Da Camp 2011

“But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
~Matthew 19:14


I spent this summer as the “Assistant Day Camp Coordinator” for Highlands Presbyterian Camp. In short this means I spent my summer going from church to church putting on “day camps” or more communally known as Vacation Bible Schools (VBSs). We had the oprotunity to visited seven cities/towns to put a daycamp.

First we visited Strasburg, Colorado, then Arvada, Colorado, and then traveled our the longest distance to Sidney, Nebraska. Next we traveled back to the small town of Goodrich (in Weldon Valley), Colorado and then back out to Nebraska to the town of Kimball. Then the to edge of Denver, Colorado in Northglenn, and our last stop in the Heart of Denver, Colorado.

I look back and think it was only yesterday that I had no clue what I was getting myself into at camp. I had gotten a phone call in the spring asking if I would be interested in this job. I kind of felt like I was diving in head first to something I hardly knew anything about. Now I sit here at my computer trying to put a whole summers worth into a short description.

Each week Chase (the “Boss” or the Day Camp Coordinator) and I travel with two different consolers from the camp to our new location. There we either stayed with host families or at the church. In each town we were welcomed with arms wide open. For one week we were apart of a new family and community of faith. We meet fantastic people and fell in love with a new group of kids. The hardest part of the summer was that each Friday we had to say goodbye to our new families. I will forever remember all the amazing people I meet in each locations.

The first day we meet the kids and they were shy and on their best behavior. By the last day they were very warmed up to us and gave us hugs like hugs might go out of style. We ran a rotation style camp where we had games, crafts, bible time, and sometimes music time. Most of the time the last day ended in a water balloon fight where somehow the leader always seemed to get more wet then everyone else. It always amazed me that these children came from different walk of life, but are still beautiful in there own ways. I pray that God was able to use us to impact these children.

We would run the day camp and then we also did several service projects to help out the community. The projects were anything from painting, to weeding, to volunteering at a horse rescue. This was another opportunity to meet incredible people and to serve God.

This short description does not even do the summer justice. I had a great summer and feel so blessed for this opportunity! I will never forget the people I meet, lessons I learned, and the friends I met. Thank-you for all the thoughts and prayers for this summer!