Merry Christmas!
~Sh
The GMC Incites Deaths in Nigeria
4 days ago
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Anesthesia, Forks, and a little Rock 'n Roll...
Before I even start, the answer is yes.
Much to my Twilight-obsessed friends' delight and DBH's embarrassment, I can honestly say that I have now been to Forks, WA.
Let me preface THAT story with this: No, I did not book plane tickets and rent a car JUST to go to Forks out of vampire/werewolf devotion.
That said, several of my classmates and I went to Seattle a few weeks ago for the annual American Association of Nurse Anesthetists national meeting. We learned a great deal about clinical updates and different issues facing CRNAs across the US and met some really incredible people. And let me say this: It is incredibly difficult to NOT be excited about entering this profession when you hear people as passionate about it as our President and Board members. The big news that got everyone all riled up is the recent research showing that no harm was suffered by patients under the care of a CRNA without supervision of an MDA.
This. Is. HUGE. for our profession!
It means that CRNAs provide the same level of quality care as anesthesiologists; that CRNAs do not need MDA supervision to safely provide anesthesia to patients! GREAT news- and it will be interesting to see where this takes us in the future...
Besides update meetings and student break-out sessions (awesome job, btw, of making the students feel included and welcomed), we also painted up to cheer on Brittany in the College Bowl (Anesthesia Jeopardy):
Partied with a Purpose (for a local charity) and at the Banquet:
ate some fantastic food like fish n' chips at incredible restaurants with views like this:
took in a Mariner's game:
(Neville Longbottom threw out the first pitch, btw:
Also, we apparently missed "Twilight night" when an Edward-look-a-like threw out the first pitch to an Alice-look-a-like.)
and took a day trip to Bainbridge Island:
nn addition to seeing the usual Seattle sites:
(and drinking COPIOUS amounts of Starbucks)
even if out of a plane window:
THEN, on our last day, my friends Sara and (Stacey) Pepper and I rented a car
(yes, that's a Dodge Charger... and it was AWESOME...)
took it across the bay on a ferry
(the Garmin was REALLY confused)
and road-tripped, stopping momentarily in Port Angeles
and again at the insanely gorgeous Lake Crescent
before reaching...
We drove around and took in everything the town placed just for Twilight tourists, like Bella's truck
the Cullen's house
(a volunteered bed-and-breakfast where Esme leaves a note for tourists everyday- they were out looking at colleges when we stopped by)
the Swan's house
(a volunteered residential home... poor saps...)
Dr. Cullen's office door and parking space at the hospital
Chief Swan's cruiser
and the Treaty line
and also just goofed around with some cardboard cut-outs of the characters:
(you should see the one my friend Chuck altered to make my eyes red... --face-palm--)
Oh, and we joined Team Cullen:
While Forks was an awesome stop and it was really neat to see how this town has completely bought into the whole thing, I have to say my favorite part of the day was going to La Push. The beach was so beautiful- not Gulf-beautiful, just... well, here:
See? Gorgeous, right? I loved it.
AND I snagged the perfect twilight shot on our way back to the ferry:
There you have it- Seattle, Forks, and La Push. Definitely worth driving across the Pacific NW!
In closing, I leave you with Rock 'n Roll
Keys, Lead, and Animal right before we made our own concert video for "I Love Rock 'n Roll" at the Seattle Experience Music Project.
Overall, #42-at-the-expense-of-missing-#28 on my 101 list... Epic W.
Much to my Twilight-obsessed friends' delight and DBH's embarrassment, I can honestly say that I have now been to Forks, WA.
Let me preface THAT story with this: No, I did not book plane tickets and rent a car JUST to go to Forks out of vampire/werewolf devotion.
That said, several of my classmates and I went to Seattle a few weeks ago for the annual American Association of Nurse Anesthetists national meeting. We learned a great deal about clinical updates and different issues facing CRNAs across the US and met some really incredible people. And let me say this: It is incredibly difficult to NOT be excited about entering this profession when you hear people as passionate about it as our President and Board members. The big news that got everyone all riled up is the recent research showing that no harm was suffered by patients under the care of a CRNA without supervision of an MDA.
