Camp 2019: Highlights + What I Learned

This Camp was my first experience of any kind of camp whatsoever. I learned so many things... and I also came back with so many beautiful memories. I’m going to be sharing them today so this might get a bit rambly.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Singing in the dining hall. My cabin was singing outside during the lineup for lunch and we kept singing when we walked into the hall. The boys in line ahead of us joined in, and we sang while we waited. Then my cabin sang the camp theme song for the kitchen staff as a thank you and we sat down to eat. The boys began to sing random hymns and we joined in. It was beautiful. The hall was just perfect for the sound and the boys and girls sang very well. Our cabin’s voices mingled so well and we were sad we only found that out on the last day of camp! 
• Singing in the bus as we drove to the YMCA that evening. <3 Just the girls, but still beautiful. 
• Staying up till 1 PM sharing testimonies. It was amazing. We cried and laughed and talked... time just flew by. But we bonded over that. 
• Friday morning I got dizzy while sitting in chapel because I was dehydrated and one of my friends gave me her bottle of Gatoraid. Little things, guys... <3
• The sermons. They were amazing. 
• The time when the Juniors’ speaker’s wife have her testimony. She was just so smiley and happy and so full of Christ... it was a huge blessing to watch her. 
• The skits that the camp workers acted out for is Wednesday night.
• Riding on the bus. And playing Telephone. 
• The Night Game on Thursday. It was super fun. I don’t like the dark and I hate being snuck up on, so I began to get a bit panicky, and my friends kept making sure I was okay. <3
• The chapel games. I was completely astounded by all the yelling and clapping and stamping (never met anything like that before...) but it was ridiculously fun to do. xD 
• Wednesday Water Wars. Again, nothing like I ever did but overall, it was fun. ;) 
• Our cabin wearing the same hairstyle on Thursday! #spacebuns
• Getting my friends to sign my autograph book. They are the sweetest. <33
• Playing mini-golf with one of my counsellors and two of my cabinmates. (And singing “When He Cometh” in French in the middle of the course). 
• Needing to ask questions constantly because I don’t understand... and my friends amswering so patiently.
• Talking all about French stuff and Canada things with my cabin mates and counsellor. 
• Making s'mores! I've only had those once before in my life. THEY WERE SO YUMMY. 
• Memorizing Psalm 19 and figuring out why it was so hard for me... #itsnotmylanguage.
• Saying goodbye to my friend. Don’t get me wrong, I was sad to say goodbye to everyone. But I don’t often get hugged by my friends, and this girl said the sweetest words, hugged me, and let me cry on her shoulder for a minute. 

WHAT I LEARNED:

• There’s other people with a salvation story like me. Non-exciting and even uncertain. 
• Don’t judge people by the outside. You have no idea what the inside is like. 
• The Unknown can lead to beautiful things. 
• Fear will cripple your life if you let it... don’t. 
• #breakthebox and let God use you. 
• Give compliments, because they mean so much. 
• Smile. 
• Sisters are a huge blessing. 
• Crossing the border isn’t that terrible... (although I still hate it).
• I love watching volleyball. (It’s beautiful. Fascinating).
• Americans have a pledge of allegiance. (We don’t have anything like that and I was completely  astonished by it).
• God can do things bigger than you even dreamed. 
• I have the best friends. <33
• I can’t even start saying what I learned in the sermons. Just go listen to them. 

Camp had caused quite a bit of ripple effect in my life. I'm so grateful I got to go. I'm so grateful for all the workers an counsellors and speakers there. I'm so grateful for that experience. It was worth stepping into the Unknown.