This week has been a BLUR!

SO!! Another update!!

My last post was when I was in Livingston with Jill... The next day we all got up and went tubing (or “floating”) down the Yellowstone River. That was quite an adventure!! We went over a rapid, and my tube got a hole in it (“I’m bubbling!! Jill!! What’s going on?! I’m bubbling!! I’M SINKING!!!” J) So then Jill and I doubled up on one of the bigger tubes until we went over ANOTHER rapid further down and flipped our raft! No one knows exactly how we did it... not even the people who WATCHED us flip!! I guess we just lost balance or something... SO! Instead of getting BACK in the raft, I gave up, and me and one of the other girls floated about two miles of the Yellowstone River in our lifejackets!! It was LOTS of fun!! Until it was time to take out!! The current suddenly got really strong, and I could NOT stand up!! The other girl is bigger than me, so after about five tries she FINALLY was able to get out of the river. I, meanwhile, was trying my best, but could not even stop myself to attempt to stand up!! (My legs are all beat up to prove it!! LOTS of bruises!!) I finally just gave up and floated down the river toward a bridge and grabbed on to one of the legs of it (I’m sure there’s a technical term for the “leg of the bridge,” but that’s what I’m calling it!!). At this point I started to wonder if I should be panicking, seeing as there was NO way that I could help myself... The water was pulling me down, but I managed to hold on for a while until someone finally noticed me there (I had visions of helicopters from rescue TV shows...). This guy came running toward me Baywatch style (he was stripping his shirt off as he ran at me!! I didn’t know what to think!!), and when he stepped in the deep part of the river he almost lost his balance and went down with the current, too!! He told me to grab onto his shirt and he would pull me out. As I was turning to say “Are you sure?” the current pulled me and I lost my balance again! I reached out and grabbed his shirt and he pulled me out of the river!! He had to steady me the entire way back to shore, even in the shallow parts, because my legs were so shaky. So! I have now been rescued from the Yellowstone River!!

Last week we had a cancer camp here... They were lots of fun! It was really hard, though. One lady was pretty much on her death bed, but she wanted to see her kids have fun and celebrate their birthdays at camp, so they all came out anyway... (She has a 27 year old son, an 11 year old daughter, and two 8 year old daughters... all of the girls have the same birthday.) About half way through the camp, she came out onto the deck (her first time out of her room) to watch her kids play, and several of us had an intense urge to pray for her, but no one said anything. Upon later discussion, we all decided to ask her if she would let us come and pray with her in her room, but she denied the request. That was REALLY hard. What’s worse, later that day we heard talk of them trying to Life Flight her out of camp because she was having a hard time breathing and couldn’t sit up on her own. We contacted Life Flight, but they said that they couldn’t come and get her, so we had an ambulance come from Big Timber. It is an hour to Big Timber, and the ambulance got here in 15 minutes... pretty crazy. Anyways, we were all really upset, and I was crying. (It was weird; it was kinda like crying TO God FOR her...) It was really pretty traumatic for our ministry team. Right before the kids left, I walked out of the kitchen and told them that we were praying for them, and I hugged the 11-year-old girl. I cried throughout the rest of the morning, and as they loaded the lady up in the ambulance I stood outside the back of the kitchen and prayed as I watched them. Later, after they had all left, the camp honcho came up to me and said, “I have a gift for you. A little girl saw you standing down here and asked me to give this to you.” I asked her if it was the 11 year old, and she said yes. I took the delicate tissue that she offered me and opened it up. Inside lay two young pinecones. It broke my heart. That was one of those gifts that you never forget, you know? *sigh* it broke my heart...

One more update!! Today was a fun day! I got to drive the tractor and the weird lawn mower, which was lots of fun! I thought I was gonna die, but luckily didn’t! Our managers and their family left camp today to go into town, which left their house WIDE OPEN for a prank!! Justin and I wrapped caution tape all around their house and put up lots of signs! We made a cardboard dead guy and threw him in the driveway and put more caution tape around him (they have a gravel driveway, so a chalk outline was impossible...)! We had a blast! They JUST drove up to their house, so I guess we’ll see what they say tomorrow!!

That’s all for now!!!
1 week and 6 days (13 days) until mama gets here, and 2 weeks and 1 day (15 days) until I get home!!

People keep saying that these next two weeks are gonna fly, but I have a feeling that they will be the longest two weeks of my life! Because I MISS Y'ALL!!

I love y’all a TON and hope to talk to you soon!!!

*hugs*

*morgan