word to yo mama

Good news: I evaded capture by the KGB and have survived a week of brutal training overseen by an elderly man named "Sarge." (I'm sure he has a real name, but real names are all but obliterated once one sets foot on MR campus.)

Sarge originally joined the Air Force in WWII and has quite the history with firearms. Ergo, Sarge is in charge (hehe...I rhymed!) of the marksmanship program at Miracle Ranch. How did I end up under his vicious reign? Well, little did I know when I drove to camp last Sunday that I was signing up for a week of marksmanship training. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Last Sunday, I actually got lost when I was trying to find Miracle Ranch. And, by the time I got there, a rather large group of smiling, waving horsemen (and women) were greeting all who came up the drive. I don't know why, but it was intimidating. Mix that with the fact that I had gotten lost, was "late," and had no idea where to go to check in, and well, you have one nervous introvert on your hands. Er, the introvert was on my hands because I'm the introvert, but...you get the idea.

The Lord had to give me a pep talk via prayer to get me to actually get out of my car and try to find the right office. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as my shyness thought it would be and I found my cabin and then some friends shortly thereafter.

Various counselors (res camp/day camp/outpost) were there as well as other staff and some of the wranglers, so I got to know a bunch of different people, but not too many. It was nice not to be overwhelmed the first week. This way, I can gradually break into it and feel mostly comfortable by the time the first week of camp rolls around.

Oh, and I'm super stoked for the first week. "Sprint" week involves having a bunch of kids come from inner city Tacoma from a YMCA group. I've been told they all have major attitude, but I don't care. It's exciting. :D

Now I can go back to Sarge.

This last week, I took the NRA Basic Firearm Training and Home Safety Course. These included a lot of lecture hours, and it was all very interesting, just a lot of information for four days. Also--the best part--we went out to the range and got to shoot .22 rifles in various positions, eventually shooting for record. (I earned both pro-marksman and marksman this week. Don't ask me what that means...I don't really know! :-P )

Anyhow, it was a lot of fun, and I'm really glad that I passed all four tests yesterday, which means that I'll be one of the rangemasters this summer, which also means I'll be able to go out to the range to practice whenever I want, which also means I can keep firing for record with Sarge and can keep going up in skill. But that's the ideal. I don't know if I'll have time to practice or not...but if nothing else, it's been a good learning experience.

Last summer, when I went up to visit the Cronks in AK, Tyler took me out to the firing range for part of a day and I got a crash course in firearms. Good teacher, but I'm glad I had more info. Now I know a darn lot of info about firearms--rifles in particular--and my interest in purchasing a firearm for sporting use in the future has much increased.

* * *

I'm really glad I'm at camp. I love the people who are there, and I have a good feeling I'm making some lifelong friends here. (YES!) Seriously, how can I not love people named Rising Sun, Jinxy, Chipoodle, Stiletto, and Trogdor? As for me, I am officially renamed "Hakuna Matata." Guess which song I'll be hearing all summer long...

ANYHOW: I will continue to check in once a week for the duration of the summer, so I'm not entirely cut off. Also, you can text me if you like, I just might not be able to respond quickly. Plus, there's not that great of reception over there...



PS. It's so nice to be doing something that I know God is backing. There is incredible peace and joy in that.