Seeing as this is my second time coming on
this trip, I thought I would be pretty prepared for the first day of our camp.
However, an experience like this is never the same twice. We had a huge number
of campers (around 64 I believe) and, obviously, it was hot. But it was
impossible to not have fun today. The excitement of the children and the sight
of their smiling faces sweeps you up into the contagious positive atmosphere
before you can even realize it. You might imagine that it would be
difficult to
interact with someone who speaks a different language, but every counselor, chaperone,
and camper today showed that it is easier than you think. We played games,
laughed, learned, and built relationships within just a day. The help from our
Dominican counterparts and a few children who are also able to speak some
English is invaluable and the joy that radiates from these children is humbling
and refreshing. It’s such an incredible experience to spend the day playing with
them, laughing with them, and seeing the uniqueness of each of them. Our crafts
today were sand art, tie-dying our 4-H t-shirts, and coloring suncatchers and
it was so neat to see how each child expressed themselves in the way that they
personalized their crafts. Today was exhausting, but so wonderful, and has left
us looking forward to another day of camp tomorrow.
Submitted by Michaela Miller
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