Somehow someone convinced you to sign up to volunteer at a Young Life camp for a month with forty-some other people that you have never met and somehow it turned out to be the best month of your life. Whether you were on ODC, a tawashie, laundry girl, server, or in the pits, getting to serve campers and the Lord for a month was the most incredible experience. After four weeks working at a Young Life camp, you probably know some, if not all of this to be true:
1. The GroupMe.
A few months before you even arrived at camp, the GroupMe was created. For months it was non-stop awkward texting with people you had never met, but now the GroupMe is still alive and well, and you guys just reminisce on the good ole' days at camp and plan reunions that rarely actually happen.
2. The Work Crew song.
"We are the Work Crew we serve the Lord and you. Love it? You bet we do. We're telling you. HEY!"....You just sang that out loud. Don't lie.
3. Community. Sweet, sweet community.
On the first day at camp you met people who immediately became your best friends. You learned what community was intended to be like and what real friendships were like. You guys did real life together, and it was the best.
4. You learned the value of alone time.
Even though your Work Crew friends are the greatest, you spent pretty much every minute of everyday with them, so a little alone time became so valuable.
5. Mail time was pretty much the equivalent to Christmas morning.
That sweet office gal (or guy) who delivered the mail to the lounge every afternoon around 4:03 p.m. became the most beloved person at camp. You and your friends sat around in the lounge eagerly waiting for the mail to arrive. If you were lucky and got mail it felt a little something like this:
6. BIG COOKIE (!!!)
Everyone's favorite night is big cookie night. Entering the dining hall for Work Crew and Summer Staff dinner, you strategically placed yourself at a table with someone who had a gluten or lactose intolerance so there would be more big cookie for you.
7. Frolf is life.
(Formally known as frisbee golf.) Frolf became a part of your everyday life at camp. Whether you were a pro like Jonesy or just an average frolfer, this leisurely activity filled most of your free time when you weren't playing Spike Ball or Pool.
8. Late nights in the kitchen.
Some nights, if not every night, you and your friends snuck into the kitchen to eat cereal or the leftover cookies on the shelf in the bakery. A midnight snack had never tasted so good.
9. Welcome.
Sundays were easily the most hype part of the week. You got to scream at the top of your lungs and jump up and down for two hours and that wasn't even the best part. You carried campers bags and created small talk with the, which was so surface yet in a way so intentional. Welcomes were just the best. (Especially in the rain!)
10. Knowing what day it was based on what was for dinner.
As time went on, the days started to blur together, but you always knew what day of the week it was based on what you were having for dinner. BBQ? Outdoor dinner? It must be Monday then...
11. Saturday nights.
Although you love when campers are there, Saturday nights just hold a special place in your heart. Tacky prom, low country boil, movie night? No matter what you did it was always so relaxing somehow.
12. Camp crushes.
Whether you're willing to admit it or not, we all know you had one.
13. Having a love/hate relationship with Wednesday nights.
Tableau, carnival, and square dance all in one night. Does it get any better than that? The night of dancing and playing for hours was so great until you had to reset the dining hall until 12:45 at night.
14. Laughing, crying, playing, working, and dancing.
All of these things you have never done so hard before in your life, but the people you laughed, cried, played, worked, and danced with made it all of it so worth it.
15. Tan lines.
Whether it was a watch, Chaco, or one-piece tan, you took it to a whole new level that month.
16. Naps.
You might not call yourself a napper, but during free time you could fall asleep anywhere. The floor of the Work Crew lounge (or the Summer Staff lounge...), the club room, the laundry room, a rocking chair, the pool, and maybe even your top bunk if you could actually make it there.
17. Redefining gross.
Dirty dishes, clogged toilets, the work crew boy's bathroom, the liquids trash can? That month you took gross to a whole new level.
18. Summer Staff friends.
You guys are the greatest. That's all.
19. Inside jokes.
Throughout the month you formed all of these inside jokes that anyone else would think is so dumb. Going home was so hard because you would make a joke, but none of your friends there would get it. (Pitical tips. Ugh you're the worst. It's whatever. Cheese trays.)
20. Dining hall jams.
If you were a server you definitely had a song or two that really got you hype for setting tables, but you also had those songs that you couldn't stand. (I Would Walk 500 Miles)
21. The bunk beds.
Well, not just the bunk beds, but the whole room in general. Learning to live with ten guys or girls can be tough, but it's the best. Bedtime stories, bunk talks, and running to claim showers, never got old. You probably would sacrifice one more night on that top bunk to be in that room with your people for one last time. (DuPont C. Never forget.)
22. Staying up as late as you possibly could the last night.
We all did it.
23. Saying goodbye.
Whether you're a crier or not, you definitely shed a tear or two when your Work Crew best friend hugged you goodbye that last morning.
Your month on Work Crew has come and gone. It was filled with good times and hard ones. You worked a lot, played a lot, grew tired, but in all of that you probably grew in your relationship with the Lord. So long live that sweet community, those inside jokes, and the memories you made.
To all of Carolina Point 2015: Second Session, you guys are incredible.
(PC: Troy Earnest)