This. Is. HUGE. for our profession!
It means that CRNAs provide the same level of quality care as anesthesiologists; that CRNAs do not need MDA supervision to safely provide anesthesia to patients! GREAT news- and it will be interesting to see where this takes us in the future...
Besides update meetings and student break-out sessions (awesome job, btw, of making the students feel included and welcomed), we also painted up to cheer on Brittany in the College Bowl (Anesthesia Jeopardy):
Partied with a Purpose (for a local charity) and at the Banquet:
ate some fantastic food like fish n' chips at incredible restaurants with views like this:
took in a Mariner's game:
(Neville Longbottom threw out the first pitch, btw:
Also, we apparently missed "Twilight night" when an Edward-look-a-like threw out the first pitch to an Alice-look-a-like.)
and took a day trip to Bainbridge Island:
nn addition to seeing the usual Seattle sites:
(and drinking COPIOUS amounts of Starbucks)
even if out of a plane window:
THEN, on our last day, my friends Sara and (Stacey) Pepper and I rented a car
(yes, that's a Dodge Charger... and it was AWESOME...)
took it across the bay on a ferry
(the Garmin was REALLY confused)
and road-tripped, stopping momentarily in Port Angeles
and again at the insanely gorgeous Lake Crescent
before reaching...
We drove around and took in everything the town placed just for Twilight tourists, like Bella's truck
the Cullen's house
(a volunteered bed-and-breakfast where Esme leaves a note for tourists everyday- they were out looking at colleges when we stopped by)
the Swan's house
(a volunteered residential home... poor saps...)
Dr. Cullen's office door and parking space at the hospital
Chief Swan's cruiser
and the Treaty line
and also just goofed around with some cardboard cut-outs of the characters:
(you should see the one my friend Chuck altered to make my eyes red... --face-palm--)
Oh, and we joined Team Cullen:
While Forks was an awesome stop and it was really neat to see how this town has completely bought into the whole thing, I have to say my favorite part of the day was going to La Push. The beach was so beautiful- not Gulf-beautiful, just... well, here:
See? Gorgeous, right? I loved it.
AND I snagged the perfect twilight shot on our way back to the ferry:
There you have it- Seattle, Forks, and La Push. Definitely worth driving across the Pacific NW!
In closing, I leave you with Rock 'n Roll
Keys, Lead, and Animal right before we made our own concert video for "I Love Rock 'n Roll" at the Seattle Experience Music Project.
Overall, #42-at-the-expense-of-missing-#28 on my 101 list... Epic W.
Friday, July 23, 2010
a history of wedded bliss
Happens every year...
Yesterday DBH and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.
Inevitably we ended up discussing the wedding and our past 3 anniversaries and I realized that I never wrote any of our stories down. I used to keep an actual journal, but for some reason, I stopped writing when I got busy planning the wedding.
And now there's blogging.
So I thought I'd do a quick recap!
When we got married, our plan was to always spend our anniversary... somewhere else. In 2007, we drove down to one of my absolute favorite places- New Orleans. NOLA has always been special to me because it's somewhere I vividly remember traveling to with my family; and while my itinerary may have changed a little (a little less aquarium- although DBH and I did go there- and a little more Bourbon Street- duh), some things haven't changed a bit. For example, the food. My mom and I always joke about going to certain cities just to eat (also, Chicago), but seriously, you just can't beat gumbo, jambalaya, and OF COURSE cafe au lait and beignets! (I don't know exactly how many times I've been to NOLA, but DBH has started telling our friends that, if they plan on going, they'd better take me as a tour guide. Flattering, but I'm nothing compared to Jenn and Aeron, who made our trip even better by spending a day with us!) Anyway, DBH and I stayed at one of my favorite hotels- the Ambassador. It's across Canal Street from the French Quarter, so it's a bit of a walk to and fro (or longer if you've been in Pat O's all afternoon, trust me), but the building used to be a coffee mill, so the architecture and decorating is really unique.
