So this week was one for the books! We started out on Sunday, expecting to welcome campers to CYF 1 but were surprised with two separate fires close to the camp that closed the roads and made it unsafe for travel. So the directors, staff, and counselors came together to make sure every camper had a place to sleep, since many were already close to camp anyways, and delayed starting camp until Monday afternoon.We sadly lost a day, but quickly made up for it by literally hitting the ground running! This week was a whirlwind of new things and experiences for me. We did counselor bonding by climbing a tree, no really! This was awesome!
We were harnessed to ropes and repelled up and down a tree named Mr. Majestic. We also did a whole group hike on Wednesday, eating a picnic lunch at the top and venturing to see a waterfall. There was a log roll in the pool, which was super hard! It’s a log in the water that you can stand on and run on to move it (kinda like a cartoon) and it was really tough! We went on an optional sunrise hike Friday morning to Sam’s Peak, and it was pretty strenuous! I was really scared of falling off the side of the mountain at some parts, but we all made it up and down in one piece, and the view at the top was so beautiful! Finally, we did a wall climb. This wall was 12 feet tall and we had to get all of the campers, some of the staff, and counselors over it! Good gracious it was hard!
This week was so physically taxing and I have so many new bumps and bruises, but I also have so many amazing memories!So why do all these crazy things you may ask? Well, the theme of the week was “All Things New”, so how perfect was it that almost everything about the activities and the schedule was new?! This was a learning experience for everyone and the two directors of the camp, Sloan and Matt did a great job at incorporating the theme and making sure everyone was taken care of. The keynoter, Rev. BJ Barlow also had some fantastic keynotes and brought up many new ideas that I know I am still mulling over!
I led a workshop on what DPF is and then we discussed what Human Rights are. This was a great activity and the campers were really engaged and interested in the topics that were brought up. Many questions were answered, but some were left unanswered for the campers to continue to think about. We discussed why human rights are violated and what they, as young adults, can do in their school and communities to promote the things they find important or to address the injustices they see. Overall, the activity was received very well and I loved talking about these issues with the campers.
Loch Leven is a beautiful camp, filled with such a strong community, and I am so glad I was able to be a part of this family for a week! I made some new friends, learned a lot of new things about myself and where I feel pulled, and the new experiences I now have sure outnumber the mosquito bites, bruises and scrapes I have! Thanks Loch Leven for restoring my faith in my journey and for opening new doors to all the possibilities that lay before me.