Final Words from Muskrat Dam

I’m writing this on our second-last night in Muskrat Dam. The internet is currently down, so I’m unsure of when I’ll post it, but I figured it was time for an update.

Our last week was a bit hectic (particularly in the morning), but really good. We had a couple scuffles between morning campers, so had to ask a few parents to keep their children home for a day, but after that it mostly cleared up, although a few of the previously quiet girls got a bit catty with some of the boys gone and more attention on them! In the afternoons we had all girls for the lat few days, and only five or six campers most days, but it was a lot of fun! On our last days we did face painting, had a three-round Walk Off competition in a classroom-turned-catwalk, and did an egg drop challenge, which ended with Ryan kicking the egg compartments at a brick wall. None survived. One of our afternoon girls also got the rest of the group to make thank you cards for us semi-secretly, and then gave them to us at the end of the day! They’re so sweet!

One of the other highlights of the week for me was responding to penpal letters from Kingfisher. Lauren sent us a pack of letters from there, and it was really nice to read things from the campers I haven’t seen or heard from in a year, and Lauren sent me a really nice letter as well. The best part was that both the afternoon campers and a number of the older morning campers decided to write responses to the letters. I was really impressed with some of our 7 and 8 year old campers who we worked with, and actually constructed decent letters! It was really impressive how well some of them have picked up on some simple phonetic and grammatical patterns. Up until then I had questioned the benefit of some literacy activities at the camp, but I really think having something to bridge the gap in the school year for them is definitely beneficial.

Evenings this week were another opportunity for us to engage with the community on another level. I had talked to one woman at Family Day, and she arranged a boating trip for us with her husband and one of his friends. Lizzy and I went out in one boat and Ryan in another, and we went for a four hour boat ride after camp. Despite on-and-off rain storms, we had a great time. The rain might have meant damp underwear by the end of the trip, but we were also privileged to see some amazing storm clouds and rainbows! The dampness did mean, however, that our attempts at fishing were cut short. Apparently having your rod in for about five minutes in two different locations isn’t a good recipe for catching dinner.

Today (Saturday) we ran a barbecue for our campers, parents, and other community members. We had about 30 people come out, and were able to get some good feedback about the camps, provide burgers and Smokies (sausages), and play some games! At the end, our community liaison and a few other community members said a prayer for us, and presented Ryan, Lizzy and I with a pair of moccasins each! They fit like a dream and are incredibly warm. I feel so lucky that we were accepted into the community so well, and that they gave us so much of their support. I will definitely be sad to leave on Monday morning!

After the barbecue we returned home to do some paperwork and finish up some final things in our house when we had a knock at our door, and two campers announced that they had pudding for us. Lizzy glanced out the window and quickly realised that “pudding” meant water balloons. While the adults next door looked on, laughing, we launched our attack, with Lizzy and Ryan running out the back door with cups and bowls full of water, while I created a diversion by keeping them talking through the front door. We exchanged water balloons with water bottles and lard containers full of water for about 15 minutes before we called it off, and retreated back inside (with doors locked) to dry off and finish paperwork. I felt it was an appropriate end to the day.

Now it’s time to finish off so I can get some sleep and be ready to win some cribbage tomorrow. I taught Lizzy and Ryan, and they managed to beat me today on my makeshift board (I drew one out, and we used playdough, pen caps, and pills as pegs). I’ll get them in the next game! But for that, I must be well rested.

One full day left, then Sachigo! Thanks to everyone who has been keeping in touch – it’s great to hear from you! Please forgive any poor correspondence on my part, as our internet has played up quite a bit, and we don’t have a phone in the house. Whenever I know what we have available in Sachigo, I will pass along the news.

Keep well!
-V