Camp Whatever 2008

I have come to do this post several times over the past week and a half but just can't seem to get it out. There is so much that I could share that I'm just not sure what to share.

Camp was an incredible experience. I haven't been back at a church camp since the one that I attended back in the summer of 1991 where I accepted Christ, I've never been the same since. I had just completed my junior year of high school and went to camp for all the wrong reasons. I simply wanted to get out of work for a week despite having spent much of the past 6 months questioning things about God. I will never forget the first night of camp. My friend who invited me to camp dragged me to the front row. I stood there during the opening worship and something just clicked. The way I've always described it was like the blinders fell off my eyes and I knew, I just knew, that God was more than words on a page in a book but a real, living God who loved me and died for me. I stood there and could do nothing but pray over & over in my head, "God I want you in my heart. God I want you in my heart." It seems surreal to even type it out as I am so far removed from that day and wonder if I'm remembering it right. I know I am and that moment is one of those times in life that I wish I could relive, it was amazing. So you see, it kind of felt like things had come full circle in my life coming to camp as a counselor. I know from experience that God can and will use the intense camp experience to bring about radical life change for Him. I wanted to be apart of that happening to someone else.

Typically the powers that be don't put you with your small group when you go to camp. One of the goals is to have each student have 2-3 key adult relationships during their middle & high school years. Giving them a different camp counselor can provide another adult for them to trust and to have pour into them. I'm thankful that I did end up getting all my girls though. As a first time camp counselor, it was much easier to be with girls I already knew than to have to figure new girls out. In addition, the week gave me so much more insight into our girls (I co lead with my friend, Megan) than I had before. I feel like Megan & I can be even more effective as small group leaders now.

The camp that we stayed at was pretty neat, minus the REALLY bad food. How often do you find a camp that has a wave pool, lazy river, wedgie water slide, paintball, lake w/blob on it, high ropes, low ropes, mud course, etc.? We weren't lacking for activities, that's for sure. I have never been so exhausted in all my life.

The camp speaker was Adam Robinson (click on his name for his website) and he was awesome. I loved how he shared things. God has gifted him with the ability to share key biblical concepts in a way that is easily understood and grasped. Dave Hunt (again, click on his name) and his band lead us in worship and it was awesome. The thing I appreciated the most about these guys was that they weren't interested in giving the students and intense emotional experience for the heck of it. As someone who has spent a good share of time in churches where emotional experiences are everything, I appreciated that. Emotions won't save you. I've seen too many people who go from church to church seeking that emotional experience and miss seeing Jesus all together. There has to be a balance there and these guys strove hard to find it.

Around 40 students made decisions to ask Jesus into their hearts, one in my group. How awesome is that? The family of Christ just got a lot bigger and that is so exciting. Tonight about 20 of those students are going to be baptized as a public demonstration of the decision they made to follow Christ. It's going to be AWESOME!

You are welcome to come. If you spent any time praying for us, utilizing the services of the Parent's Night Out, purchased a car wash ticket, etc., YOU played a part in the life changes that these students experienced. Not everyone is called to serve by going to camp, many of you served through the above mentioned means, and ALL are important and necessary (one body, many parts). Come hear about the awesome things God did in the lives of these students. Wed. night, FBC Smyrna, 6:30.