One of the greatest parts of Youth Camp is the time spent talking to your roommates at night about the happenings of the day. It’s chatting about the yucky-ness of the games, the awesome presence of God during one of the meetings, not having enough to eat because you ended up sitting beside someone who just loves food, laughing about something so spontaneous and hilarious you’d start giggling again just at the thought of it, or simply asking what each other’s favourite colours are.
Even when it’s lights out, we normally either have too much to say to go to sleep or we’re too exhausted to say anything. And when you see movement of light or hear footsteps outside you immediately quieten down, only to burst out in fits of laughter once the footsteps fade or and the light disappears. The next day, you wake up, energized and refreshed. Really, I think God gives us extra doses of energy during Camp so that we can tune into the 11 o’clock News.
It's one of my fondest memories of camp, the chitchatting at night. :)
All the Youth Camps I've attended have always been at the same place. I think Golden Sands and I have this bond. ;) It's at this place that I've had one of the best times at the beach. Some friends and I held hands and faced the waves, letting them carry us back to the countless grains of sand. Then we'd quickly try to run back into the ocean, but as you most probably know it's pretty difficult to run in water. The simplicity yet depth of just laughing into the wind and the feel of hair blowing across gleeful faces was so amazing I've stored it into the 'Experiences I will Never Forget' file in my brain. Shouting yells of surprise at the rush of a rough wave that lifted the soles of our feet off the firmness of the sandy bottom and gave us into the hands of the sea was one of the highs in my life, just living along with God's creating and appreciating the great awesomeness of the little things in life.
On a more serious note, at times I do wish the clock would speed up and I’d be packing and heading off to camp. It’s a hiatus, a pause in my film of life. It’s a time where I don’t have to worry about exams or expectations, deadlines or the drama in life. It’s a place where I can set aside all that cause creases on my forehead and focus on God, having fun and making friends. It’s a period of rest yet one with a full schedule.
Anyway, Camp’s drawing nearer with each passing day, and although there isn’t much talk of it yet, nor are there the announcements or the booth for sign-ups, I hope you won’t think of it as just something that’s happening in December. Before you know it, you’ll be filling up registration forms or chasing your parents for money and the buzz and excitement of Camp will be filling the air. Do keep Youth Camp ’08 in your prayers that you’d like to see something great, for our God will never disappoint. =)
Michelle
