7 Days of Camp

33

•Rain's POV•

Since I'd hung out with my friends all afternoon, I decided to sit with my team at dinner. I really only knew Alex, and I wanted to get to know the others better.

River was a cool guy who played the keyboard at his church. He reminded me a little of Lincoln with his looks, except his eyes were blue.

Zach was a baseball player. He said he'd played since he was in preschool, and hoped to join the MLB someday.

Haylie was shy and quiet. She didn't really say much, which only reeled me in more. I wanted to dig deeper and find out what she was passionate about.

You might be surprised by this, but Mickey is a girl. She said her name was Mickayla, but when she was a baby, her sister couldn't pronounce it, so she called her "Mickey." The name just stuck. Coincidentally, she loved all things Disney, and was a pretty good artist, too.

And then there was Alex, Hunter's best friend. He seemed really happy for some reason, but when I asked why he was all smiley, he just said it was "nothing." Then I remembered what Amber had said earlier in our room, and I, too, smiled.

When we were done eating, I followed Haylie to the wash station. That's where you would put your trays, cups, and silverware when you were finished eating.

"Hey," I said, and she startled.

"Oh. Hi." Her voice was soft and light.

"I don't know if I told you this, but my name is Rain."

"Cool name," she commented.

I blushed, as always. "Thanks. Do you want to sit with me at session?"

Her face broke into a huge smile. "Sure!"

It was pretty obvious she didn't have any friends. And I was pretty sure I could give up one night of sessions with my squad to make a shy girl feel welcome.

We walked to the chapel together and sat in one of the middle rows on the right side. "So, what do you like to do, Haylie?"

"Um. Well, I like to write."

"You do? That's cool! What do you write?"

"Poetry, mostly. Um. Sometimes songs."

"Awesome! I like to write too. But I'm not very good," I admitted with a laugh.

"It's always been easy for me, I guess."

"Well good. Is this your first year at Encounter?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome! My first time was last year, and it was really fun. Are you having a good time?"

"Yeah, it's okay. But I really miss my family."

"I'm guessing you don't leave them very much?"

"Yeah, not really."

"Do you have siblings?"

"Yeah. Five, actually."

"Oh, wow! How old are they?" I asked.

"22, 19, 15, 7, and 2," she answered.

"Where do you fit in?"

"Well I'm 16, so I guess that makes me the third-born."

"Do you like having all those siblings?"

"Most of the time, yeah. We're all really close. I'm especially close with Rosie, the 15-year-old. She's here, actually."

"Oh, she is? What team is she on?"

"Red, I think."

"Oh, my friend Blake is on that team!"

"Cool. Anyways, do you have any siblings?"

"No. I'm an only child," I said.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't know what having siblings is like, so I can't really say."

"True."

Just then, the lights went dark and the intro music began to play. I forgot to tell my friends I wouldn't be sitting with them. Hopefully they wouldn't be worried.

The first song started a few minutes later. It was "Oceans" by Hillsong. I'd heard it a couple times on Pandora, so I knew some of the words.

Haylie was singing along beside me. Her voice was so sweet and pure. I couldn't help but listen.

When worship was over, Pastor Brett gave the message. This time it wasn't about Abraham; it was about a guy named Daniel.

The story was so cool! Apparently there was a law that people weren't allowed to worship God. But Daniel defied it and prayed to Him constantly.

When the leaders and officials found out, they punished him by throwing him into the lions' den! Daniel prayed and trusted God, and He sent His angels to protect Daniel. They shut the mouths of the lions, and Daniel was completely safe.

I thought it would be pretty hard to trust God in a time like that! It was literally a life or death situation. But I was amazed and in awe of Daniel's great faith. I hoped to someday achieve that same faith and trust.

When the session ended, Pastor Brett announced that tomorrow the boat would be open, as well as the Encouragements. I remembered doing both of those last year. Angry memories of my ex-best friend Megan flashed through my mind, and I tried to block them out.

She'd showed up at camp last year and practically ruined my whole day! But luckily I didn't see her anymore after that. I don't know if I could've handled it.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm gonna catch up with my friends," I said to Haylie. "Have a good night!"

"You too! Thanks for inviting me to sit with you," she said gratefully.

"My pleasure."

It felt good to have done something right.