Jordan sat in the middle of the cabin living room on an old recliner, the only comfortable chair in the building. He kicked his feet onto the couch in front of him, leaned back, and closed his eyes. Just a minute of rest, he thought. That’s all I need. The warm June breeze swished through the large pines outside the double doors and made its way to his face, washing over the sunburns, chapped lips, and sleep-deprived eyes. He woke up. One eye first. Then the next. To the sound of stomping and giggles. His boys were playing hide-and-go-seek in the bunks. A classic game. The ultimate camp one, anyways.
Without moving much, he watched the boys hide. Under tables. Behind stacks of folding chairs. In closets and crevices. The point of the game wasn’t to be caught. It was to get lost and not be found. He knew that from his childhood. Everyone knows that, right? Yet, as he observed these 10-year-old boys in his silence (their raucousness), something stuck out like a sore thumb: before they were found, they liked hiding, but once they were found, they liked that more.
And that’s when it hit him. Like a ton of bricks. The boys, in their childlike innocence, had created the perfect metaphor for the game of life. That no matter how long we hide, God will keep looking for us, and when we finally let Him find us, our regret won’t be that He did, it’ll be that we let it take so long…
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Here’s a recap of our adventures at summer camp…
This year, our church invaded United Christian Youth Camp (UCYC) in the pines of Prescott, Arizona (which is about 2 hours north of Phoenix) and took over both campuses. We brought about six hundred 4th-6th graders with us, and each volunteer counselor (us!) had seven kids that we were responsible for 24/7. From monitoring the bunk beds in the cabins, to eating in the mess hall, to traveling with the kids through each activity rotation, we were never off the clock.
Amy got to spend the week with this beautiful group of girls. They giggled relentlessly, encouraged each other, sang camp (and Frozen!) songs around the clock, and never stopped bouncing. They totally stole Amy’s heart.
Jordan’s boys were ALL BOY. Group photos were dominated by bunny ears, hikes through the woods turned into sword fights with sticks, and cabin bunks were never clean. These guys were full of energy, and Jordan made the perfect alpha-dog.
Our week was spent exploring the outdoors, rotating through a wide variety of activities, and learning more about God’s love.
It was also spent in cabins that were completely chaotic. Sharing just a few bathrooms and a small amount of space, cabin-living is an adventure in itself!
Our days were packed with all kinds of activities and themes. Jordan’s group conquered the rock wall.
While Amy’s girls went all out for “Crazy Sock Day.”
Twice a day, we broke into small groups to dive into God’s word with the kids. For us, this was the most important and most rewarding part of each day. It was incredible to see each of these amazing kiddos open up, ask questions, connect with each other, get deep, and grow in their faith in such a short amount of time.
Amy went in to full-on Mrs. Demos mode during every small group.
This year, camp was especially meaningful to Amy because three of her former students were in her small group all week. These three adorable ladies were in Amy’s last group of fourth graders at the elementary school where we taught before we went full-time in photography, and now they’re already going to be sixth graders! She got to be “Mrs. Demos” again for one more week!
Every night, the whole camp would come together to worship together and hear a powerful message. Our church’s head children’s teaching pastor, Reggie, is one of the most gifted and dynamic speakers we’ve ever seen. He makes Scripture come to life and makes confusing things seem simple. The kids learn so much every time he speaks (and so do we!), and they spend each session laughing, gasping, and even crying. We’re so blessed to have him!
The theme for camp this year was “Fearless.” The kids learned that God is always with them, and that with His help, they can conquer their fears and live a joyful, adventurous, fulfilling life. It was the perfect message for a week where so many kids are trying so many new things, and it was so sweet to watch them embrace the message and encourage each other through scary things like rock-climbing and zip-lining.
Amy’s girls showed off their “Fearless” spirit on “Neon Day.”
And we joined in on the “Fearless” fun, too! Lots of climbing, zipping, swinging, and other words that end in -ing that make kids giddy and adults really, really sore. Those bow and arrows are a lot harder to shoot than they look! Jordan hit quite a few targets, while Amy just kept channeling her Katniss Everdeen and hoped for the best. Whether it was group games or individual challenges, the kids loved every minute of it.
This is Amy’s favorite photo from camp. Partly because of Jordan and Sophie’s monkey faces, but mostly because of Sophie’s reaction to seeing their silly photo on Jordan’s phone.
How adorable is this?!?!
The girls couldn’t get enough of “Neon Day!” Check out those Madonna gloves.
The band rocked the week away. It was like a live concert every night, complete with high-pitched screams and constant fist-pumping.
The staff at UCYC is incredible. Their energy is absolutely unbelievable. They get a new set of kids every week, but they make each group feel like they are the only ones. They kept the boys busy with wild battle games and the girls busy giggling.
The whole week was nothing but one big adventure.
By the end of camp, we were covered in filth, sweaty, and exhausted. We’d endured sleepless nights in cabins, chanting during meals, and showering with our shoes on. We’d applied loads of sunscreen (which still wasn’t enough!), reminded kids to do the same, searched high and low for lost water bottles and lanyards and jumped up and down during worship. We were SO tired — and still are!
But, just when we started to think that we might not be able to do this again, four kids from our two small groups decided to follow Jesus for the first time, and another handful of kids decided they wanted to get baptized. And, all of a sudden, every part of this crazy week is worth it.
So, so worth it.
