Friday at Camp

Today was the last day of 5th Session. Fridays at Camp are always an emotional time for both campers and staff members. After taking in Cross Devo on Thursday night, and not getting much sleep afterwards, Camp is in a different mood than it is any other time. Everyone is exhausted, especially in 2 week sessions. Friday morning has a since of finality to it. Instead of the excitement of the next great Camp moment being on everyone's mind, everyone knows that Camp is over. Cleaning up Camp becomes a priority. Right after Flag Pole Devo, all campers and staff member make a huge line that stretches all over Camp, and then walk across Camp picking up every piece of trash they see. Next, each cabin has to go to their camp improvement site to clean it up as good as they can. After all of this, then the campers finally have to go and pack up all of their stuff to take home. They have to clean the cabin, and make it look like it did when they first arrived. Sometime late in the morning, the campers start to see their families show up. The campers are both sad for having to leave Camp, but also excited because they get to see their family again. Finally the hardest part of Camp has arrived...having to say goodbye to so many good friends. The relationships that are established at Camp are unlike any other. The campers get to know each other so well after living close together for one or two weeks. The campers developed a strong bond with the staff that they have learned from and looked up to. Today it is much easier to for the campers to stay in contact with each other during the year, especially with email and Facebook. But it is still hard to say goodbye to so many good friends at once. As a camper, I know that I hated having to leave Camp, to go out into the real world. Campers today felt just like that. It is so easy to live the way God wants us to live when we are at Camp. It is much tougher to live like that in the real world. Today, just like most Fridays during the summer, campers have gone through the Camp Gates, and are back in the real world. They are fighting the Devil, and hopefully use the things that they learned during their time at Camp to defeat him. Friday's can be hard for the campers, but they also can signify a start to a life that serves God.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky