuable, but this next age group is where my heart is most. I'm really thankful for so many aspects of this week coming up and can't wait to see what happens.

Yesterday was an interesting one, however. I ended up eating at the very same White Spot I did immediately after leaving Kaleo, also in the context of goodbye. Gareth left yesterday, a guy from Northern Ireland who's been here the past month. I was really sad to see him go; he was one of the few new guys I'd really gotten tight with so far this summer and I really hope to be able to visit him in the next year or two. Really thankful for that brother in Christ.

We also had a communion service for the staff tonight, which was so good. There's so much love amongst the team here, especially the male counselors, so much that gives me real excitement and hope. As I was praying with Braden tonight I realized how fortunate I am to be able to look forward to three more years journeying alongside him, when for a long time I thought I would never see him again. I've got much to look forward to, this week, this fall and beyond. There's much that I worry about as well, but as long as I've got a place to live and friends to love and do life with, I'll be okay.

I'm so excited for so much and finding myself able to take heart and joy in so much!

"Maybe a greater thing will happen... Maybe your love will catch like fire as it burns through me" - 'Beautiful Love', The Afters.