Conclusion of Summer Camp 2009
August 26, 2009
"...we owe the camp and the counselors a HUGE thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for showing [our son] a great time, giving praise to God in a fun way, and getting him to branch out, and step out of his box. It was the best experience for all of us. "
Just as quickly as it came, our 2009 summer camp session is over. We have had one of our best programming summers to date this year and we owe it to our wonderful staff. Our tremendous summer staff of Rev. Timothy Kidd, Ph.D., Christina Benoit, Justin Lopez, and Laura Nieves proved to be absolutely outstanding. The relationships and special memories they have created will live forever in our campers' hearts. One family had to said about the effect our program had on their child:
"...Well, I emailed our son twice and had cards in his bag to open almost daily. The cards were funny or religious based with notes to remind him that God is always with him, that we were praying for his safety and a safe return home, as well as to have a ton of fun. He said he would write to us at least twice, but the letters never came. Well, once we picked him up, we quickly learned why the letters never arrived. Our son was having TOO MUCH FUN! During the slide show presentation, our son held back tears because he didn't want camp to come to an end. The whole way home, (which was 2 and a half hours) our son was non-stop chatter about his week at camp, the friends he made, the songs they sang, the activities they did, the cold water in the pool, dressing up like a girl, the counselors teasing them about not knowing what a smore was, blind folded sit ups (hook, line, and sinker for sure), waking up at 12:30 am to look at planets and stars, mountain boarding, banana split slip and slide, having to sing or tell a joke if they got mail (if I only knew that, I would have emailed more:).
We were hoping that our son walked away with a positive experience, but Camp Reynoldswood and the counselors superseded our expectations. Our hope was that camp would help him be more independent, confident, and force him into situations where he had to try new things, be open minded about participating, and making new friends as that has been difficult for him to do. Again, we feel our son is so much more confident and he mentioned how it was not hard to make new friends. He also mentioned he felt like a big kid being "on his own." So, again, you superseded our expectations. We also hoped was that he would want to go again and when asked, he said "yes" very quickly. He said, "I want to go back to the same camp, with the same friends, and have Justin as my camp counselor." We informed him that it would be unlikely and he said, "Well, I still want to go back." He also announced today in church how much fun he had and how he can't wait to go back next year. Our pastor said maybe he could be the recruiter for next year to get more kids to go and he agreed."
From horseback riding to interactive Bible study activities, our campers received a wide variety of programming. While the kids had a great time being engaged in traditional camp activities like archery, water sports, canoeing, hiking, and campfires, we also helped them learn teamwork and communication skills through a variety of challenge course activities. But most importantly, our campers also got to experience God through perhaps the most important event of our summer curriculum, the Thursday night prayer walk.
The prayer walk included six reflection/prayer stops along the way to the candle-lit cross and final campfire of the week, where the campers were told a story and then proceeded to burn their burdens (which were written down earlier in the day). Often times, the prayer walk was so solemn, the only sound you could hear at the campfire was the crackling of the logs in the fire. The spiritual effect our counselors had upon the campers this summer is undeniable. One camper wrote to us:
"The best thing about camp and what it means to me is the love for Christ. I love the fact that there are counselors who love going to camp and playing with us. The best part is that they love God like when they shared their testimony and how God changed their lives."
This summer has been one of learning, praising, and fun. Even now while we are reflecting on an amazing summer, we are beginning to look at how next summer can be even better. We would like to thank all of our staff, campers, and parents who have helped us to make this an unforgettable summer. We couldn't have asked for a better group of kids to work with. Thanks for coming to see us and letting us show you the joy that is Christian camping. Visit our website to see the calendar for next summer!
God Bless,
Joshua Easton
Program Director, ORM
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