I was hoping to include some pictures with each of these recaps, but I can't seem to find the ones from this trip... see end of facebook album "Wear Sunscreen."
**First Anniversary Gift: Paper= receipts from our hotel and dinner at The Gumbo Shop (and Pat O's, etc)
'08 was our biggest trip thus far- we both had vested interest in seeing the ends of 2 very different eras taking place in NYC, so I let DBH book our flights (O.M.G.) and took off (quite literally) to the Big Apple. Now, for most people, this isnt' a huge deal. I wish I were most people. Instead, I'm anti-planes. HATE them. So when we walked out of the runway, asking ourselves, "Why are we walking out on the runway?" and saw this:
I freaked and started chewing Ativan like M&Ms.
I made it onto the plane, but apparently couldn't muster enough of an act to convince The Stewardess (Yup- The. As in One.) that I wouldn't pass out. After the captain asked passengers to SWITCH PLACES TO BALANCE OUT THE PLANE WEIGHT, we were off. Everything was fine... until we got to NYC and started to descend. Suddenly, we were ascending again. Our captain, annoyed, explained that ANOTHER PLANE PULLED IN FRONT OF US, and we had to wait to land. But that was ok too because 1) the Ativan had kicked in full force by then and 2) this was our view:
We stayed in a studio apartment at the suggestion of our resident NYC expert, Amy P, seen here introducing me to Jamba Juice- aka "liquid crack, but fruity!":
Amy also introduced us to the East Village (lots of "emoting" going on there), "man-pris" (3/4 length pants on dudes), and Wall Street; but definitely the most moving part of our trip was visiting Ground Zero:
Words failed all three of us, needless to say.
And the truly weird thing about it was watching the rest of the city go on with daily living while we stood with silent thoughts and tears. Just a reminder that life does continue and that America won't be beaten by fear, but still, very strange.
DBH and I talked about how this trip was actually quite bittersweet- we were there to celebrate our wedding day, but also to celebrate 2 very special parts of New York that have since been lost:
RENT on Broadway:
(after dinner at Frankie and Johnnie's where we sat next to what could only have been plants by the restaurant to feed the stereotypes formed by tourists... where else are you going to hear the following statement made in the most Jewish accent imaginable:"OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOUR NEW HAIR! YOUR FACE IS SO SMALL!")
and Yankee Stadium:
And of course we squeezed in some touristy stuff too:
.jpg)
.jpg)
(Again, for complete photo recaps, facebook: "Playing Spiderman" and "No Day But Today.")
**Second Anniversary Gift: Cotton= t-shirts from the NBA store for Will, stuffed seahorse from FAO Schwartz for me (I always get a random stuffed animal when I go to that store- the first one was a stuffed stingray from our choir trip to the Macy's parade in '97, the second was a white lion from our family trip at Christmas of '98.)
'09 came found me in Anesthesia School, so we hit the beach:
See facebook "Semester 1 highlights" (Starting to wonder what happened to all of these pictures and also which ones I've lost that I can't even remember taking...)
**Third Anniversary Gift: Leather= cowboy boots for Will
Pearls= single pearl with diamonds pendant for me
Which brings us back to yesterday. I'm obviously farther into school now, so no trip this year- clinicals keep me late on Friday and DBH has work Monday morning, so any trip would be too quick to justify the $$$. So instead, DBH humored me and we ate a wonderful dinner at Bottega:
(well, wonderful except for the group of lawyers they sat us next too- "We're such big Alabama fans, we can't name any coaches other than Saban OR any players!)
And we rounded out the evening with a walk around the Tutwiler Hotel- it was under renovation when we stayed there after the wedding and we didn't take any pictures because, well, that and that's the only point in my life when I was too tired to take any more pictures- so we took a few last night:
**Fourth Anniversary Gift: Linen= incredibly cute Victoria Secret PJs for me
Appliance= surround sound speakers for the den for Will (HELLO, FOOTBALL PARTIES!!!
