Thank You 2015 Staff

2015 Staff Photo

Dear 2015 Staff,

This is my last chance to talk to you. This is my final blog post of the summer and I’d like to take a minute to say thank you. Many of you came to camp as strangers, not sure what to expect. Some of you flew across the country with little certainty you’d make a home here. Some of you came for the fifth time, worried that the new staff wouldn't fit in. Some came to camp and they weren't sure if they belonged and some came knowing that camp was home. When you came to camp you came as a group of young adults from different backgrounds, here for a variety of reasons, but you leave in a very different manner.

We accomplished a lot this summer. We served over 800 campers and baptized 10 people, including one of our own. We graduated staff training and passed the general certification test. We taught campers to swim, climb, skate, act, drive and most importantly, love the lord.

We do a lot of things at camp. We act in outpost, we teach in our activity areas, we counsel, we forget what its like to be among adults, we spend time with campers and help our fellow staff. We lose sleep, we work hard ,we eat way too much jello, but more than anything, We Change Lives.

At the beginning of the summer I told you that the most important decision you would make was to walk through the door and leave your lives behind in favor of working at camp. At the end of the summer I told you that the most important thing you did was not leave. 

I was wrong.

The most important thing you did this summer was the work you did each and everyday to change the hearts, minds and lives of our campers. Its painfully obvious that we couldn't have camp without you, but its easier to forget that, in many cases, our campers wouldn't have Jesus without you.

I want to thank each and every one of you for every sleepless night,  every drop of sweat, every callused finger, every blister and every day you gave up this summer to minister to our children. Thank you for the memories and the relentless willingness to serve. I’m not blind or naive enough to think you didn't give up a lot to be here. We could have made more money elsewhere, we might even have more fun elsewhere, but you came here. 

Its hard to remember those first two days of camp when i didn't know your names. Its hard to remember how life works down the mountain and its hard to remember a day without you all, but it will be hard to forget you. We came to the mountain as strangers, but we are leaving as a massive family. 

Thank you,                                                                         Your friend, Colin