Camp Week #1 took me to a 40-acre campground, featuring hiking trails, hammock pavilions, and countless water sports along the beach of Kentucky Lake. This camp has an activity for everyone, whether it's outdoor table tennis, gaga ball, tetherball, four square, fishing, canoeing, sailing, basketball, or a craft in the most organized recreational space I've ever seen...if you guessed that I was talking about Camp Kum-Ba-Ya, you would be correct!
My week at KBY was nothing short of special, where I was welcomed into a tight-knit group of Chi Rho campers and their stellar staff. We kicked off on Sunday night with counselor training and worship, where we left our apprehensions for the week behind and turned our focus to the camp's theme: Faithful Fruit, emphasizing nine fruits of the spirit that would guide our curriculum each day.
On the topic of fruit, I would be remiss not to leave a special thanks here for KBY's kitchen extraordinaire, Ellie, who went above and beyond feeding us home cooked meals every day. She even went out of her way to make me my own individual entrees on days where my dietary restrictions would have limited my choices. I can't say enough "thank you’s” for how Ellie made me feel so welcomed and overly accommodated. P.S.: Ellie, if you ever release your secret turkey roast recipe...please call me first!!!
Anyways...
KBY was a week that balanced comforting camp traditions with exciting new experiences. I enjoyed learning new campfire songs and singing the ones I grew up hearing, playing familiar games as well as navigating the rules of "blob tag" (a game that truly builds teamwork), and even found time to sit on the beach reading a book, followed by a sailboat ride! Truthfully, there is no time for boredom when you're at Camp Kum-Ba-Ya!
The last full day at camp was one for the books, with a number of KBY traditions on the schedule to end the week with a bang. Campers and counselors alike spent much of their spare moments writing "Warm Fuzzies" for one another, which are kind notes to those who impacted our week. Each camper and staff member designed a bag with their name on it, hung it up, and patiently waited as the bags filled up with letters of gratitude and appreciation. Opening my Warm Fuzzy bag was the perfect close to a week spent building new friendships. We wrapped up the day with a major beach party, where canoes were filled to the brim with ice, desserts, and sodas that the campers were thrilled to see, hot dogs were roasted on the campfire, glow sticks illuminated the lake for night swimming, and all of the favorite songs were sung as loud as can be. If I could guess, I would say everyone went to bed that final night exhausted and filled with joy. I sure did.
Thank you KBY for the perfect start to my summer! I am grateful for the connections I made, the things I learned, and of course, for their newly installed air conditioning!
Peace!