Golden West Camp 2013

My blog posts are coming a bit haphazardously this summer, but I guess that's somewhat fitting. Before I finish editing and posting more Europe details I wanted to take a minute to post about camp. GWC happened two weeks after I got back from Europe and was the last major thing on my calendar.

As most of you know, Golden West Camp is a big part of my life. It's a ministry that is really important to me and that I'm willing to devote a large chunk of time to every year. Going into this summer I was worried that my crazy schedule would mean that I wouldn't be able to go into camp as mentally and spiritually prepared as I would like to. I knew I could get the pre-camp work done, but I was worried about what state I would be in when July 20th rolled around. Even as I was driving up to camp I was telling my friend, who was in the car with me, that I didn't feel like camp was about to start. It didn't matter that I'd just spent the last week running around doing admin stuff for it, I think my brain was just fried at that point.

While this year wasn't my most amazing year, it was a great year of camp overall. Like always, I'm incredibly grateful to have been a part of it. I've talked to enough of the campers, either during camp or after we got back, to know that this year had an impact on a lot of them. I'd say that makes this year a successful year.

 

I was blessed to have an awesome cabin that had four girls from my church plus two wonderful girls from Tucson. All six of the girls are going to be seniors this year and it was a lot of fun to have an entire cabin of girls from "my class" right before they start their last year of highschool.

It's the beginning of the end for my time with this class of students. It's hard to believe that I only have one year left with them. I'm looking forward to making the most of it!

Golden West Camp 2012

OK, you guys all knew this blog post was coming. My "scrapbook" wouldn't be complete without a post about camp after all.

I've just recently started to feel like I've fully recovered from camp and it's been nice to spend the last week or so relaxing a bit. I've been majorly procrastinating on finishing my post camp work (think balancing the checkbook, ick), but one of these days I'll get around to it.

Golden West Camp 2012 had its ups and downs like any other year of camp, but at this point it's one of my favorite years ever. There were a lot of things about this year that were unique for me, but there were also a lot of things that were just camp like usual. So without further ado, the list (you had to have known it would be a list, right?):

1) Cabin 12 My wonderful Citation achievers (plus 1) cabin that I was blessed to be the counselor of this year! Aren't they cute?

2) The wonderful blue team.  I hadn't been a counselor on the blue team since my first year as a counselor back in 2006, and I enjoyed being back on one of my favorite colors. This team was by far one of my favorite teams I've ever been on, including my years as a camper. The team jived together amazingly well and I'm proud of their attitudes and teamwork throughout the week.

3) The awesome blue team counselors. The blue team had two first year counselors in JV and I think they both make stellar counselors. It was also Mr Good's first year as a Varsity team captain and he more than rose to the occasion.

4) The weather. Despite the fact that rain has a way of ruining the schedule, I always enjoy a chance to experience a good dose of it. My umbrella was probably the most essential thing I packed that week.

5) Getting to have new counselors like this one come to camp. Working with Kelli DiPietro throughout the year in Journey is already a blessing, so having her at camp was an even better blessing.

6) A bear skit. You had to be there. And even for those who saw it, what they didn't see was the 15 times the girls practiced this before they did it. Or how many times I almost fell off of my bunk laughing at them as they figured it all out.

  7) Theme days. We're still rocking them.

8) Citation achievers. 2012 was one of the best groups of Citation achievers I've seen as a counselor. I'm really proud of what these students have already accomplished and I'm even more excited to see what God does through them in the coming years.

9) Floor hockey. And speaking of those Citation achievers, they play a mean game of floor hockey at 11 PM on the last night of camp. The staff still beat them though. =D

U of A hats year #5

10) Traditions live on. You knew they would.

And last but not least I'll leave you with this picture because these guys are awesome.

Oh Tradition

Back in 2003 I was standing around with some friends on the last day of camp. Like usual, everyone was taking pictures and so we decided to take a picture of ourselves. And then the boys decided that they wanted to do gang signs in the picture. Why? I have no idea, but my friend Natalie and I just stood there and smiled like normal people. Sadly, I can't find this picture because this was during the stage of my life where I didn't have a great digital camera, and even though I had one at the time, I wasn't very good at organizing and saving my pictures.

In 2004 camps rolls around again and at the end we start to take a picture of the four of us again. We comment on how we took the same picture the year before with all of us standing in the same position. This time Natalie tells me that we should at least do something if the boys are going to insist on doing gang signs. After realizing that neither of us knew any gang signs we just crossed our arms and laughed. And the tradition began.

It was this past year (2011) that my picture frame ran out of room for the next picture and I've had to start a new one. It took me until the end of April in 2012 to get around to buying a new frame to start filling up.

But back to 2005. I wasn't at camp in 2005 due to the fact that I had skipped a grade in highschool, so that year is our gaping hole in this whole tradition. An then in 2006 only three of the four of us came back as counselors. But we still took the picture on the last day when Steve came up to see everyone.

And after that we lost Natalie. But that's also when Bryce came into the picture (get the pun? eh?). He dutifully left a spot where Natalie should be, but filled in as the fourth person. The rest is history...

 

 We even had a special guest in 2008. ;)

So you might wonder why a bunch of counselors would take a picture making gang signs every year. Now you know.

Golden West Camp 2011 = Success

Another year of camp has come and gone. I can't pinpoint all the specific reasons, but I have to say that 2011 was without a doubt one of the best years Golden West Camp has ever had. Oddly enough, I'd say that 2011 was a year with the most controversial curriculum to date, shorter evening sermons, and yet it was a year that had one of the largest spiritual impacts on the campers that I've ever seen. The reason for this, you wonder? I think it was more about individual communication and relationships than intense messages in a large group setting. This isn't so say anything against either of the pastors who spoke at camp this week. They brought the word of God and they brought it well.

But it was the one-off conversations that counselors had with campers and the individual questions that were raised that had an impact in my mind. I wish we'd had more time to deal with individual questions than we did, but I'm thankful for the ones that did get answered. And luckily, with camp being so small in numbers this year I feel like most of the campers have made enough of a connection with counselors that they were able to be ministered to in ways that weren't always possible with a larger camp.

Why do I come back every year?
There are numerous reasons why. One of the reasons that I come back every year is because I've grown attached to the campers that keep coming back year after year. I've built up strong friendships with a lot of them. At this point it's hard for me to imagine what camp would be like without them there.

The biggest reason that brings me back every year is because camp has had an impact on me like few other ministries ever have. Sure, a lot of my love for camp came from the fact that it was just plain fun. I don't think there's anything wrong with that either. But there were spiritual changes that happened in me as a result of camp and friendships that were strengthened through years spent at camp together that couldn't be easily reproduced in any other setting. In fact, a couple of those friendships are still going strong today, partially as a result of our continued devotion to camp.

A few picture highlights of the week...

 Cabin 10 was the best cabin in the whole camp. I consider it a privilege to get to work with girls as amazing as these five are.

There was a lake experience. It was epic (and I have the cuts and bruises to prove it). Better picture coming later.

14 years (of camp) with these guys

At the end of the week the points ended up with the teams finishing in Awana order

We have an amazing group of counselors who provide the best support group that any of us could ask for.

Traditions live on.