Sunday, 11 October 2009

Whoa, I never talked about CAMP from this summer? UNTHINKABLE!

So I never posted what I noticed at camp or gleaned from another summer at Center Lake. Life as a return staffer is so different, what with knowing life as a staffer. But it never fails to throw surprises at you. First, a brief synopsis. It's a bit like the one in my e-mail.

Week 1... Junior High Camp in Mackinaw. Pastor Ryan Huebner, speaker.
Week 1 was exciting and also a bit nerve-wracking for me as a counselor, as well as three other guys and two girls. None of us had ever counseled without a co-counselor or a CIT or up at High Point, and we were all assigned junior high campers that week up at High Point. But we went on the adventure knowing that God would guide us through it somehow and worked together to make it fun week. Even though I had a rougher tentful of guys in Mackinaw tent, and I was exhausted by the end of the week, one of my boys got saved, which was definitely a highlight of that week.

Week 2... Junior Camp with Nate in Beaver. Pastor Tom Bradley, speaker.
Week 2 was a long-distance move between cabins; after a visit from two great friends over the weekend, I moved way back into main camp to Beaver cabin and transitioned to counseling junior campers with Nate, another counselor (one of my friends from my home church in Ludington!). Even though the week was HOT and the boys felt overheated at times, they did great. A couple kids rededicated their lives to Christ during this week as well, which was exciting!

Week 3... Junior/Junior High Ranch Camp in Buffalo. Pastor Ken Nichols, speaker.
Week 3 meant another long-distance move for me, as well as counseling alone. After a week by myself at High Point, though, I was ready to work at Ranch camp! The biggest obstacle this week had was what week 2 WASN'T-cold and rainy, literally all week. The kids looked like a bunch of bananas in their yellow ponchos on the horses when they were in the riding arena. I only had 5 campers, which made finding them/keeping them together a lot simpler as a counselor. Looking back, even though the week had some ups and downs, I think my boys in Buffalo tent had a positive week at Ranch Camp and learned a lot of what it means to live for Jesus.

Week 4... Senior High Camp with Casey in Woodchuck. Pastor Stephen Cottle (and Doug Olson), speaker.
Week 4 was a completely new experience and yet another long-distance move. I packed up all my things from Ranch just as the rain stopped and the sun came out, finished counseling my smallest cabin ever, and moved way back into the rear of main camp into Woodchuck cabin and prepared for a completely full cabin of 14 high school guys (which is a tight squeeze when you're all pretty much adult size like we were), along with my friend Casey, with whom I had counseled my very first week of counseling ever back in 2008. This in particular, Casey and I were able to hold some deeper Bible studies with these guys and have some truly deep conversations with them about what THEY wanted to discuss, in the whole-cabin and smaller group settings, as well as individually. A lot of campers from this week either re-gave their lives to Christ or made first-time decisions to live for Him, which excited us all greatly.

Week 5... Junior Camp with Austin in Badger. Pastor Troy Gentz, speaker.
Week 5 meant switching gears completely. One of my high school campers was an SMT who became my CIT, but thankfully Austin and I made the switch pretty seamlessly. This cabin of 13 boys (later 12 after one left midway through the week) was a real challenge in terms of management and patience for the two of us. Every night after the kids had gone to bed, Austin and I would step outside the cabin to pray together for them and each other, as well as the rest of the camp and we constantly prayed for patience throughout the week. Neither of us lost patience with the cabin, although in praying for patience, God answered that prayer in a bit different way by TEACHING us about patience. I was completely spent from the week and running completely on the trust that the Holy Spirit would carry me through the end (because I had no strength left). What's even better, at least 3/4 of our cabin told Austin or me that they had either accepted Christ for the first time or rededicated their lives to Him.

I learned more this summer. First off, I think I know what age groups I WANT to teach in school, which is a good thing to know when I'm out there putting in job applications to get a *GASP real, grown-up job.

Second, after my time at camp, I realized that pride isn't a dead issue in my life. I talked about it my testimony to campers, but it's not all sewn up, and I still need help from the Holy Spirit to deal with it.

Thirdly, I wasn't fair with some campers. It's easy when you're either a brand new staffer or know nothing about your campers to give them the benefit of the doubt. However... when you have

1. That SAME camper from last year that made life a NIGHTMARE
2. That camper that isn't BAD but can drive you crazy and has THAT reputation, even if you don't really know him
3. That camper comes from THAT church?!
   

It's easy to cast judgment before even seeing the guys. I wasn't fair to some of them. Regardless if that same camper that DID make your life a nightmare does come back, what's not to say that God worked in his heart and changed him in the past year? I've tried to and still try to do that now. I needed to let others have that same chance, though it DOESN'T mean being naïve.

I also had a camper that commanded a certain reputation. One of the staffers saw one of my rosters one weeks and asked me, "Hey Tyler, how do you feel about having -name of camper- in your cabin?" and admittedly, I was apprehensive. Not only was my pre-conceived judgment way off-target, he ended up being probably one of my favorite campers I've had so far. Despite the bravado he exhibited most of the time, which I saw coming, I saw a different side to my camper that I should have been open to: a real, honest thirst for knowing God and a desire to grow closer to Him.

Finally, I had God teaching me again just a week later when I had a whole cabin populated by one church's children. I was incredibly nervous about this because I knew how some of the children from this church had behaved LAST year while I, dodging the bullet, got to hide out at Ranch Camp with slightly-less rambunctious children. Not so this time, and I took my turn. While Austin and I definitely did have some truly difficult cases, some of these boys were good kids. It just goes to show that every kid is different and you have to treat a person as an individual rather than lumping them into a collective. "You're from WHERE? Oh great." "You're from THAT family? There goes the neighborhood." "You go to WHAT school? Say no more!"

So that's what I've gleaned, in a nutshell. Among the staff, especially Mike to the SMTs, we talked about clinging being joyful in any circumstance and holding fast to what's taught at camp rather than the experience, and I tried to make that clear to my campers, too. One of them said he didn't want it to be a "Jesus jolt" and that's a good way to put it.

I miss camp.

I miss my friends there.

And I can't wait to see them again. But I'm okay. Because I am off the chain, and I am free.

Currently Speaking Louder Than Before (Special Edition) By Jeremy Camp Slow Down Time see related