This past week, I had the pleasure to be at Camp Christian right outside of Gordon, GA. Yes, this place was humid beyond belief for someone who is used to a very dry climate. But, I made the best of it (I think)! I know I complained about being hot ALL the time and then too cold when the air conditioning kicked on, but that’s really beside the point.
Camp Christian has a wonderful reputation within the Disciples community and everyone told me that it would be a great camp. It was. I met some amazing individuals who were so enthusiastic about camp and about the community. The campers were so intelligent and kind and were very involved in the workshops I provided. I had some tough topics to discuss and with each new workshop, I was surprised at the level of interest and involvement from the campers. They really helped to make me feel comfortable and welcome at camp. They even posed their own questions and even though I didn’t have all the answers, it spurred some great discussions.
I never felt like an outsider because the counselors were so good at keeping me involved. They always made sure I had everything I needed and taught me about the finer point of Georgian culture. Such as that the Cracker Barrel is the bee’s knees and Pimento cheese is good on anything, literally anything. I learned that I don’t really like grits and I am kind of bored with sandwiches for lunch. I also got praise from the campers. They said I was like Cheers wine (a soda pop from North Carolina) with the reason being that even though I wasn’t from Georgia, everyone loved me anyways. This affirmation helped to round out an overall wonderful week!The Directors put on a wonderful camp this year and incorporated the theme “Power Up” seamlessly! The Rev. Dr. Richard Voelz provided the keynotes, and I looked forward to his message each day. He discussed what happens when we actually start to listen to the Spirit and what happens when we are encouraged to seek out change and make a difference. He discussed the effects of poverty and hunger and how we need the fruits of the Spirit to lead fulfilling and meaningful lives, and finally how the wounded can become healers. The keynotes tied into all of my workshops and it was such a blessing to be able to discuss both my topic of the day and the keynoted in order to make the topics seem much more connected and relatable.
My week in Georgia was a great way to start off the summer! I enjoyed meeting so many people with so many different life goals. Each camper was unique and motivated in his or her own way, and I hope that I at least scratched the surface for them to start thinking critically about the problems our broken world faces today. I hope that they will also be involved in a part of the Disciples Ministry and continue to be advocates for peace in their own communities. Thank you Camp Christian for an experience I will never forget and for some new friends who helped me throughout the week and helped me see that the humidity is really not as bad as I made it out to be.