Back To Camp

I'm back Twinlow!

Staff training at its finest!

Let me just say, camp is the best. If you ever get the chance to work at camp or send your kids to camp please do so! It has been the most rewarding experience of my life and I would not be the person I am now without its influence.

My journey began here, in Idaho at Twinlow Camp. Because no journey starts out at the exciting destinations or locations. My transformation didn't start in Mexico or Costa Rica. It started at home, with the first step of faith.

Last year, I graduated from college with little to no expectation for my future. The job market wasn't promising. I wasn't good enough to get the Fulbright so I clearly wasn't going to be getting any jobs or fully paid grad school packages. So I didn't bother applying. I stuck with something I knew I couldn't fail at.

Because I had applied to Twinlow before, and though the first time my family's vacation trip got in the way of me being hired, I had a pretty good idea that they would take me if I applied that summer. It was the back-up plan, because I thought I for sure would get the Fulbright and be going to Mexico come August. Then, when I didn't, it became the resigned choice because I couldn't imagine achieving higher. I had the same ideas about camp as everyone else.

Camp? You're working at camp? So you basically get to mess around with kids every day? How is that work? How is that ministry?

Mohawk Walk on Challenge Course

Little did I know.

Camp? I grew little kids' self-esteem, gave pep talks, taught about the Bible in practical ways, and encouraged teamwork. I worked and lived side-by-side with my fellow counselors and in the process learned about teams myself. I can stand on tables and command the attention of 200 people.

Camp? I can rescue campers when their boat has blown off course and they can't make it back to shore. I can deal with drama or manage conflict with my peers in a way that still promotes friendship and considers the best interest of the campers.

Camp? I can go from six in the morning till midnight, corralling campers, making sure activities and meals start on time, make up a new game or challenge on the fly because things don't go as planned. And now, as a leader, I can manage the task of leading by example while still juggling my own job tasks. Camp? Camp!

Camp? I worked at camp and found myself.

Twinlow became the place where my identity became more than my academic accomplishments. Instead of my performance being the sole focus, my personality traits were the only skills I needed. I only had to be myself - dramatic, enthusiastic, dedicated, forever willing heart - and everything else fell into place.

YWAM continued that transformation, no doubt. I learned so much about myself as I pressed into God, am still learning so much as God continues to push me out of my comfort zones and encourages me to grow. I can see his hand on me as I step into my role here at camp. I can see where he wants to change me. And it's an exhilarating process.

But it all began here, at camp. Where I learned I wasn't alone in my hunger for Christ, where I learned I could just be myself and that was enough, where I learned the meaning of community and how that relates to the body of Christ.

So I'm back. Back at camp, back doing something I fell in love with. Back to pushing myself to the limits and finding ways to accomplish the impossible. Back to nature, God's first gift to us, and encouraging myself and others to press into what God has for us. It's going to be a great summer. It's going to be a transforming summer. And I cannot wait.

Freezing our butts off during lifeguard training

God is moving, all the time. God is good, all the time. God is faithful, all the time. Amen.