After Camps

Throughout the summer D told us that we would be changed. Camps would change us. I came into the summer thinking I would be the one who would help others change. I’m pretty sure that my campers and the church communities have impacted me far greater than I have impacted them. I look back over my semester at school, and I cannot picture it without my team: without D, Skip, or Reuben. I can’t image my summer without them. Reuben and I sometimes bring up the first time we actually kind talked: D’s house for training. D made us go together. Not going to lie...a little awkward, since we didn’t know each other at all. We can laugh about it now.

Camps changed me. I experienced God’s presence, love, community, and the fellowship of believers. Starting and ending each day at camp with prayer is amazing. So often, in life, we get distracted and push God to the side, saying we’ll spend time with Him later, but later never comes. Talking about God with kids, puts it in a whole new perspective, because they ask questions that I would never think about; they see it in a different way. They accept it, no questions asked. They had faith like a child. I truly saw what faith like a child was.

It was great at camps with the kids, but I learned the most from our host families and the communities we were in. Right from the beginning, they wanted to know about us; our story. We would share ours, and then they would share those. It was awesome. Some grew up with it all their lives, others came to faith later, but all had learned to love God the way we were made to. Sometimes, I wish I didn’t grow up in a Christian family. Sometimes I wish that I had a turning point, where I could see exactly when God came into my life and see and feel the difference. Sometimes I wish that. Now I appreciate my Christian family. The Christian education that I’ve been through and still am going through. My girls at ABK were so surprised that I went to a Christian high school. I guess I took it for granted because the majority of my friends did. I realize that even though I didn’t have a dramatic conversion, I still made the choice to follow God. Just because I grew up in a Christian family, doesn’t automatically make me a Christian. I believe that camps, made me step out on my own further than I had before. My host families only knew who I was right then and there; not my family, not my past, not who I wanted to be. They knew me for me. As I stepped out, I was able to look back, as you look back walking in the snow to see how far you’ve gone. As I looked back, I was able to realize what I needed to work on.

The community was so encouraging. Being in a community who loved and supported me and constantly encouraged me, allowed me to grow. I was constantly being fed and I nourished it and grew. Going back to school to a community who is more individual and focused on their own goals was tough. It took some getting used to. Sometimes I felt like I was going back to my old ways, caring more about school and my grades than God. Often times, God got pushed aside and forgotten. D put it a good way during soccer season. I was getting frustrated and soccer wasn’t as fun as it used to be. I was trying to explain how I felt, when D interpreted me and asked if I smiled at all during my last game. My answer: no not really. D asked why not. “You smiled when we played coaches verse campers and we were losing against them.” I tried to explain that it was different. That was for fun. This was actually competitive and winning or losing could mean the difference between making playoffs or not. D wouldn’t accept the fact that it was different. Soccer is the game that I love. It should always be played to have fun; something that can make you smile, even if you’re losing.

Whenever I felt dragged down at school, like I couldn’t make it through another week, we would be planning to go back to one of our churches. It was like God knew I would need a dose of real community, a little part of the summer again. Going back to our churches was like going home. We were greeted with tons of hugs and invitations to hang out after the service. Coming back to Redeemer, I remember telling one of my friends that after being back at school after a visit was tough to do, because those churches are pieces of heaven.