Junior Camp 2012

Church camp has been apart of my life since junior high.  As a kid, I was too scared to go when I was little so I waited awhile before being away from home for a week.  As a camper, my days were spent at Camp Maranatha in Warm Lake, Idaho.  My final summer as a camper also happened to be our last summer at Maranatha.  Our association of churches purchased a camp in McCall.  We now own Camp Pinewood and while it took some adjusting to having a camp right in town, it is a beautiful place to retreat to.

Our first full summer at Pinewood also happened to be my first summer as a counselor.  I spent 3 summers counseling for 6 weeks each summer.  I loved the team I worked with and developed some lifelong friendships with those people.  Since then, I have either counseled at various camps for my church, assisted the program director and even co-directed a week of Junior Camp.  All in all, I have managed to stay involved in camp ministry for the past 12 years.

Why do I deal with the dirt, bugs and lack of sleep?  Because I LOVE IT!  God has used our camp and the people who serve there to reach kids and families with the gospel.  God has stretched my faith and challenged me while serving at camp.  This summer was no different.  I had the opportunity to go as a "Support/Overseeing Counselor" for Junior Camp, grades 3-5.  We had 4 high school students stay with the kids from our church and I was there to help in any way they needed.  I also kept them fueled with snacks and soda!

Why was my week amazing?  Not only did I have an amazing time with our junior campers and talked about life with them, I also watched God break through some bad first impressions on my end and create a friendship that I never thought would happen.  I discovered that this person has an amazing heart for God, has matured immensely and is also really funny.  I prayed for a good week and God answered in a much bigger way!

I put together a short video for our Sunday service about our time at camp.  Check it out!