We close out the Summer 2019 blog series with a few final highlights and pictures from camp. Whether it was at a high school outreach camp, WyldLife camp for middle schoolers, YoungLives or Capernaum camp, wilderness backpacking, or Young Life discipleship opportunities, kids and leaders continue to tell us how camp was the best week of their life.
As we shift from summer mode into fall, we celebrate how God worked in and through us this summer. We give thanks for the 1,087 kids & leaders who experienced a week at Young Life camp. Not included in that number are the 86 others from the region who filled camp roles on Assignment Teams, Summer Staff, and Work Crew. What an incredible summer of travel, service, outreach, and discipleship!
Marquette Young Life (pictured above) took high school friends to Young Life camp for the first time. Area Director John Balmat shared, “A cabin of boys and their leaders went to Castaway Club in Minnesota; the quotes below are just a few of the highlights that were overheard and experienced.”
“Does it seriously get better than this throughout the week? I feel like I got my money’s worth already!”
“I don’t know much about Jesus but I know this is the first place I’ve felt comfortable talking with people about him.”
“Thank you for making Marquette Young Life a thing. I can already tell that our lives won’t be the same.”
Fremont WyldLife (pictured dreaming of camp above) also had their first-ever summer camp trip. Church Partner Kyle Mullin shared: “We maxed out our trip at the last second, and it was a truly amazing experience to be a part of something new for Fremont! To quote one of our students talking to his mom while picking him up,
“They were right! It really was the best week of my life! Can I start going to WyldLife when we get back?”
Southwest Michigan Young Life (pictured above at Timber Wolf) shared: “We had an amazing summer! With three camp trips in June and July, we took over 90 leaders and kids to three different Young Life properties. Camp is a device-free zone and allows kids the opportunity to get messy, be loud, try new things, and most importantly, hear about God’s great love for them! We wish we could share every story from every camper on the trip, but here’s just a few…”
Yei-Rin Han from Eastern Ottawa Young Life participated in the Student Leadership Project this summer. Yei-Rin is a recent graduate from Jenison High School. She writes,
“Being accepted to be a part of SLP, Student Leadership Project, was genuinely life-changing in ways that I did not expect. I was surrounded by people my age from communities all across the country that were incredibly different from mine—with diverse cultures, ethnicities, and experiences. SLP truly allowed me to widen my lens by acknowledging my awareness of unique cultures, and it was a safe environment where we could honestly ask each other questions about our backgrounds. My faith and relationship with God has expanded because of the specific activities that were illustrated throughout the 10 days I spent in Downtown GR, Chicago, and at the beach by Lake Michigan. Not to mention the intimate bonds I created with the other student leaders while I was there. SLP was a surreal adventure that will forever impact how I strive to be as a servant of God.”
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