Camper Stories from Summer 2007

During high school week this year, one camper of mine stood out in particular. She came to camp by herself, as a first-time camper who knew no one.  Her nerves were evident as we started out with name games, but she seemed like a sweet, beautiful girl. I looked forward to getting to know her better. That evening at trading post, however, I was shocked when she approached me. She told me she didn’t feel as though she belonged at camp, and said she wanted to leave. As I questioned her, I was troubled by what she told me. Her self-esteem seemed very low, and she told me about many struggles with her peers and school. Above all, my concern grew as she said she felt that no one loved her here.

I immediately began to explain to her how happy I was that she had come to camp. I expressed the fact that the counselors and other campers did love her very much as their sister in Christ and were excited to have her here. Then I emphasized how much Christ loved her. As trading post ended, so did our conversation, yet I hoped that she had been encouraged.

The next day, she appeared more cheerful, and I helped introduce her to other campers. Just before dinner, things took a turn for the worse. She began to cry as we sat on the trading post benches. She told me that she wanted to go home and that she didn’t feel valuable. She felt as though she wasn’t supposed to be here at camp. I found myself explaining to her again and again the fact that she was a wonderful girl, one who I was glad to have in my cabin. It seemed as though I couldn’t tell her enough how important she was, how special God had made her, and how much He loved her. Another counselor, Lisa, joined the conversation, and soon we began to see some improvement. By the time dinner ended, we had convinced her to try to stay at camp.

That evening, I prayed for her as hard as I had ever prayed in my life. Christ’s love was the only thing that would turn this young woman’s life around. Soon I began to see further improvements in her outlook. During “Time Alone With God,” she asked me to show her helpful passage, and I explained how to look up scripture references.

Tuesday evening, the Lloyd Garrelts concert created excitement among all of the campers and visitors. Halfway through the concert, I was having a wonderful time. Suddenly, my camper, who had been sitting with some new friends, came to me. Without a word, she hugged me. Then she whispered in my ear, “Thank you so much.  Without you, I never would have understood God and how amazing He is.” Tears filled both of our eyes instantly. I hugged her again, and we went off to the side of the indoor chapel. Together, we cried and talked. She seemed so different! She understood God’s amazing love. Sure, she still had a lot of growing to do, but I reminded her, Christ would help with all of this. We gratefully prayed together, still in tears, and headed back to the concert.

Throughout the week, she and I stayed close. On Thursday, Lisa asked her what her favorite part of the week was, and she replied, “When you guys wouldn’t let me go home.” Her story was one of the most wonderful parts of my summer. In many ways, she shows what Christ has done in each of our lives. He turns us around and makes us whole with His wonderful love.

This year during 5-7th grade week, I had a special camper who was always by my side.  It was her first time at camp, and you could tell it was a hit as her smile only got bigger throughout the day and with every song or activity.  However, there was one evening right before outdoor chapel when she was not smiling. I asked her what was wrong and she started telling me about her home life and things going on at school. She said that she had never met her dad and that the other kids at school made fun of her for being “different”. She said she had never had any real friends. This broke my heart. Here was this young girl…barely old enough to know what pain is…and she had already experienced so much heartbreak in her life.

But it doesn’t end there. After a long discussion about how God is our one true friend, she looked up at me and told me she had never felt so happy. After some prodding, she let me know that she really felt loved at camp and was excited about the new friends she had made. We also talked about how not only do the counselors and other campers love her, but that her Heavenly Father loves her most of all. Even though she didn’t have an earthly father figure, God is everyone’s ultimate “daddy”. If she could remember this, then she would always know that in Christ there is nothing lacking in her life.

This is the story of camp. People come here and they are changed. They see God in a new light and He works in them in mighty ways. He brings friendships together and gives us the amazing gift of Christian fellowship. He uses the Bible studies, songs, and constant prayer times to connect with each camper and strengthen their faith. Being a former camper myself, I can testify to the effect camp has on the kids. They come in excited for the games and good food, but they leave with something that is much more, and that is a strengthened relationship with Him and memories that will last a lifetime. God uses Camp CILCA in great ways, and I am not only thankful for it in my life, but also in the lives of the hundreds of campers we have every year.

During my last 3rd-5th grade week of the summer, I met one of my most challenging campers. This camper was a somewhat melodramatic girl, who needed plenty of attention. Often, I found my patience tried as she quarreled with other girls, complained, or chose to ignore my instructions.

On one night, however, our cabin devotion went longer than usual, as my third graders got into an unusually deep conversation about salvation. The camper who had been a challenge spoke up and suddenly began to ask the cabin to pray for her dad, who didn’t believe in Jesus. My heart melted as she told me that she is trying hard to tell him about how much Jesus loves him. Then she asked if she could pray. My normally silly cabin folded their hands and listened to her pray sincerely and powerfully that God would help her dad understand Christ’s love. Her beautiful, child-like faith showed forth, reminding me of my purpose this summer; to let God use me as his tool to nurture that faith.

