With 6 to 8 year olds this week’s clips produced some interesting answers. My favorite part about this age group is, although they don’t say as much, nothing beats their enthusiasm.  For “why camp?” it seemed a lot of campers were influenced by older brothers or sisters. What’s great is that it’s the simple things that excite them like sleeping out in a cabin and the seesaw.

One song we sing here contains the lyrics “we are one in the bond of love”. As I was sorting through an overwhelming number of clips to potentially include in this montage I believe I started humming this song to myself. Then as I started putting clips together I realized this could be a fitting title. The bond, the uniting or binding element here at camp, is love.  Everything we do here at camp is motivated out of love and held together by this same condition. I say condition because it is essential to the running of this camp. Love is what doesn’t judge allowing campers to let go in a safe place, it allows for silliness because love doesn’t care what others think and it moves us to be foolish for the kingdom. It provides the way to trust during the cooperation course, and for complete strangers to truly care for each other in the time of a week. It unifies us as His followers

I decided to change it up and dedicate a video segment to camp food. So I began to ask campers what their favorite camp food was. I soon gave up because almost everyone answered baked oatmeal and those who didn’t all said something different that we weren’t having that week which made it impossible to get supportive footage. So I changed my question to “what do you think about baked oatmeal?” After observing absurd excitement over this simple food, I began to question how it all came to be. I figured the best person to explain or at least inform this clip was the cook, Benjamine. Although she didn’t know how it became a camp thing she noted by talking to various people it seemed baked oatmeal is unique to camp and an undeniable favorite. I must say its deliciousness is a bit exaggerated here, but hey this is camp why not go crazy. If you’ve never tried it you’re missing out!

Once again mission impossible was a big favorite this week as well as the pig trough. One of the campers informed me of a method for success with the pig trough…mmm I’ll have to try that. For the first time several campers expressed really enjoying the slip N slide and the best answer, fireside and jumpstart. At last someone who enjoys these times as thoroughly as I do!

Many of this weeks middle schoolers have being coming here for up to 7 years. Crazy! Even though I asked the same question surrounding the main idea of “why camp?”  the answers were different. While the younger kids would go on about how fun it is, some of these campers expressed deeper reasons to return year after year. I also noticed instead of going to camp being a generational thing, friends were the answer for coming.  The answer that seemed the most significant was “it’s a place where I can be myself”. How incredible to have an environment where kids are not pressured by this world to be anyone other than who God created them to be.

This week’s shepherd, Roon, was a real blessing to both campers and staff. After asking several campers what they had learned about God/Jesus through Roon’s teaching I noticed that there was a one message that had really stuck with them. The last night of fireside the campers had the opportunity to write something they wanted to give to God on a card and then throw it into the fire. After all week hearing Roon share parts of her life story and then hearing some testimonies from some staff, the campers responded thoughtfully. Many of them for the first time saw how God allows us to go through the fire in order to refine us. That with God at work in us, there is purpose in pain. So many campers commented on how our experiences and hardships make us who we are today. At the same time, as a new creation in Christ Jesus, it is our relationship with Him that defines us, not our past.

Once again, I was astounded at the depth of these simple, yet vital, truths that the campers expressed.

This week I decided to change up the “What is something new you have learned” question and focus in on some of the interest groups. There was everything from crazy hair dos to duck tape wallets.

A photo montage showing the campers forming friendships and just having fun. And the best part… frolicking as a part of capture the frisbee.

This week was the first of the summer to play mission impossible. At every camp I’ve ever been to, this game has been the craze and so I was not surprised that many campers chose it has their favorite camp activity. I love seeing the campers’s excitement, there is an incredible energy surrounding this game.  Then you can’t forget the pig trough, the best way to eat ice cream, and the GaGa pit which, as one camper thoughtfully pointed out, brings kids from many different cabins together and allows you to meet new people. Oh and I almost forgot, unique to this messy monday- the jigglin toe pick-up!!