Camp Recap 2019

As mentioned before, I worked at a Christian camp in Ohio for 3 weeks this summer.  Many of you are probably curious as to what all that entailed, and I know at least 1 of you requested this post. ;)  So here you go: Camp Recap 2019.

  To sort of give some context, I first found out about this camp through a family that began coming to my church a couple of years ago.  Our church started organizing work teams in the spring that would go spend a week at the camp to help with any sort of construction needs there.  3 of my brothers were able to go on various work trips.  The program director came down to our church a couple times to update our congregation on the work our teams had been doing.  It was in an update earlier this year that he asked people to consider serving at the camp in the summer, and I went from there.

  I worked as a counselor for both junior camp weeks, and had an absolutely fantastic time.  I had never before counseled in a camp setting, so it was definitely a learning experience.  We did not see any of our unsaved girls come to know Christ, but we planted seeds and struck up good conversations.  I had 10 girls in my cabin the first week and 9 the second (campers were between 8 and 13).  Many of the girls had made professions of faith in the past and were excited to share their testimonies and also grow more in the Lord.

  I struggled with my health during Junior 1, and also struggled with getting accustomed to some of the camp’s ways of doing things.  Thankfully, we had an absolutely angelic group of campers, which made everything a ton easier!  The theme for the summer was “Hillbilly Hoedown,” and I had one spunky girl who very religiously called me “Ma Grace.” :)  During the week I was able to pray with and talk to 2 campers who needed help with certain struggle areas in their life.  I also helped one of my girls pick out her very first Bible! 

  We had one unsaved camper go home on Tuesday night, which was discouraging, but by that point she had heard a clear gospel presentation and knew that people were praying for her.  Our other campers continued to pray for her in evening devotions on their own accord.  We all missed her, but trusted that God knew what He was doing.

  Our cabin was Cabin 2, and we were on the blue team, Kountry Kousins, which pulled out the win at the end of the week!  Our girls were very loyal to the blue team and were thrilled with our victory over the Sity Slickers. :)

  One of the things I loved about working at a camp I’ve never been to is that I experienced all the “firsts” with my new campers!  Slip n’ Slide is an annual event, and I was able to go down the slide for the first time myself!  “If Ma Grace can do it, so can you!” ;)  The photo below was from Junior 2.

  Between the junior weeks, I worked in the kitchen during family camp.  In our couple hours of free time each day, I was able to interact with the families and participate in activities.  Evening volleyball and zip-lining in the dark?  Yes, please! :)

  Evenings were rather interesting because the kitchen staff were always in a mad rush to finish cleaning and get to chapel.  It was a blessing to sit in on the music and preaching, though; a needed refresher after a long, HOT work day.

  My cabin for Junior 2 was a bit tougher than Junior 1.  We had a pair of sisters in our cabin who argued quite a bit, as well as another girl who struggled with obeying and respecting authority.  My co-counselor was an absolute gem!  She brought a boatload of energy and enthusiasm, as well as the compassion and flexibility it takes to be a good counselor.

  I was the only pianist, so I played for all 9 services during the week.  My girls resorted to calling me “Miss Grace,” and by this point I was exhausted and forgot to call most of the staff by their official hillbilly titles.  I did, however, give all my girls “hillbilly nicknames” on the first day, which helped break the ice.  I also made an epic slip in the grass in the very first camp game, in front of the whole group of campers! :)

  I was the designated store “lead” during the week, which meant I ran the gift shop in the afternoons.  This was a fun responsibility, and I got to meet a lot of the campers as they meandered through the store.  My heart about melted when 2 of my girls came in and bought a Bible for one of their friends, in her favorite color.  Another girl asked me if I could be her piano teacher.  I explained that 8 ½ hours is a rather far distance to drive for weekly lessons, but nonetheless she came in cheerfully the next day with a, “Hi, Piano Teacher!” ;)

  On Tuesday afternoon I noticed one of our new boy campers walking away from the lake during swim time.  I struck up a conversation and we sat on a bench by the lake and talked.  He had failed his swim test and was headed back early to shower and change.  We ended up chatting until the bell rang, and he thanked me so sweetly and agreed to retry the swim test the next day.  I got several more opportunities to talk to him during the week and he shared some things he learned and his favorite part of the week.  I’m so glad I got the opportunity to make a small impact in his life, even just by encouraging him not to give up on his swim test!

  Among other random practical skills, I learned how to “catch” people on the zip-line.  After catching all 9 girls twice at the zip-line one afternoon, I was able to enjoy 2 trips down myself (in the daylight).  I need to work on my landing technique, because I made my “catchers” work rather hard trying to keep me on the ground! :)

  Thursday afternoon, I crashed.  I was in need of a major spiritual, physical, and mental refresh.  After rehearsing with 3 different groups that were planning special music for chapel, I ran back to the cabin and collapsed on my bunk, where I stayed for the remainder of rest time and all of swim time.  I spent an hour just lying there, praying about anything and everything that came to my mind.  God was faithful to replenish my strength and I finished out the week with an unbelievable amount of energy for running on 5-6 hour nights.  Seeing God provide each counselor with strength and energy was amazing.  I was overwhelmed to see answers to prayer!

  One of the most memorable happenings from my time at the camp took place at 4 in the morning.  One of my girls woke me up, scared and fearful, to share that she had a nightmare.  I encouraged her to go back to bed and pray until she fell asleep.  20 minutes later, she came back to ask if she could have a light to read her Bible in bed.  I brought a lantern over to her and she spent another 15 or so minutes reading.  At this point, we both naturally had to use the bathroom, so we traipsed through the dark to the bathhouse.  Before heading back, we stopped to pray and asked God to help us sleep.  He did, and I didn’t wake back up until my alarm sounded at 5:45.

  Another favorite memory was participating in a wet-sponge-throwing game.  You won’t know just how FUN getting smacked with 5 soaking sponges at once is until you try it. :)  I loved every minute!  I also lost my balance on the dock one day and just about fell into the lake… the nearby counselors about died laughing!

  Among the very (very) many blessings I received while serving at the camp were some new friendships!  I made some amazing friends with other counselors.  Below is Julia, who blogs over at jstheclimb.blogspot.com.  Before camp, Julia and I got in contact with each other and she answered questions and gave tips and encouragement.  She messaged me as we were pulling onto the campsite and greeted me at the car with a big hug. <3

  Below is Katie, another counselor I made friends with.  Her family kindly hosted me for the 2 weekends I was there, and we had an amazing time getting to know each other.  We worked in the kitchen together during family camp.  Among many other adventures, we had a cream cheese fight, played volleyball, talked in inside-jokes (literally a new language), and sang for chapel.  She even has red hair! :)

  Katie’s mother kindly took us up to Lake Erie one weekend because I had never seen a Great Lake before.  We had a fun evening walking on the shore and then running into Walmart to buy me sandals.  We returned carrying several half-gallons of ice cream and a packet of plastic silverware, and dug right in! :)

  There is so, so much more I could say about these amazing 3 weeks of my life.  But I will conclude with the words of a dear friend: “It will honestly be the best 3 weeks of your life… you think you’re supposed to be there to bless those girls but they really bless you.”  How true!

  “Y’all come back, now!”

  Oh, don’t you worry; I’ll be counting the days until next year!

Note: for privacy reasons, I have not shared campers’ names and photos.  But believe me when I say I have about 200 photos and boatloads of memories with those special girls!