For those of you who have never been to camp before, especially of the Mission To Ukraine disabled children variety, here is our daily schedule:
6:00 am Most mornings Keith, Ken, Emily Luke, and Betsy go for a run through the forest. We encounter everything from cows to mushroom pickers. One morning Luke made the mistake of trying to beat Betsy in a sprint finish . . . and promptly puked. And he lost. But he was the only one brave enough to try to beat her!
7:15 am Staff devotions. The Ukrainian, American, and Dutch staff gather together for a couple of songs, a devotion, and prayer
7:45 am Campers awake!
8:30 am Morning exercises. We all do stretches and exercises to some great music in the courtyard.
9:00 am Breakfast. Usually consists of mashed potatoes, meat, and beets.
9:45 am Morning session (music, skits, teaching)
10:40 am Small groups (the whole camp is divided up into age groups, about 7-9 kids campers per group). Our team is split up between the groups. There are also 3 other parent small groups that meet at the same time.
12:00 pm Interest groups for the kids – beading, board games, drawing, play-doh
1:00 pm Lunch. Usually consists of mashed potatoes, meat, and beets.
2:00 pm Quiet time. I never have really napped much in my life, until this week.
4:00 pm Snacks
4:20 pm Crafts for both adults and kids – they’ve been making some great crafts all week!
5:20 pm Sports/games – all of the campers gather for anything from a big parachute to relays
6:30 pm Dinner. Usually consists of mashed potatoes, meat, and beets.
7:30 pm Evening session (music, skits, and teaching)
8:20 pm Evening snacks
9:00 pm All staff meeting to review the day
9:30 pm Senior leader meeting to review the day
10:00 pm Team debrief (for the American team)
11:30 pm or so Bed!
Interspersed throughout the schedule are surprises, such as the therapeutic horse back riding on Sunday, Spa day for the moms on Monday, the Big Slide on Wednesday . . . etc.
All in all, it’s a ton of fun, but also sort of tiring as you can imagine. So far the team is doing great!
