Living The Camp Life

It was college spring break and with no money or plans, I tagged along with my parents to the annual Christian camping conference. I spent most of the week walking along Lake Michigan, napping, laughing with camp staff and attending sessions.

At the time I had no plans of someday joining the ranks of full-time Christian camping professionals but God did. So here I am, 8 years later (8 years?! How did I get so OLD?!) attending that same conference.
So... a few highlights!

We're camp people. It's what we do. 

1. This year I was asked to present a seminar! And not just one but two, one with a co-worker and one on my own. I struggled with feeling inadequate and unqualified until some wise people spoke truth over my insecurity and challenged me to banish those thoughts. The preparation process was BRUTAL. February and March are typically 2 of the hardest months of the year for a myriad of reasons and this year has been even harder than I anticipated.

I tend to have high expectations for myself and as a result I burned more emotional energy worrying and fretting about doing the workshop well than actually preparing. In the end both seminars went so well and I loved teaching. The response from other attendees was really positive and affirming. Yay!

Title slide from my workshop on theme integration in camping ministry. The whole workshop was spy themed.  

2. It's a family business. If Christian camping had celebrities, my dad would be one. Having both my parents, sister and even my Nana also working at Christian camps meant they were at the conference. My sweet Nana even came to my workshop to support and cheer for me!

3. Unique friendships and heart to hearts. Beth is a friend I met through the camp world. We were both women who started as program directors and got married in the same year. Now she's moved up to an Associate Director and has a baby but the chance to sit down and talk over a meal once (or maybe twice if we're lucky) a year is one of the most life-giving moments of the conference. She just gets it in a way that others can't. Melissa was an intern at the camp where I work when I first got here. She met her husband here and now they both work full-time at another camp, just like my hubby and I. We had a ton of time to talk, laugh, reminisce and encourage one another. We even planned a summer camping trip together! Woohoo!

That's the beauty of the camp world, we're not competitors or rivals, we're supporters, cheerleaders and coaches. There are former neighbors, mentors, babysitters, and co-workers who have moved into another ministry and we get to sit down and connect. It's the body of Christ in the truest sense.

Do you have connection points? Friends in your same stage of life that you can connect with? It's worth it. I'm thankful for this life-giving break in the midst of a crazy season.