I have been a big lover of and believer in summer camp since I went with a friend at age 13. I returned eight summers to this camp—Deerfoot Lodge in New York, where I attended, volunteered, or worked for anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months of the summer. God used that camp as a very powerful tool for spiritual growth in my life.

A good friend of mine described the importance of returning to summer camp every year. “As a young teenager, fun was the driver for going to camp. By my sophomore year in high school, camp was like a trail marker or sign post I passed annually on my spiritual journey. Each summer I'd answer the question, ‘This summer, am I closer to God or am I farther away?’”

Camp is powerful. I believe camp provides many of benefits to a kid’s life, but the top three are character development, biblically-based leadership development, and Christian faith and spiritual formation. But, the list of ways camp invests in kids’ lives is long. I actually really enjoy reading about the benefits of camp, and how deeply transformational the experience are, things like being in creation, connecting with Christian young adult role models, living in close community and learning to work together, opportunities for encouraging and challenging, measured increases in a child asserting independence, learning to take initiative, among so many other benefits. 

This MidWeek is a testimony and a thank you. First of all a thank you to each person that is part of the Harbert Body, because you are so supportive of this wonderful ministry. Because of past and present generosity, we are able to support kids and families who might have concerns over the financial part of camp. We even assist friends of kids in our church, and find it a true joy to bless families that way. This midweek includes testimony, because a few of our students wrote some words about their time at camp so that you might hear, first hand, how their lives were impacted by camp. Those words are below. 

But, I also wanted to share that this coming Sunday (Sept 20), we will invite all the students who went to camp this summer to come up front and share a brief word if they would choose. We will also get to see for ourselves some of the fun these kids had this past summer… 

Here’s what the campers had to say:

Reid and Wade had the best time at camp. Thank you so much to your church for supporting them (Wade attended the 2-day Pathfinders). They are both talking about wanting to go back next year. Reid liked learning more about God, the songs, and all of the fun games! Wade loved the sports, learning from Jerry Jacoby (the speaker), and spending time with his friends. Thanks again to your church for their generosity.  (Keri Haskins, on behalf of Reid and Wade)

The best part of camp: I think the best part of camp is chapel. First, you learn all about the bible. Next, you get to sing songs about God. Last, you can hear funny and just plain nice stories about the speaker. Now that you know my favorite part of camp, I can’t wait to go next year. (Clara Fast)

Nathan shared that he enjoys playing 'Braveheart' at camp as it is his favorite game (you’ll have to get the details on the game from him). He is also comfortable talking about how he made a decision to have Christ in his life! (Again, he isn’t forthcoming with details, but it is a great chance to start a conversation with him.) (Julie Pfaff, on behalf of Nathan)

My favorite part about camp is chapel. I like chapel because you get to sing songs and talk to God. In my point of view, the best part of chapel is listening to the speaker Jerry Jacoby. He has two little chicken puppets named Elmer (male) and Popcorn (female). These two fun puppets have “problems” that help with understanding things that we learn in chapel. Jerry also is good at telling stories and “bad jokes”. He even sits with different cabins for meals so he can hear “free” jokes. He always tries to sit with every cabin in one camp week/weekend. I loved camp and can’t wait to go back! (Summer Fast)

Mitchell has not been so open in sharing his camp discussions and experiences. Julie shared, a bit tongue and cheek, perhaps 8th graders just don't like to admit to having emotions of any kind (at least my kid doesn't). Despite keeping some things inside, Mitch has said that he would spend the entire summer at camp if he could. He's shared he may even being interested in S.W.I.M (students working in ministry) Team when he's in high school. He loves it up there. Julie was excited to share that later in the summer, when they went up to Onekema, Mitch showed her an Artesian Well he had learned about on the north side of Portage Lake that has been used by locals since Indian times. (Julie Pfaff, on behalf of Mitchell)

See you all Sunday!
Jesse