Guess I'll work on a honeymoon and wedding recap post later this weekend... we're supposed to have our annual watching-of-the-wedding-DVD tonight so I'm sure I'll notice something else I'll want to document... happens every year... :)
Yesterday DBH and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.
Inevitably we ended up discussing the wedding and our past 3 anniversaries and I realized that I never wrote any of our stories down. I used to keep an actual journal, but for some reason, I stopped writing when I got busy planning the wedding.
And now there's blogging.
So I thought I'd do a quick recap!
When we got married, our plan was to always spend our anniversary... somewhere else. In 2007, we drove down to one of my absolute favorite places- New Orleans. NOLA has always been special to me because it's somewhere I vividly remember traveling to with my family; and while my itinerary may have changed a little (a little less aquarium- although DBH and I did go there- and a little more Bourbon Street- duh), some things haven't changed a bit. For example, the food. My mom and I always joke about going to certain cities just to eat (also, Chicago), but seriously, you just can't beat gumbo, jambalaya, and OF COURSE cafe au lait and beignets! (I don't know exactly how many times I've been to NOLA, but DBH has started telling our friends that, if they plan on going, they'd better take me as a tour guide. Flattering, but I'm nothing compared to Jenn and Aeron, who made our trip even better by spending a day with us!) Anyway, DBH and I stayed at one of my favorite hotels- the Ambassador. It's across Canal Street from the French Quarter, so it's a bit of a walk to and fro (or longer if you've been in Pat O's all afternoon, trust me), but the building used to be a coffee mill, so the architecture and decorating is really unique.
I was hoping to include some pictures with each of these recaps, but I can't seem to find the ones from this trip... see end of facebook album "Wear Sunscreen."
**First Anniversary Gift: Paper= receipts from our hotel and dinner at The Gumbo Shop (and Pat O's, etc)
'08 was our biggest trip thus far- we both had vested interest in seeing the ends of 2 very different eras taking place in NYC, so I let DBH book our flights (O.M.G.) and took off (quite literally) to the Big Apple. Now, for most people, this isnt' a huge deal. I wish I were most people. Instead, I'm anti-planes. HATE them. So when we walked out of the runway, asking ourselves, "Why are we walking out on the runway?" and saw this:
I freaked and started chewing Ativan like M&Ms.
I made it onto the plane, but apparently couldn't muster enough of an act to convince The Stewardess (Yup- The. As in One.) that I wouldn't pass out. After the captain asked passengers to SWITCH PLACES TO BALANCE OUT THE PLANE WEIGHT, we were off. Everything was fine... until we got to NYC and started to descend. Suddenly, we were ascending again. Our captain, annoyed, explained that ANOTHER PLANE PULLED IN FRONT OF US, and we had to wait to land. But that was ok too because 1) the Ativan had kicked in full force by then and 2) this was our view:
We stayed in a studio apartment at the suggestion of our resident NYC expert, Amy P, seen here introducing me to Jamba Juice- aka "liquid crack, but fruity!":
Amy also introduced us to the East Village (lots of "emoting" going on there), "man-pris" (3/4 length pants on dudes), and Wall Street; but definitely the most moving part of our trip was visiting Ground Zero:
Words failed all three of us, needless to say.
And the truly weird thing about it was watching the rest of the city go on with daily living while we stood with silent thoughts and tears. Just a reminder that life does continue and that America won't be beaten by fear, but still, very strange.
DBH and I talked about how this trip was actually quite bittersweet- we were there to celebrate our wedding day, but also to celebrate 2 very special parts of New York that have since been lost:
RENT on Broadway:
(after dinner at Frankie and Johnnie's where we sat next to what could only have been plants by the restaurant to feed the stereotypes formed by tourists... where else are you going to hear the following statement made in the most Jewish accent imaginable:"OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOUR NEW HAIR! YOUR FACE IS SO SMALL!")
and Yankee Stadium:
And of course we squeezed in some touristy stuff too:
.jpg)
.jpg)
(Again, for complete photo recaps, facebook: "Playing Spiderman" and "No Day But Today.")
