Project Inspire

This past week was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my entire life. My post earlier this week tells literally every single thing that I knew about this. I basically paid these strangers fifty bucks to plan my week break for me, and just went along with the ride. And it was certainly the best ride of my life.

28 college students and our school's "Service Committee Guy." I had no idea what I was getting myself into as we left Monday morning. No idea.

The camp site was called "Camp Hunt" and it was an old, beaten down boy scout camp located on Bear Lake (which is right on the border between Utah and Idaho). The camp recently received a ton of money to fix it up. We basically went down there to fix it up.

Our work included moving more gigantic logs than I ever knew existed on this planet, building and planting new camp signs throughout the campground, building and moving new picnic tables, shoveling out some smallish rivers so the water could drain back down into the lake, cleaning all the dust and grime out of the kitchen, cleaning and painting the pantry (including moving all of the stuff and furniture out, organizing it, throwing out bad stuff, and bringing everything back in after the painting), chopping more firewood than you'd ever think existed, and going to two senior homes to leave cards of love and sing songs to the elderly.

The first day the only thing we did was move those gigantic logs. Piles of them. And just when I was completely beat and could hardly even lift my arms anymore, Trevor came and told us there was more. We hadn't even completed one third of the camp site. There was one indoor toilet for the thirty of us to share. No showers (just the lake...). Two outhouses, but one was standing only. The weather was freezing.

I'll be honest, I though about going home after the first day. Even had I wanted to, though, I couldn't since I was in nowhere-ville and had no transportation. I was stuck.

In the end, however, it was worth every second. I freaking LOVED this week! I learned so much! Here we go. I learned: how to fix a toilet (the indoor toilet was kind of junky anyway and after having thirty people start using it... it broke a lot. I was always able to fix it!), how to paint a pantry, including loads of shelves and how wood always seems to suck up paint, how important a good attitude is, how difficult yet rewarding it is to work (and play) well with others, how to make stuffed French Toast, that boys can will still talk to me and even ask for my number even if I haven't showered in a week, that when boys rock the canoe it scares the crap out of me, what a Silver Beaver in scouting is (and met one), how to give massages (and received tons), that I suck at Ultimate Frisbee, and loads more. It was a totally awesome.

As I said before. Best. Decision. EVER!