I got horribly lost on my way to Camp Wakon’Da-Ho.
Camp WKDH's vespers site! This was taken after my small group's vespers. Great job gang!
I was already running late because 1) I’m notoriously bad at time management, and 2) I had to turn around on my way out of town to retrieve my pillow, which I had forgotten. I was making good time—and feeling pretty proud of myself for making it through the Mad-Max-esque traffic of Louisville—when I turned onto what I thought was the entrance road to camp WKDH.
When I found myself at the end of the road in a field full of white butterflies, and no camp, I figured that something was up.
SOMEHOW, I had ended up 25 minutes away from the ACTUAL camp WKDH. I blame Apple maps. The address WAS correct, but it was also decidedly NOT the correct address. With the help of Brian, Ashlyn, and WKDH co-director Cameron, I eventually made it to camp WKDH…over 30 minutes late. Luckily the pizza had not yet arrived, so it was all good.
At first, I experienced some minor “camp culture shock.” Wakon’Da-Ho did things differently than I remembered doing things back at Bedford. (It had also been several years since I had been at camp, and it took some time to get back into the swing of things.) However, I decided to approach it all with an open mind, and I did my best to adjust and fit in well as a counselor. It didn’t help that I was constantly mistaken for a camper by campers and counselors alike! It turns out that at WKDH, you have to be 4 years out of college before you can counsel CYF camps, so I was a much younger counselor than campers were used to. It did make presenting myself as an authority figure a bit difficult. (I also don’t have much practice being an authority figure to younger people in the first place.)
But I soon warmed up to the camp, and I think the camp warmed up to me. I especially loved the camp’s closing circle nighttime ritual; you could really sense the love there. I also loved how open and supportive all the campers were! It was so heartening to hear all the campers that went out of their way to thank me for my workshop. I was nervous about it, and all their feedback was really, really great. There was a lot of sincerity among the campers, and I really appreciated seeing that.
As the week went on, I was really able to see how much love existed at Camp WKDH. Love between people, love for God, and love for the camp. It was a very familial atmosphere, and I really enjoyed being a part of it! I especially warmed up to the camp after a very emotional vespers service near the end of the week. I saw how the camp came together to lift up and support one another, and I was so proud and happy to see it. See, for me — that’s camp. In my mind, camp is a safe space where love abounds, and people can find refuge and solace away from the pressures of “the real world.” I saw that in practice at Wakon’Da-Ho, and it made me love that camp. In fact, I felt more emotional than I had anticipated after leaving the camp. Camp Wakon’Da-Ho was clearly beloved by the campers and the staff, and after spending a week there, I can see why. Thank you for having me WKDH! You’ve got some really great campers, and some exceptional counselors/staff as well!