**Second Anniversary Gift: Cotton= t-shirts from the NBA store for Will, stuffed seahorse from FAO Schwartz for me (I always get a random stuffed animal when I go to that store- the first one was a stuffed stingray from our choir trip to the Macy's parade in '97, the second was a white lion from our family trip at Christmas of '98.)
'09 came found me in Anesthesia School, so we hit the beach:
**Third Anniversary Gift: Leather= cowboy boots for Will
Pearls= single pearl with diamonds pendant for me
Which brings us back to yesterday. I'm obviously farther into school now, so no trip this year- clinicals keep me late on Friday and DBH has work Monday morning, so any trip would be too quick to justify the $$$. So instead, DBH humored me and we ate a wonderful dinner at Bottega:
(well, wonderful except for the group of lawyers they sat us next too- "We're such big Alabama fans, we can't name any coaches other than Saban OR any players!)
And we rounded out the evening with a walk around the Tutwiler Hotel- it was under renovation when we stayed there after the wedding and we didn't take any pictures because, well, that and that's the only point in my life when I was too tired to take any more pictures- so we took a few last night:
**Fourth Anniversary Gift: Linen= incredibly cute Victoria Secret PJs for me
Appliance= surround sound speakers for the den for Will (HELLO, FOOTBALL PARTIES!!!
Guess I'll work on a honeymoon and wedding recap post later this weekend... we're supposed to have our annual watching-of-the-wedding-DVD tonight so I'm sure I'll notice something else I'll want to document... happens every year... :)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
101 Almost-check-offs
#7 part b- So Nat still has the infection in his foot... the farrier has high hopes that he'll still get over it and be fine, it's just going to take awhile. A few weeks ago I saddled him up again and this time walked him around a little. Smooth. As. Glass. They say that Tennessee Walkers are the Cadillac of the horse world and, if his walk was that nice with a sore foot, I can't wait til his foot is healed completely and I can take him up a few notches! Will filmed it all but I can't get blogger to upload it.
Here are a few stills though:
Anyway, the next ride won't be for awhile- last weekend the farrier cut Nat's hoof back pretty short in order to allow air to get to the base of the infection. It doesn't look pretty and it's pretty tender, but hopefully it'll pay off in the long run.
#28- Vestavia Class of 2000 reunion- Looks like this one won't be happening. As mentioned briefly in a previous post, my HS reunion is scheduled for the night of August 7 at the Art Museum downtown... #42- the AANA annual meeting is scheduled for August 7-11 in SEATTLE! As much as I was looking forward to spending a night with my HS crowd, this decision was sort of a no-brainer. So on August 6th, 5 of my best SRNA buddies and I fly out to Washington (and yes, they know what they're getting into... AND I'm not the only one who needs pharmaceutical help to get on the plane!) to spend a few days in anesthesia meetings and schlepping around Seattle...
Then...
#39- New work-out routine- A few months ago, at one of the Tragic City Rollers roller derby matches (SO AWESOME!), I ran across a few of my friends from high school. They were performing at halftime and they talked me into coming to their dance studio- Rock Your Body in Hoover- for Dance Trance- also, SO AWESOME! Jenn came with me and we both left with 1 month memberships! The next 4 weeks had us going 3+ times/week for hour-long sessions of heart-pounding, body-toning, seriously rockin' choreography! I haven't been in a few weeks because of camp and clinical rotation changes, but I'm hoping to get in a few classes before the Seattle trip!
#74- SQUASH! While our tomato plants have yet to produce any fruit yet, our squash plants are off to a good start! Quoth the husband, "You might want to check your plants... I think one just ate a bird..." I don't know about that, but it did produce this baby:
which was later sauteed with an onion and chicken bullion cubs! Mmmmmm!
