Owen Sound

We came into this week fighting. We were fighting against settling into routine. We were fighting against being over confident. We were fighting against not taking every opportunity to be intentional with the campers. This was our fourth week. After the week was done, we were halfway through our summer. We tried to be prepared. We didn't want to settle into routine. We didn't want to be over confident because then we would start making costly mistakes. We wanted to take every opportunity to be with intentional with the campers. We wanted to make this week count. The camp was great, but we felt a little off. This scared us. What if we were settling into routing? What would happen when we were over confident? Why weren't we being intentional with the campers and taking every opportunity?

I don't like to think what could have happened if we stopped fighting and started settling into routine. On Tuesday night, we headed out to Sauble Beach to meet with the other team in Ontario as they were doing a camp nearby. It was encouraging to hang out with the other team. To talk to someone outside our team who knew exactly what we were talking about: someone who could relate and had similar stories and experiences. The best part of the night was when we came together, sat in a circle, and prayed. I've always known that prayer is powerful, but I saw just how powerful it was during that week.

The next day, I woke up refreshed and ready for an amazing day at camp. We all had the energy we needed to make camp an amazing experience. That night, sitting on the beach as two teams helped prepare us to stand up to the battles we had that week. Those battles were tough to face, but we had God on our side and the hope that He will always be with us.

The campers that week were amazing. They always had a smile on their face and were willing to try out their new moves during the games. There was Jonny who also caused a three-way tie for second when he played for a team who was short and scored their two goals. There was Stephanie who asked God for more attention and who randomly gave us hugs. There was Carly always wanted to have fun. There was Kris and Haley who’ve been best friends forever and could always be found together. There was Kyle who always wanted piggy-backs. There was Jessica, Ashley, and Alyssa who was always watching me; especially during castles. There was Allison who introduced me to speed stacking. There was Liam who didn’t really want to be at camp, but was so excited when he beat his juggling record. There were so many campers, so many stories – all in one week.

Camp was amazing that week. We went in fighting. We were fighting so that we wouldn’t settle into routine. We were fighting so that we wouldn’t be over confident. We were fighting so that we could take every opportunity to be intentional with the campers. We fought all that and because God was with us, we overcame it. We went into that week prepared for a tough week and it turned out amazing because God was with us. We were half-way done our summer of camps.