Refuge

High School Summer Camp 

It was a few days before we were going to leave for Summer Camp and the buzz was all OREGON! Everyone was excited to see the new place, since most of the group had never been out of the "friendly" confines of California. However, there was also a since of hesitancy from some of the students, mostly because of how poor last years camp was at Sierra Pines. So we entered the week with eager anticipation, which was met at the door by a fear of the unknown! 

After a quick 6 hour drive we arrived at Mountain Lakes Bible Camp on Sunday evening and were greeted by a kissThe Trip NORTH! of God's divine creation. The air was cool, but the combination of fresh mountain air, pine trees, and being in the absolute middle of nothing, was enough for the anticipation to continue to build with the students. Most of the students and leaders looked around and tried to figure out whether everything I told them was actually true. Some checked out the field to see if there really was grass, some ran straight for the cabins to see just how "rustic" they were. Others just got to work as we had a lot to do that evening to get ready for the camp to start on Monday morning. The list of to do's was long, but the drive and focus was unmatched. 

While many of the students go settled into their cabins and ran off a little traveling energy (including an incredibly technical game of kick-ball in the dark), the worship band got to work. While lots of hands make the work light, we spent the next several hours setting up, running chords, getting the sound, video, and lighting all set up and practicing for the week ahead! After months of preparation and planning, the time had now come for camp to begin.

Monday morning came fast, since most students couldn't shut their brains down until well after midnight. Some cabins were lucky to get any sleep (a theme that would continue throughout the week). However, everyone was bright eyed come 8 AM! An extravagant continental feast of cereal, including the likes of Coco Puffs, Rice Krispies, and Honey Nut Cheerios, greeted us in the Dinning Hall!

Over the next several hours everyone else arrived for camp, including another group from Sacramento and

 many students from around the Klamath Falls area. All in all, 92 students and around 20 adults were all rested up and ready for a fantastic week of camp. The only disappointing thing was that we were blessed by a bit of Northwesterly weather as the rain had come to join the party. While the rain would hang with us for the next several days, it had no impact on the excitement of all the students as camp began! 

We had our typical welcome chapel, which consisted of a few songs and our ever friendly "welcome, glad your here. Don't be dumb and we won't have to have any 'you were dumb and now we have to send you home' conversation" talk.   They must have listened, because apart from a few small problems, no one was sent home and no one was sent to the hospital. A few were sent to Kevin Jones to get fixed up, which is as good as a visit to your local hospital, only without the $1000 bill and lack of customer service.  

The day continued with a delicious lunch, impossible camp picture, and few classic field games, including Flag TagYes, this is a hot dog."YOU'RE OUT!" and Ultimate Hot Dog. While most students assumed that games with Football Flags and Hot Dogs would be lame, they actually looked like they were having a good time! 

After the field activities it was free time! The pool was available (though empty on such a cold day), the snack shop was hopping, the climbing wall was open, sling shot paintball was in full swing, and students could do leather art and games in Dinning Hall! Other were content to get a group of students together to play volleyball, shoot hoops, or just take a nap. All in all, we were all hungry and ready when dinner rolled around at 6 pm! Never had home made pizza and salad seemed some good!

After fueling back up, it was chapel time! "Tara and The Boys" as Jeremiah "the speaker" called them, led a great time of worship through music and prayer and them it was time to get to know our speaker. The reality was that Jeremiah was someone who was recommended to me by a fellow youth guy and so I had no way of knowing how good or not good of a communicator he was. We would soon find out that he had a passionate and warmJeremiah Aja aka "the speaker" way of communicating God's truth in such a way that it stuck with you. He was a phenomenal communicator and incredible speaker!

Our theme for the week was "The Great Reversal" and the heart of the week was to change students perspectives from seeing themselves through the way the world sees them and start seeing themselves through the way God views them. 

Jeremiah gave us two examples of how we can live. The first is by trying to seek the approval of man and live the "social pyramid." The result is that while we may be seen as popular or successful now, ultimately that path will lead to pain and eternal consequences. The second way he talked about living is in light of Philppians 2, where Christ humbled himself to the point of death and as a result, he was exalted by God. In essence we have to choose what we want our journey to be. 

In light of this theme, Jeremiah hit on topics like, "You are God's BeloVed," "You are InVited to the Celebration Party," "God is a God of Grace," and that we are often "Envious of God's Generosity." We see time and time again that God isn't fair and this is a beautiful reality for those of us who can Him Lord.  Chapels were a huge highlight of the week and everyone walked away from the week challenged in their faith and the life they live. 

Soon after chapel got out and the students had a chance to go back to their cabin's and talk about the message, it was night game time! Monday Night's game was an MLBC classic, Counselor Hunt. We gave all the staff random point values and made it a battle of the classes, the class with the most points wins. Some leaders were pretty creative with how to hid. Some leaders buried themselves in brush (only to get stepped on), some stuffed themselves in trash cans (only to despise this choice), and others just hid in plain site, just so they could get out of the rain. Once most everyone was found it was bed time and a chance to sleep after a long day of camp! 

Most of the week was just like monday. Fun activities, great worship, powerful speaking, free time, night games, and getting to know new friends. However, we took a major detour on wednesday and headed up to the Rouge River for a day of rafting! This would be a huge highlight of the week, but most of our students shivered at the sound of getting thrown into and splashed by 52 degree water. While the water was cold, outside it was a perfect 85 degrees. For about three hours, students  and leaders soaked each other, paddled until their arms fell off, and were occasionally assaulted by friendly trees.

One time in particular, my boat decided that we should go right at the split rather then left (like I encouraged). I said, "if we go right, we will end up in the trees!" They thought that sounded like fun even thought I told them the trees always win. So we went right and went straight into the branches of a group of low hanging trees. Fortunately everyone got down into the boat and no one was hurt, but it is often wise to listen to those who might know best. 

There were many other highlights of the week and most of them revolved around how God was working and moving in the lives of the students. There is something powerful about seeing God get ahold of a student's life and start to shape them into the man or women that He desires for them to be. It is like the beautiful analogy that we often see through scripture about the potter and the clay. Some times we just need to take ourselves out of our normal world and into the beauty of God's creation in order to be softened up a bit. Life experience has a way of hardening us to the reality of God's ever present work in our lives and camp can serve as a means to awakening His work in us. 

Thursday night around the camp fire was one of those memorable times when you get to sit back and listen to the stories of lives that will never be the same again. During that time students shared about camp. Some talked about relationships that were restored and others about their new best friends. Some students shared how they finally got a glimpse of what the Creator of the Universe thinks about them. Some just told crazy stories and made us laugh as they recalled the memories that were made at camp. Most of all, we got to sit around as the body of Christ and unashamedly share in one of the most beautiful and spontaneous times of music worship I had ever been a part of. Students shared an overwhelming excitement for their God, their Lord, their Lover, and their Father. 

It will be hard to top this year at camp ever again, but that is what makes camp so beautiful! It is not about having the best time, the funniest memories, the craziest stories, or the worst sleep ever. It is simply about pointing students toward The Great Unchangeable I am, who is InViting us to join Him at the greatest celebration of all time, eternity. That feast may include thousands of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or endless bowls of lucky charms. However, the only thing that maters is that you show up ready to be once again blown away by the God of grace who calls us His beloVed.