The One With Camp

So...in case you were not aware, I was at camp all last week. Youth camp, that is. Did you ever go to youth camp when you were in high school? Or maybe you are still in high school, I don't know. Anyway, story still applies. So, I am not actually a youth camp kind of person. In fact, before I left for college, I only went to a single camp - my senior year. It was a lot of fun. I mean, two hours each day were spent in various sports, so I wasn't a fan of that, but otherwise good.

Well, this is my first time to go as an counselor (a ref, technically) and I have to say that it was amazing! For one thing, it was one of those few times when God clearly moved right in front of us. The Jeff Berry Band (who you will soon find in the jukebox) led worship the entire week and they were outstanding. They sang a song with the lyrics "Make way to see for our God is here/Make way to hear for he's come so close" and it nearly made me cry because it felt like those words were real. It felt like God was standing in the room with us. It was such a powerful thing. More impressive was the response in these kids. Many adults crticize youth camp experiences because they are just emotional highs that never last and maybe that's partly true. Or maybe it's just that these kids feel more free away from the normal church environment. I think that our church's staunchly traditional setting is hindering our youth. They minds don't work the way older generations do. I think that the camp setting does them some good.

In some ways, camp restored my hope in the future. How cheesy does that sound? Allow me to elaborate. Everywhere I turn, I see kids that are doing horrible things and living lives that are going no where good. But at camp last week, I saw a group of kids that COULD get along and COULD change things if they really want to. When I was at camp, I don't think we were anywhere as nice to each other as this group was. I mean, there were some squabbles, but nothing big. Case in point...

On the last night, we had a baptism service with something like 12 kids lined up who had either made decisions or just never been baptized. We had a nice little service and at the end, the camp pastor openned it up to anyone else who wanted to get baptized too. In the end, 15 or so more kids came down to the waterhole to be baptized. It was amazing! The whole camp was lined up to watch. All of us with golf carts had them parked at a 45 degree angle down toward the water for front row seats. Anyway, 30 minutes after we were supposed to be finished, we finally made our way back to our cabins. I hadn't gotten much further than 50 feet when I heard a huge commotion behind me and saw the kids racing back to the water. My first thought was that the brake had slipped off a cart and it had gone soaring into the water. Alas, it was not the case...

When I walked back to the water, the pastor wsa standing there in the middle with one teary eyed freshman girl. The pastor waited until he had everyone's attention and then said this, "I just asked her why she is crying and it's not because she's getting baptized. She said it's because 'they all came back.'" And that is the truth of camp. After standing out there by the lake far longer than they had planned, the entire camp came running back to the water for one more girl. Way cool.

Gotta love it. I wish I could relive the entire week for you here, but that would simply be too much typing. I hope you get a taste of camp, because it was AWESOME!

P.S. Check out the link if you get a chance, I am telling that this band is great!!