So, where is Nathan again?

I forgot to come back and blog about Nathan's camp! He is at Camp Caleb, which is at White Sulphur Springs, the Officers' Christian Fellowship conference center for the East. My family has gone up to WSS during the summer when I was young. It is a hotel with weeks with different speakers, childcare and classes for all ages, and lots of other fun family-oriented activities to round out the week like skit night, a square dance, picnic at the pond, etc. When I was in high school, I worked at WSS on their junior support staff each summer, and those were some of the best times of my life! It was so much fun, but more importantly, I really grew a lot spiritually during those summers. There I started having a daily quiet time and was challenged to read the Bible through for the first time. The high school teachers were always fun young couples who really challenged us spiritually, and were great mentors. I made a lot of really good friends, some of which I still keep in contact with today. Bob also spent some time at WSS working before we started dating. We have not been there during the summer as a family, but we have gone several times for the weekend, especially when the Wright-Pat OCF group has their annual retreat. So Nathan is familiar with the place and loves it too. I really want him to love it as much as I do, so that he will want to go there during his summers, and hopefully grow as much as I did!

Several years ago (at least 10?) they started a new kids' program during the summer. They called it Camp Caleb, and they break it down into 2 different age groups--3rd and 4th grade are Caleb Jr., and 5th-8th are Camp Caleb. The groups go during different weeks of the summer, and they offer each one 3 times. The idea is that the parents and rest of the family can stay at WSS for their vacation, listening to the speakers and doing all the stuff, and their Camp Caleb-aged child would go off to Camp Caleb and do his own thing. But parents don't have to stay, and obviously we didn't! I would love to go some year as a family, but I don't think it would be the most relaxing with a nursing baby. And I've had one of those (or been moving) over quite a few of the past summers!

So Nathan is supposed to be doing typical camp-y type stuff: archery, canoing, rock climbing, horseback riding, swimming, a day at a lake nearby, a hike and an overnight camp outside under the stars, games, etc. From what I heard from Jessica L., who went last week, cleanliness was not a big priority! So it might be a long ride home for all of us clean people Friday! I can't wait to see him and hear all about his adventures. Everyone else is missing him too. Luke said on Sunday, as soon as we got home, "It's going to be a LONG week without Nathan here." Jonathan is very excited to tell him about what a big boy he is now! He is doing so well without his binky at night--no crying at all! Yay! Thank you, Lord! I'll try to get Nathan to guest-blog here when he gets back to fill you in on the highlights.