FLOOD!!

Any friends of Camp Victory, check out their Facebook page. They have photos, and continuing updates, and can do a much better job of explaining what's going on.

Camp used to be rather nomadic. For about fifteen years, they settled on property on Lake Zumbro - my sister was a camper there during that time. A few years ago, they purchased their own property just on the other side of the dam, running along the Zumbro River until it crossed one of the back country highways. Started building, we've been adding more every year.

Zumbro River ran high this year. If anyone remembers the flood back in '07, my second year of Camp - that was about half this high, I hear tell. That one was mostly fun, actually. We had to relocate archery, we couldn't get to paintball, and Doc was paddling kids across the impromptu river in a canoe because the ropes course was on a temporary island. We all just sort of waited for everything to dry out, I think we lost some of archery and low ropes was pretty soggy for awhile.

Caribou's referred to this as a "double-flood", because flood stage is 18' feet above the usual waterline, and this was twice that. Made it clear across the soccer field, and into the lower section of the dining hall (big downstairs meeting room we use as a chapel until we can get the one on the hilltop built). Not sure how much it did around Old Town. Took out some of the roads, seems to have wrecked mini-golf (this is rather painful, as that was a gift in memory of someone else) -

Part of Camp is the camp director's house - it's a smallish house, with a separate garage, and there's a small chapel on the property. (My friend Holly and I were helping clean out the chapel last spring, and I ran across a bunch of the old Hanna-Barbera tapes that we used to watch in Sunday School - took me back.) Big yard - I'd often see the boys ATVing around or playing with the dogs in said yard when I was coming back from a week at Camp. Entire yard's now underwater - house is really damaged.

It is frankly driving me CRAZY that I can't be there helping. If I was in the area right now, I'd be LIVING at Camp - rise at sunrise, work all day, shower off the sludge, sleep the sleep of the dead - do it until the work's done. It's not that I think they can't do it - people care about Camp, and naturally respond to need. It's that Camp is my second home, really. My friends at Camp are like my extended family. And I'm stuck HERE, can't be helping them.

Joseph is familiar with this, even kind of used to having to serve one place while your heart is hauling on you to go serve somewhere else. He calmly reminded me of what I CAN do from here, which doesn't feel like much, and talks me down about it. Denise reminded me of what I know but don't want to pay attention to - she and I both saw the gymnastics that went into me getting into the Navy, getting the ET rate, going through Boot Camp - we both know God's been working to get me right here, right now, and He knew this was coming. For whatever reason, me being here is what needs to be happening. It doesn't feel like it. I'm sitting in a classroom.

As soon as I mentioned it to home, Dad said he'd bring it up with one of the team's he's on. My Dad's awesome, by the way. I talk about Mom's music stuff far more often, I know - really, both of my parents are amazing. But, he's part of a team that helps out with this sort of thing - when Richland was hit a few years ago, they were helping to clean out and rebuild some of the houses.

One of my friends who has NO association with Camp (and is actually remarkably introverted) offered to go out, as he had a random Tuesday off. I practically tackled him over the phone in gratitude. If I can't be there, I at least want to know that someone CAN be.

Staff manage to scatter pretty well through the school year - Ethan and I've been commiserating over this, because we KNOW how hard they're working (not that we know the workload - we just know the team), and we want to BE there, helping. It just seems WRONG to not be. The analytical side of my brain's running through my friends from Camp and a few Bible studies I was part of, figuring out what kind of human resources we have available. He's got good experience with drywall, those two were on that brush-clearing project with me, she's solid with long hours and staying cheerful and encouraging, he's good with the Bobcat and can be trusted to manage a chainsaw...the list goes on.

Of course, the flip side to the list of human resources is if they're NOT helping. That just hurts. I know, I know, free will and all that. But I can't be there, and she can, but she doesn't feel comfortable being there. It's frustrating. I think I came out with, "Well, go anyway and worry about whether you're comfortable after you're done!" Military-mindset people probably shouldn't give civilians work-related advice.

So, that's in the back of my mind all the time now. And if I'd ever doubted that I was planning to return to Camp - man, just try having someone threaten what you love to figure out whether or not you really love it. I want to come back and grow ROOTS there. They won't be able to kick me out unless they shut down - I'm going to do EVERYTHING!!

(This is slightly ludicrous, I realize. I'm not qualified to do everything. I end up bringing in friends who are, but don't realize it - this seems to be my addition to Camp.)

So, all of that aside, if you want to help out, give them a call. The Camp Director's house really needs help, and there's a lot of work to be done around the rest of Camp, too. Also, a LOT needs to be replaced; check out the list.