#43- Book-a-month- a little behind on this one. I got the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories for Christmas and have spent the past month+ barely making progress! I'm still reading most every night, but this book is HUGE, with double columns, few pictures, and tiny tiny print! Instead of finishing the whole thing before reading anything else (which would probably be 2014 or so), I've decided to read a few stories, then break to read another book. Yesterday I bought Eat, Pray, Love since the movie is coming out soon, and I already love it!
And finally, #44! We went with some SRNAs and their husbands to Bulldog Bend last weekend and had an absolute blast... other than Will breaking his finger on a rope swing (a spiral fracture which we thought was just a bad jam and which I inadvertently reset). Pepper took some pictures while actually tubing (so smart to bring a water-proof camera!), but I did get a few:
So ready to go again!
On the cusp of checking off a few more, but those will have to wait- it's Pizza Night in the Heath Den!
Have a great week!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Music, Arts, and so much more...
Apologies to the 3 people who actually read this thing for my recent absence- the last few weeks have been all about getting ready for and attending Music and Arts Week at Camp Sumatanga. I started out going to MAW as a camper (1997-2000), then as a CIT/youth counselor (2001-2004), Nurse's Assistant/Intern (2005-2006), and finally as Camp Nurse (2007-2010). It's actually very difficult to explain exactly what something is when it has so many different dimensions, but MAW is essentially a week focused on growing closer to God through music (choir, handbells, guitar, etc) and art (crafts, drama, banners, photography, etc), but also through recreation, devotions, small groups, hiking, and several other activities. The campers (children and youth divisions) follow a schedule each day which includes several choir rehearsals, sectionals (youth)/theory (children), 2 classes of choice, free time, morning watch/vespers, and an evening activity (games, scavenger hunts, movie, swimming, talent show) and the week ends Friday night with a concert showcasing the music learned through the week from their respective clinician (one local, one national). Our theme this year was Day by Day: Christ was fully human, fully divine, and we spent the week studying Christ's birth, youth, teaching, crucifixion, and resurrection. So many of the people at MAW are people that I ONLY see at MAW so every year is not only a wonderful reunion and chance to catch up, but also a continuation of a very special shared part of our spiritual journey. See, something I've failed to mention so far is that Sumatanga is in Gallant, Alabama... in the woods... at the foot of a mountain... right- no cell service... and VERY limited internet access. Personally, I think this is fantastic! I can honestly say that I love the idea of turning off my phone for a solid week and being away from the stresses of the rest of the world. It's a chance to re-center on what is truly important without getting bogged down in technology and worldly demands.
The past few years have been tough on MAW and Camp Sumatanga- camper numbers dropped and Sumatanga almost closed last year due to financial issues. Thankfully, I can happily report that our numbers were up this year and that Sumatanga is no longer in danger! We held a children's choir festival earlier this year and several participants joined us at MAW as new campers and staff members, and Teresa and Jenn did a fabulous job of recruiting new churches! If anyone reading this knows anyone who might be interested in MAW 2011, PLEASE let me know- I'd be happy to get them some info!
The photo montage slide show is currently under construction to include Friday's concert, so that will be posted as soon as possible (along with the commercial currently being edited!), but for now, here are some of my favorite pics from the week!
Camp Sumatanga lodge
Youth opening prayer
Children's Vespers drama
Youth at the chapel after hiking up the mountain
Children's Vespers- group on the rock
Elizabeth leading Beiber fans in a hall sing-a-long
Camper weirdness
Counselor weirdness
Staff/counselor late-night fun with photoshop!
Children's drama- The Giving Tree- amazing...
Kids enjoying Janet's Harry story- a camp classic!
Girls' hall picture before the concert!
Visit from Peter and Amanda!
Children- "Let's Celebrate!"
