...were my souveniers from Camp this year. Some people got sweets, other got baked beans, yet others received baking potatoes. The really quick ones bagsied the pallet of chocolate muffins - for their children - YEAH RIGHT!!
Everyone took home a little bit of sunburn after being surprised by the sun on Sunday, most took dirty wet washing - some ( not many though) left it behind. It's stinking out DHQ as I speak, but I'm ok as I'm not there!
I hope everyone also took a lasting great memory, as we were prompted to in Camp Fire Prayers on Saturday - the LONGEST day for so many mostly amazing reasons, not just because it was the Longest Day - by Ollie, to tied us all over especially today, when everyone will have struggled to get up and get going.
A third of the children who came to KAO this year were new to the event - for some, because of their age, it was their first and last KAO - shame, but just for a weekend we were able to get to know them, value them, teach them, listen to them and watch them find their feet, find some friends( sometimes partners in crime) find out about themselves too.
We saw little worship leaders emerging - ok they were urging on their teams in the Team Song, but the other kids were following them. We saw little pastoral carers, little visionaries, little fine tuners and big picture thinkers. We saw children breaking their hearts on Friday Night and then crying with laughter on Saturday. We saw team members doing new things like making scrambled egg, defying gravity on the high wires and sharing the news that on that very Sunday, their husband was going to the Army in his uniform again for the first time in a long time- emotional!
Lots of lasting memories for me, but the clearest right now was of one young man, an 11 year old tough nut who had fallen out with his brother during Get Out of That and taken it out on anyone who came near and had been confined to 'barracks' for some time out. During the final quiz time, the puppets were handed out and he was very keen to have one - he chose 'Lucy' and as I watched him chatting and playing with what was essentially a doll, sometimes giving it a hug, I saw the anger and frustration drain away from him and could really see the kid, the one whose mum would love him whatever he did ( I hope)
I hope he comes next year and even though I want to take my legs off and throw them away - I can't wait!
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