Before getting to the Tall Oaks camp, I spent my home hospitality at a former Peace Intern’s home! It was so nice to meet Rev. Laura Phillips, and talk about what her summer as a peace intern looked like. On the Sunday before camp started, I went to church where Laura preaches, and I was welcomed with open arms and excitement! (Thank you Overland Christian Church for inviting me to worship with you all!!)
As a Disciples Peace Intern this summer, I have the most amazing opportunities to travel around the country and meet so many new people. Tall Oaks camp in the Kansas City larger region was the second church camp I traveled to. During a morning keynote on peace, I was left absolutely speechless. As a teenager, I was so passionate about justice and equality (and still am). But, sometimes the partisanship and blatant disrespect for human life that exists in our current political climate, the fight for justice and peace can be tiring and even feel impossible some days. While I get to be a Peace intern/ counselor this summer, I find that my internal flame of passion is reignited every day when I interact with youth. These young adults are SO passionate about racial justice, economic equity, environmental sustainability, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and overall inclusivity. I am very hopeful that youth will show up and show out and fight for peace and justice. I look at these teens and immediately see myself in their hopeful spirits and positive outlook on the future. I hear their conversations about the groups and ministries they are leading at home, and the feelings of frustration I have surrounding the current political atmosphere starts to turn into feelings of passion again.
Something that Tall Oaks does at every CYF camp is a night dedicated to line dancing and square dancing!! It was SO MUCH FUN! I learned the line dance to footloose, which I will definitely be bringing back home to my church camp (so get ready Laurelview)! Everyone dresses up for square dancing night and has such a good time. I may not have had boots with me, but I definitely jumped in and got to dancing. This was a unique experience that I will remember forever.
At this camp, campers and RYC members signed up for interest groups, and one of the activities was my workshop! Both days I got to do one of my workshops. Like at Kaleo, I chose to do my indoor activity because it was way too hot and humid outside to have the kids running around. I had the kids split up into 5 boxes that I had outlined on the floor in painters tape. I separated the campers and staff based on where they were from in the region; each box represented a different area of the region which separated them geographically. This activity is called “Don’t Put People in Boxes,” (which is linked in my DPS playlist!) where I would make a statement and if those within the boxes felt the statement resonated with them, they were to step into the middle of the room- leaving their boxes. After this activity, I went into a presentation about the Israeli occupation in Palestine. The point of this activity was to show how the Israeli occupation in Palestine is separating Palestinians into “boxes” which are represented by colored identification cards which designate where they are allowed to go. So many of the campers and young adults asked many insightful questions and connected how important not labeling people based on specific characteristics is. I was so proud to see how passionate these campers were once we started talking about this atrocity.
Many of the campers in this region grew up going to 8ers camp, and I learned so much from these kids! It was truly an amazing experience to speak with those who grew up going to a church camp where body positivity and inclusive sex education is made a priority. Through these conversations, my eyes were opened to how positive going to an 8ers camp can really be, especially in such a confusing time in a young person’s life. I felt it was important to mention this in my Tall Oaks blog because this camp is a true reflection of how inclusive conversations and open dialogue can be life changing for campers. I was so proud to be a part of these larger conversations and learn more about the curriculum of an 8ers camp!
Like many camps, Tall Oaks ended their camping week with a dance! Their dance was neon themed and everyone dressed up for a great cap to the week! There is a tradition at Tall Oaks where everyone signs up on a sheet of paper, and the RYC members split the group in half: half get asked to the dance, and the other half ask those to the dance. Everyone goes all out to support one another and it was so exciting to be invited to the dance with the sweetest sign and beautiful flowers!! Overall, my week at Tall Oaks was super fun, and I had the most amazing time being a counselor to some amazing campers!!
Snack update!!
Camp snack at Tall Oaks: Churros (which I sadly was not able to eat, however they smelled delicious)
Popcorn I tried from PopCulture in Kansas City: puppy chow popcorn and a kettle corn drizzled with white and dark chocolate