Youth girls belt it out
Youth showing some clinician love
Children's Counselors and Staff
Me and the wonderful children's Mean... I mean Dean :) Love you, Jenn!
Will and me- amazing how we see each other more during a normal week than at camp (he works with the youth and sleeps in Eva (staff hut) and I spend more time treating kids so I sleep on the girls' hall).
Finally, everytime I leave Sumatanga I think of a certain Bebo Norman song. "Walk Down This Mountain" is about the difficulty of leaving any mountain-top experience for a return to the Real World, which a) hasn't stopped since you've been away and b) hasn't had the amazing mind/heart-changing experiences you have had. I leave you now with the lyrics...
It's a better place
Standing high upon this mountain
I've seen your face
Full of the light that only this height can show
Blistered hand is what you you've given
But you've been given all you'll ever need
To know
Chorus:
So walk down this mountain
With your heart held high
Follow in the footsteps of your maker
With this love that's gone before you
And these people at your side
If you offer up your broken cup
You will taste the meaning of this life
Hey hey
Well it's a common ground
And I see you're all still standing
But just look around and you'll find
The very face of God
He's walking down into the distance
He's walking down to where the masses are
We're standing in a place of peace
And this is how the world should be
How the world should be
(Walk down this mountain with your heart held high)
How the world should be
(Walk down this mountain with you heart held high)
How the world should be
(Walk down this mountain with your heart held high)
How the world should be
The past few years have been tough on MAW and Camp Sumatanga- camper numbers dropped and Sumatanga almost closed last year due to financial issues. Thankfully, I can happily report that our numbers were up this year and that Sumatanga is no longer in danger! We held a children's choir festival earlier this year and several participants joined us at MAW as new campers and staff members, and Teresa and Jenn did a fabulous job of recruiting new churches! If anyone reading this knows anyone who might be interested in MAW 2011, PLEASE let me know- I'd be happy to get them some info!
The photo montage slide show is currently under construction to include Friday's concert, so that will be posted as soon as possible (along with the commercial currently being edited!), but for now, here are some of my favorite pics from the week!
Camp Sumatanga lodge
Youth opening prayer
Children's Vespers drama
Youth at the chapel after hiking up the mountain
Children's Vespers- group on the rock
Elizabeth leading Beiber fans in a hall sing-a-long
Camper weirdness
Counselor weirdness
Staff/counselor late-night fun with photoshop!
Children's drama- The Giving Tree- amazing...
Kids enjoying Janet's Harry story- a camp classic!
Girls' hall picture before the concert!
Visit from Peter and Amanda!
Children- "Let's Celebrate!"
Youth girls belt it out
Youth showing some clinician love
Children's Counselors and Staff
Me and the wonderful children's Mean... I mean Dean :) Love you, Jenn!
Will and me- amazing how we see each other more during a normal week than at camp (he works with the youth and sleeps in Eva (staff hut) and I spend more time treating kids so I sleep on the girls' hall).
Finally, everytime I leave Sumatanga I think of a certain Bebo Norman song. "Walk Down This Mountain" is about the difficulty of leaving any mountain-top experience for a return to the Real World, which a) hasn't stopped since you've been away and b) hasn't had the amazing mind/heart-changing experiences you have had. I leave you now with the lyrics...
It's a better place
Standing high upon this mountain
I've seen your face
Full of the light that only this height can show
Blistered hand is what you you've given
But you've been given all you'll ever need
To know
Chorus:
So walk down this mountain
With your heart held high
Follow in the footsteps of your maker
With this love that's gone before you
And these people at your side
If you offer up your broken cup
You will taste the meaning of this life
Hey hey
Well it's a common ground
And I see you're all still standing
But just look around and you'll find
The very face of God
He's walking down into the distance
He's walking down to where the masses are
We're standing in a place of peace
And this is how the world should be
How the world should be
(Walk down this mountain with your heart held high)
How the world should be
(Walk down this mountain with you heart held high)
How the world should be
(Walk down this mountain with your heart held high)
How the world should be
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
