Camp

I was one of the lucky ones that got to go away for a week of camp every summer from fourth to twelfth grade. I have so many fun memories of camp!  The night game was always my favorite activity (putting on dark clothes and then going to find your counselor in the dark with nothing but a flashlight - so scary and so fun).

I also remember some hard things about camp - it is a stretching experience!  It's nerve-wracking to go away and miss home and be challenged to try new things like ropes courses and diving off the high board.  But you can't beat the satisfaction of knowing you conquered something that you once feared.  

Camp also had a profound impact on me spiritually.  During those times away, I heard from and connected with God in ways that I just wasn't able to at home. 

On Sunday afternoon, I got to drive these three ladies to Westminster Woods' High School Camp and get them all settled-in with their counselor and cabin-mates for the week (something I love to do!) 

Karla, Elizabeth, and Lupita in front of their cabin

Getting to spend three hours in the car with them listening to them giggle as they recounted stories from last summer (they all three went to Westminster Woods last summer) was a gift! 

Plus, it always amazes me how much you can learn about someone when driving in the car with them for a long time.  I few of the things I heard them say that will stay with me:

"My dad left his family when he was eleven to go work (in Mexico).  He only went to school up until seventh grade."

"Since I am now in high school, I have made it further in school than either my mom or my dad.  Neither one of them graduated from high school."

"My grandmother never went to school.  She doesn't know how to read or write."

"My parents are so protective of me.  But I know that it's just because they want me to have more opportunities than they had."

"My mom always tells me that I'm going to a university - no matter what.  I tell her, "I know, mom!"'

I just love these girls to bits and I'm so very excited that they get to have this amazing opportunity to be out in God's beautiful creation, away from the stresses of their everyday life, spending time studying the Bible, playing goofy games, meeting new people, and getting to be kids!  I know that they are having an amazing time, but I can't help but think about them often and wonder how they are doing (are they making new friends?  do they feel like they fit-in?  what are they learning from the speaker?).  Geez, if I'm like this with three teens from The GreenHouse, can you imagine how I'm going to be when I drop off my own kids at camp for the first time?

Speaking of my own kids, these three boys were road warriors!  With Steve studying hard for the Bar they had to come with me for the drop-off.  They braved the three-hour drive there (traffic) and two and a half hour drive back with minimal bouts of crankiness (mostly hunger induced).  They perked right-up when we arrived at camp and got to spend about an hour running around, throwing rocks in a stream, taking a quick hike, and getting very, very dirty.  They were in heaven.  I have a feeling they are going to love camp someday, too.