Camp… makes me think of cozy cabins. Fans blowing in a futile attempt to cool the warm summer air. Eating too much candy. Shaking with laughter. Loud singing and dancing under the stars. Quiet times with God. Hearing Jesus’s name proclaimed with gladness.
When I was younger, I attended Warm Beach Camp in Washington. I loved it. We stayed in tiny cabins. Our counselors all had silly nicknames. I made great friends from all over the state, and we sent letters back and forth all year, as we anticipated reuniting the following summer. I still remember notes I scratched into my Teen Study Bible during the speaker sessions.
Then I went to Young Life Camp… at Malibu. The best of all Young Life camps. This was a completely different feel, because I was a believer and most of my friends were not. We were going into our sophomore year of high school and about ten girls came to camp with me and heard the Gospel for the first time. Young Life camps are completely evangelistic in nature. They bring in thousands of high school kids every summer with their awesome activities and hilarious entertainment. Then in the midst of all the laughter and insanity, they preach Jesus to kids who don’t know much about Him. It’s amazing to be a part of it.
In college, I was a counselor for two summers at Laity Lodge Youth Camp in the hill country of Texas. This camp was a tradition for so many families. Kids would spend two weeks at camp each summer, a whole half a month away from home, like their parents and their grandparents had before them. It was fun to watch all the tradition like the rodeo and the team competitions unfold each session as the legacy continued.
After college, Micah and I served with Young Life in our hometown and took a bunch of kids up to Malibu two summers in a row. We poured into those kids – jumping into freezing water during the obstacle course, leading cabin times, and meeting with each camper one-on-one to check in on a spiritual level. I also may have danced like an idiot with my future sister-in-law…
Last summer, we got to attend Lost Canyon, Arizona’s Young Life Camp, as adult guests. It was fun to watch everything going on from the back row. To see camp leaders pouring into high school kids the way Micah and I used to. We got to enjoy the delicious food of camp and watch all the games, but we were there with friends of our own and our brood of toddlers, which was a new dynamic for the camping experience.
Next week, we head to camp again… we will be participating in family camp at Forest Home in Southern California. This was not part of our summer plan until just a few weeks ago, but God provided the opportunity to go, so we are excitedly packing our bags and trusting that He has great things planned. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m sure it will be a mix of all the camps I’ve experienced before. There will be families who have gone every year for the past ten or twenty years, building a legacy for the generations to come. There will surely be families who don’t know Christ but are interested in the Gospel. There will be kids who have wandered a way from the faith. There will be parents praying fervently that those same kids come home like the prodigal son. I’m sure there will be games and laughter. I’m sure there will be too much dessert. I’ve also heard there will be babysitting, and lots of it, so couples can enjoy time alone to communicate and rest. This means there will counselors pouring into my children the way I poured into other people’s kids all those summers ago. It will be sweet to watch. I don’t know the traditions of Forest Home or what to expect in the daily schedule or from the speaking sessions, but I am sure of this… Jesus will be there. I’m sure His Spirit is at work mightily at Forest Home this summer, and I’m excited to be a part of it – moved and changed by the Living God and watching others be transformed by Him as well.
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