Guest Post by Melissa Bouma, Staff Associate for Eastern Ottawa Young Life, who served as Co-Camp Director for Fall Weekend in December 2023
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO CAMP?
It was last May as all the Camp Directors sat around a table with schedules and names and began to brainstorm fall and winter weekends for the Western Great Lakes Region campers. To the drawing board we sketched and with heads bowed we prayed for God’s leading for these weekends and for teams to come together.
Speakers. Music. Program Team. Head Leaders. Work Crew. I could go on.
We prayed and prayed for God to put the right people in place. We asked and asked and invited and invited. So many people are invited into the mission of Young Life camping.
Every. Single. Weekend.
You see, Young Life camping isn’t a traditional cookie cutter, peel and stick camping experience where we schedule a date and just show up with a group of kids. No, our teams and leaders and communities are intricately involved in the crafting of the experience.
My co-Camp Director and I prayed and God provided. The team started taking shape, our first “yes” from a Young Life staffer I had met a year ago from Harlem, NY. “Yes” he’d come and share the Gospel with nearly 400 high schoolers! Then our Musicians, a beautiful young married couple said “yes” they’d share their gift of music. Then our Program Team, two that had never met before, individually said “yes” they’d work together via long distance to create their “funny” for months before meeting.
God IS FAITHFUL
We prayed and we prayed for months as leaders invited students, talked to parents, promoted camp at clubs, connected with students and encouraged these kids they care about so much to spend a weekend with them. For some students it took until the very last minute to commit.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO CAMP?
It takes a movement of the Holy Spirit. It takes the power of God to work the details and stir hearts.
Friday night, December 1, we had 383 excited, anxious, nervous, ecstatic students and leaders check into Timber Wolf Lake for the best weekend of their lives. From Forest Hills, to Rockford, to Fremont, to Lowell-Saranac, to Central GR, to Boyne, and to Eastern Ottawa. As the students went to cabins to get settled and have some free time, we rallied all the leaders for a meeting.
“Are you yoked to Christ?” I asked as we read Matthew 11:28-30. We learned that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We didn’t have to do this weekend in our own strength, no matter what we are carrying into the weekend. Then after some introductions they were off.
Basketball, volleyball, table tennis, pool, bean bags, laughter, joy, expectation. For just under 48 hours students and leaders were enjoying their undivided time together.
Walls coming down, relationships building up.
WE MADE IT TO CAMP.
Through the weekend we were challenged by our speaker to see ourselves not as Jesus in the text but as the leper and as the lame man. We are those in need of the healing that Jesus had to offer. He came for us, will we receive him? Do we want to get well? Our sin is a condition that behavior modification alone will not fix, we are in need of healing for the condition that we cannot provide. Only Jesus can. Will we say yes to Jesus?
Story after story began to roll in of cabin times where students said, “yeah, I want that. I want to live differently!” Entire cabins of guys in tears. Another whole cabin giving a thumbs up when asked if they want to grow closer to Jesus. Stories of Capernaum campers really engaging because the speaker used videos and good visuals that made the Gospel more accessable for them and they could share more easily.
This is why we plan and prepare and pray for students to encounter Jesus, so our Jenison crew can hang out all day long without the interruption of phones and make bracelets and do crafts and share meals together. So Hudsonville guys can Axe bomb their rooms and have baskeball tournaments. So Allendale students can wear their Christmas Pj’s to brunch and sing at the top of their lungs at the club. So Unity girls can share their sweet treats during late night cabin time talks. So the Capernaum clan can dance with absolute joy during club songs and yell out their thoughts during the club talks and express their delight.
It was worth every minute of planning, every email, every meeting, every chaotic pivot, it was worth every call over the walkie-talkie, every late night room sweep, every effort to keep kids safe and accounted for.
As we gathered up the Head Leaders for one last debrief after all the buses left camp at 12:19pm on Sunday afternoon, we praised God for the fact we just sent all these students home WITH their leaders to continue in relationship with God and eachother.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO CAMP?
Holy Spirit Power
What does it take to be at camp?
Holy Spirit Power
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU GET HOME FROM CAMP?
Take a long nap and ask for Holy Spirit Power to plan the next one…
