Tag Archives: summer camp

Hero

Posted by Amy in Odds 'n' Ends and tagged with , ,

 

I’m pausing in my ongoing critique of the 21st century church to brag a little about my kid.  He and my daughter have been at camp for almost the last two weeks.  This camp, for anyone not familiar, is a Christian sports day camp.  The kids learn about putting God first, others second, and themselves third (from Matthew 22:37-40) in the context of playing sports.

The whole camp is divided into teams, similar to traditional “color wars” at camp.  They do compete against one another, but they also learn good sportsmanship and how to cheer for and support one another regardless of team loyalty.  As this is a Christian camp, the teams are named for books of the Bible—the blue team is the Galatians, the red team is the Romans.  (It should be obvious from the photo which team my kids are on.)

Every year, the kids participate in a swim meet and a track meet.  This year, the camp staff added some new events, including a relay.  My son was on the relay team in his division (boys approximately ages 6 to 9).

Today, he got to be the hero.

He was in the last position, the runner to bring it home.  His teammates had provided him with a solid lead, and all he had to do was hang on to it.  Well, Jack came through.  He gave it everything he had, running the final straightaway to the finish line.  The whole crowd—campers, staff, and parents—was on its feet, cheering for Jack and the other boy.  I could hear people all around me screaming their names.  Yes, kids were mostly cheering for their own team, but I could hear many of them yelling the names of both boys.  The camp erupted as Jack crossed the finish line first, to be welcomed by his teammates with high fives and congratulations.

Was I proud of my son?  You bet.

But I’m equally proud that the cheering didn’t stop with him.  Everyone continued making noise for the other boy (who was really only a few paces behind Jack; it was a very close race).  It’s one of the things I like best about this camp.  It’s a safe place to play hard without fear that you’ve disappointed everyone if you don’t win.

This morning, my kids dressed in their royal blue.  But each of them chose socks with colors representing their friends on the opposing team.  They both wanted the people they care about to know they were cheering for them, too.  I may be proud of my son for his moment on the track, but I’m even more proud of both my kids for beginning a lifetime of showing love and respect to others.

I’ve been involved, in one way or another, with camp for twenty years.  I’ve kept in touch with many people who I met through camp.  Over the years, I’ve seen kids who grew up going to camp reach adulthood.  Many of them are now living out what they learned there.  Some of them have gone into full-time ministry as pastors or missionaries.  But the vast majority are doing everyday work, simply trying to live out the motto they learned at camp.

This time that they have at camp is short.  It’s only two weeks out of every summer.  Their camp counselors and team coaches are planting the seeds.  It’s my job, as a parent, to see to it that the seeds are watered and nurtured.  My prayer for the kids, my own and the others at camp, is that they will grow in their faith over the course of their lives, becoming the people they were meant to be.

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If I didn’t make it clear, I love this camp.  If you live in my area (you know who you are) and would like more information about camp for next year, please email, call, message, or stand on my lawn at 2am shouting until I wake up.  (Okay, maybe not that last one.)  I would love to see all your beautiful kids enjoying this amazing experience.

Summer Camp

Posted by Amy in Faith and tagged with

My son has been attending day camp for most of the last two weeks.  This is the same camp at which I have been a counselor, office assistant, nurse, and director.  He is having a great time, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

If I am honest with myself, I have to admit that I have never felt the same way about anything else than I have about this camp.  The camp is called Summer’s Best Two Weeks (the link is to the official web site; I’ve only ever worked at the day camps).  For me, even though I was never a camper, the name held (and still holds) true.

On the outside, there is nothing that would lead one to believe it is absolutely amazing.  Simply put, for those unfamiliar with the camp, it is nothing more complicated than a Christian sports camp.  So what makes it so special?  My answer: Magic.

Relax.  I’m not talking Harry Potter magic, or even Narnia magic.  I don’t mean the same magic that you find in Disney movies.  It’s just a somewhat silly way to say: I don’t know.  I have no idea whatsoever what makes SB2W so wonderful.  I only know that I have never felt as alive as I do during those two weeks of camp.

I could tell you that it’s a “God thing,” or the Holy Spirit moving, or some other trite, church-y answer.  But doesn’t G-d bless other things in life, too?  I doubt that SB2W has the market on being infused with the Holy Spirit’s presence.  I could tell you that it holds some of my best memories, and that my feelings about camp are linked to that.  It would be at least partly true, psychologically speaking, but there are lots of things in my life with good memories attached.  I don’t feel quite the same about any of them.  You might imagine that some of my joy comes from seeing my own child enjoying camp, sort of like coming full circle.  True enough, I am excited to see him loving camp and becoming part of everything.  But I already felt that way about camp or I would not have sent my son.  Perhaps, then, it’s the whirlwind excitement, the days that leave you too tired to think, the controlled chaos of the moment.  That’s definitely part of it, too.  There is certainly an adrenaline rush associated with camp.  Maybe it’s the way the campers and staff base their actions on love for G-d and love for each other.  Yes, that is true too, but camp doesn’t have a market on that, either.

Which brings us back to the whole magic thing.  What I really mean is that there is something extra, some spark, that lights up the whole experience.  It doesn’t matter that I’ve been at camp for a handful of volunteer hours this time around.  I can still feel that whatever-it-is every time I set foot in the church.  I see it in the eyes of the kids.  I see it on the faces of the staff.  I hear it in the songs and cheers all around camp.  I sense it in the cool morning air when I drop my son off, and I feel it in the sweaty heat of the afternoon when I pick him up.  I remember it when my son tells me what he learned to do that day.  I felt the air tingle with it when I watched the camp staff leading Sunday worship.  Its energy radiates when the counselors interact with the kids, praising them when they do well and comforting them when they don’t meet their goals.  That spark permeates every aspect of camp.  It’s the reason so many families send their children back every year.  It’s why so many teens return to be counselors when they have “graduated” from being campers.  It’s the reason that I hope I have the opportunity to continue to serve and volunteer with these incredible people year after year.

All of us have experiences which shape the people we become.  I count myself blessed that I can return to that place each summer.