What happens when you put 16 kids and 3 counselors in the wilderness? No, this isn’t a start of a bad joke, it’s the start to a great week of camp, all orchestrated by our good good God!

Today is Thursday. We spent most of lunch today eating and laughing around the fire, reminiscing on our favorite parts of the week, telling goofy stories, asking questions about God, deciding what food we would eat if we could only eat one for the rest of our lives, and talking about how sad we are that camp ends tomorrow. This isn’t the same nervous group that came to camp on Sunday, so what got us here?

It was the time we hung out in hammock village for rest time, not able to close our eyes because we were too excited to talk with each other.

It was the time that every single one of us conquered the giant swing at the high ropes course.

It was the time we learned that God helps us do hard things when we get to know Him and build a relationship with Him, our strong and firm foundation.

It was the times we cooked breakfast burritos, frito pie, pancakes, corn on the cob, and all of our other breakfasts and dinners over the fire (one of our favorite parts of camp!)

It was the time we shot bows and arrows and slingshots with our favorite craft lady.

It was the time we performed silly skits at vespers to remind us that God calls us to love not just our friends, but our enemies, too.

And it was all the moments in between, the walking-to-and-from activities, the right-before-bed conversations, and the waiting-for-dinner games.

Thank You for sharing your child with us this week. We went into the week prepared love them, play with them, and teach them about God, but we weren’t prepared for what we got in return. You child is a light and a beautiful reminder of how God calls us to have child-like faith. They are smart and polite and funny and kind. They were a complete joy to spend a week with and we are thankful. We prayed for them before they got here and continue to pray for them, and we are excited to see how God moves our last day of camp and beyond. 

Respectfully,

Emma