Thanks to my camper, God showed me once again how he is always there to help me gain new perspectives and to pull me through the summer’s challenges with His amazing love.

It was the first junior high week of the summer, and I was very excited for the different environment that camp takes on with the maturity and excitement that junior high campers bring. However, I was surprised Sunday night at how quiet and shy they seemed, and Monday before breakfast they weren’t much different. There was no four square, no knockout, no Little Sally Walker. Everyone was sitting quietly…until <name withheld> entered the picture. This four-foot-tall ball of energy appeared and seemed to bring everyone to life, including counselors. His jokes, smile, and general presence lit up whatever area he was in.

That morning after chapel, I found out I was to be his “mother.” For those that don’t know, at camp we have Biblogical families where the kids do Bible studies and different activities, and each family has counselors or junior counselors that serve as the mom and dad. I was a little nervous about all of his energy during these relatively calm Bible study times, but I soon realized that I would have the opportunity to see him use his energy in a completely different way. He was very interested, asked lots of question, and of course kept us all laughing.

The moment that sticks out most in my head, though, was after Thursday’s Bible study. We had talked a little about Underground Church each day during Bible study and all the kids seemed very excited. After the Bible study on Thursday, <name withheld> came up to me and started talking about how excited he was for it and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. On the paper was John 3:16 with a blank after “For God so loved…” and he told me he was going to use the guard’s name in the blank to tell them that God loved them. I smiled so big, knowing that this little goofball was so pumped about sharing God’s love and had put so much thought into it.
After Underground Church that night as we were walking to the Church, he found me and told me all about his opportunities to witness and his love for Jesus was so evident on his face, everyone could see it. I pray that every camper has that same opportunity at camp and gets the same joy from it and takes that joy of spreading the incredible news of Jesus Christ home with them and puts it into practice every day of their lives, because that’s what <name withheld> taught me to do, make that love evident in my words, my actions, my life, and just on my face all the time.

The summer was almost over… High School Camp, one of the most spiritually uplifting and most relaxing weeks a teenager can ever have was almost here. I, myself had been to Camp CILCA many times, but nothing could compare to High School Week. This year's high school week was going to be a little different though. Instead of being a camper with all of my friends, I was going to be a counselor. This meant that I wouldn't be able to stay in the same cabin with the friends that I have been with for around 10 years. I was able, through my role as counselor, to talk to my friends and meet all the new campers, however it still felt weird that I went into one cabin and my friends went into a different cabin every night. However, I knew that God had called me to do this and He had a reason for everything.

Thursday night was the night forUnderground Church; a simulation in which Christians (campers) go out and witness to Romans (counselors). After catching kids from my cabin and taking them to jail, the next group I caught was the group of my friends. There were about 5 or 6 of them who were all going to be freshman in college except for one. I had them witness to me as usual and then asked them the bible verse they were supposed to memorize in jail. The witnessing was fantastic and they all remembered the bible verse.

Then I asked them to tell me what that verse meant to them. They answered in such ways as even though were going to college God's plan hasn’t changed for us and we still are his chosen people that we may shine his light to everyone we come across, and that we will be with him in heaven one day. At that time I could tell that my friends were devout and this wasn’t just a simulation to them this was them telling a peer about their Lord and Savior. It brought tears to my eyes not being with them on our final chance to be Christians in this simulation together, but it also made me look forward to the day when we will all be reunited again as Christians in heaven.

“Without camp, I don’t know that I’d be here.” As I was talking to a camper during high school week, he told me just how thankful he was for camp. As we continued our conversation that night after chapel, our discussions covered many areas of life. He talked about how camp had allowed him to see the good side of things. He talked about how camp provided him with a positive group of peers, and how just in general, camp has had a positive influence on his life. He talked about resisting temptations, and learning to turn his troubles over to God. It is wonderful to hear how camp impacts individuals. Camp has had so many positive influences on my life, and it was great to discuss with a camper how camp has impacted them.

It was Explorers II week and I had a kid who was in first aid nearly everyday. One night I was in first aid for nearly 3 hours. My camper looked at me and said. “I think I should go home, I really do not want to, but I believe I am not allowing you to interact with the rest of our cabin enough. Here you sit and watch me, but out there you influence people about Jesus which is more important.”

I was blown away. I told him I really wanted him to stay so he could experience underground church. Underground church is a simulation we do to help kids witness about Jesus. The kids in the cabin who had been at camp before talked about underground church to him and he was getting really excited. One morning while in first aid he asked me to help him understand what witnessing was. I told him that you simply tell the people about John 3:16. I then explained to him how to explain things like grace, and sin to people who may not know.

That night he was able to go out and experience underground church. The next morning he told me about his experience and how he witnessed. He also told me he was really glad he got to stay.