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Well one more camp is now behind me. This one I had the priviledge of cabin leading and getting to spend a lot of time with the kids. It was exhilirating, encouraging, and exhausting all at the same time. You see, these were junior high kids. Kids with a whole lot of energy given a place where they can spend it, and boy did they. I had a great group of unique young guys that had a ton of energy and a ton of fun. They came from all different backgrounds and places (including France) which made getting to know them and getting to see them know each other a whole lot of fun throughout the week.
The week itself went without any major incidences; however, the weather threw us for a loop everyday. Monday was climbing and rappelling and rain was pooring down the rocks making it quite hard for them to send the routes. It also made anchor clean up (my job) a very wet one. But many of the kids had not done either activity and the rappelling especially pushed their mental limits, but it is always rewarding seeing the kid that is scared breathless stepping over the edge, leaning against the rope, and sliding down a cliff. What is more rewarding is the smile at the bottom after a successful first rappel.
Tuesday started out as a rainy day, but by the afternoon we had great weather which made whitewater canoeing great. Now, I’m not going to lie, six out of eight of my campers were just plain awful at paddling and even more steering. I think we may have had the record for the longest trip down that particular section of river. But all is good. We had a blast. Yes, they may have been constantly hitting the shore or doing spins down the rapids, or even the more than occasional tip, but they were great at laughing it off and carrying on.
Wednesday was our biking day and it was not much of one. The day brought buckets of rain and not much enthusiasm for being on wet, single track, rooty trails. I didn’t blame them though, I wasn’t too excited either. So we came back early and let them do the lake jump on our dock.
Thursday and Friday we did an overnight hike to Allstones Lake and Allstones Peak. It was a beautiful area marked with a lot of rain on Thursday night but great sun on Friday. Probably the highlight of the night was putting the campers to bed early. Why? Because there were ten smelly guys huddles under one small tarp for hours cooking dinner and hanging out. But the thing was I was the only one with a watch so we kept telling the campers it was later than it was. So at about 7 pm we told them it was time to hit the tents because it was 11 pm and they bought it. Wow! That made the small tarp for 10 large for 2. So Tim (the other staff member) and I just hung out and were able to talk about ministry and God and our futures. It was quite nice to get that evening to just chill and have a chance to talk.
On the spiritual side of things, most of my campers were not Christians. Many of them however were very curious. One camper in particular (Corbin) asked questions the entire week about God and the Bible and I even got to show him how to look passages up in the Bible. After that he was constantly asking where the Bible says… It was awesome to get that opportunity to point him to God’s Word for him. Also, Kyle, another camper was honest enough to say that he thinks he believes but wants God to show him a sign of some sort to know for sure. It’s awesome to know that these young kids are at least thinking about these things and seeking him in some way. It’s also good to know that God meets us where we are and can bring them to him at any time. So I would ask that you would pray for Corbin and Kyle that God would show himself to them so that they would know him and his salvation. Other campers that you could pray for are Hunter, Maxime, Tyler, and Trevor, all of which I do not know Christ.
On a very sweet note, Carlene, which I mentioned in the Senior High Camp post wrote one of the staff and said that she has given her life to Christ. How awesome is that! She said that it has brought many people closer to her and some of her friends have persecuted her for it. Therefore, I ask that you pray for her strength in this critical time of discipleship and that someone would come along that would teach and mentor her so that she may become a woman of God.
Thanks all for reading and staying up with me. Thanks too for the prayers and the thoughts. It’s great to see planting and growing and harvesting happening. Pray for all three.
To Christ within,
Craig
The first week of camp is over. It was amazing. God brought so many cool, new, and unique people from all over the world this week to Frontier Lodge and it made it quite an exciting week. The only unfortunate thing about it was not being able to be with the campers more. You see, every camp is assigned cabin leaders and those staff get to do the programs with the campers all week. This leaves very few staff needed to run the programs so if you are not cabin leading, you are mostly working around camp. But I did get the opportunity to go one day climbing with the group and I got to spend every evening hanging out, playing games, and going to campfire with the group, so it was a lot of fun.
One of the highlights of the week was going climbing with the group. There was one guy especially that made the day great. His name is Sandy and he was absolutely terrified of heights. We had two ropes set up to climb and he started up the first only to make it about 5 meters off the ground and then asked to come down. A little later he got on the second rope and actually made it to the top with a lot of coaching and encouragement. But at the top he really got scared. I think it was the leaning back on the rope and letting go of the rock that messed with him. Psychologically, it is hard to let go, but once he did he did well. But that was not his biggest gain of the day. We had a 40 meter rappel set up and most of it was free (meaning you are just hanging on the rope without your feet set against the rock). He was so terrified, but he did it. It took him a long time to do it, but he did, and the smile on his face of accomplishment was matched by none during the day. That is all he talked about. Then he even managed to come back and finished the climb that had stopped him earlier. It was awesome to see that sense of trust, accomplishment, and joy wrapped up into one camper that afternoon.
Another highlight of the camp was meeting some of the campers from out of Alberta. There was one guy named Hector from the Yukon Territory and he had a pretty awesome story. He is actually staying for the next 4 months to do our Ascend Program, a Bible school/Adventure program geared for college aged students. There were also two girls that were really cool, Carlene and Coline. I was sitting at registration when I met Carlene, a scared girl unwilling to come. After talking to her she had never been to a camp or away from home before and had never done any of the activities that we do here. But at the end of the week, she was doing everything and was totally involved with camp life. It was great to see her attitude transformed. Coline is from Martigues, France. It was cool getting to learn about a new culture with her while she was experiencing outdoor Canadian culture. She did great in all the activities and was a joy to be around (quite the joker too).
So, that was Senior High. By the time you get over that camp, a new one begins, however. Today starts Junior High camp. I am cabin leading for this one and will be busy in activities all week. But I am so excited to meet my campers and get to invest in them for one week of their lives. It will be quite the experience.
So as I go I will ask that you be praying this week for our camp. Please pray for me as I get to answer questions and speak to the campers this week. Also pray for the campers that they will have open ears to what is being said and will be transformed in some way this week. Please pray for the campers that I mentioned from the Senior High camp as well. Hector is a Christian so please pray that he would grow while being here for the semester. Carlene and Coline are not so please pray that someone would come into their lives that would be clear with the gospel and help them grow as young believers. Thanks so much.
To Christ within,
Craig
