What Summer Camp Is Really Like | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

What Summer Camp Is Really Like

Hot dogs, sweaty kids, exhaustion..

135
What Summer Camp Is Really Like
Claire Piquette

My summers are filled with a lot of vacation and trips, they have been for most of my middle school and high school life. When I would come home from trips I would typically fill my days with reading and sleeping in, watching TV and twiddling my thumbs until the next trip came around. But last summer, something changed.

This place, in all of it's blue skied beauty, came into my life.This place has actually always been a part of my life. Close family friends own the camp (which is only 10 minutes from my house), so I grew up going there for play dates, birthday parties, etc. It was always just our friend's house to me, though. I knew that God's Farm was the summer camp that met there, but it wasn't something that I felt should have been a part of my life. The work of the camp was for people who weren't me.

Little did I know that last summer I would be proven wrong. In ways I don't even know, the Lord pointed my life toward a summer of volunteering at God's Farm. For a little background, God's Farm is an outreach camp to the inner city of Atlanta, and just finished it's 27th year. Camps of kids come out every week and participate in activities like fishing, canoeing, archery, scavenger hunts, low-ropes, etc. The camp basics.

God's Farm is unique in a lot of ways, but shares similarities with summer camps in so many other places. Whether you grew up going to a summer camp or your life has been changed by working at one, you understand the summer camp bonds that grow and shape your life.

God's Farm is characterized by a lot of things. The first thing that comes to mind is the abundance of the same kinds of food for every single lunch, every day of camp, for the entire summer. My diet at God's Farm consists primarily of hot dogs, chewy bars, buffalo wings with ranch potato chips and Gatorade. We have t-shirts that say "Today's Menu? Hot Dogs!" as a way to simultaneously boast in the disgusting but lovable meals we serve, and to make sure the kids are always prepared for their inevitable, never changing menu.

The feeling of the early mornings before the campers arrive is amazing, when so much beauty and peace floods the place that you can barely remember the chaos you felt the day before, when over 100 campers were with you. And then that afternoon, you can barely remember what it feels like to have quiet on the farm. Camp days are hot, sweaty and a lot of the time just plain hard. Groups don't want to cooperate, kids get hurt and stung by bees, they complain because they don't like our activity for the day. All of the counselors finish their morning activities, rush to the kitchen to serve and eat lunch as quickly as they can before they lead their group out for Bible study.

This is one task that was incredibly humbling to me this summer. Because I wasn't a counselor last year, Bible study responsibilities didn't fall on me. I was able to enjoy a long lunch and never feel the weight of Gospel teaching on my shoulders. This year was a different story because I was one of the head counselors. This burden, though taxing, was incredibly rewarding. Some weeks the kids would barely listen, much less participate in conversation. But other weeks, our conversation would flourish and discussion would just go and go and go. One week I asked my campers what their favorite activity from all of camp was, and they enthusiastically answered "Bible Study!!" Those small moments are so valuable for the giver and the receiver.

Overall, camp is just plain hard. But it is also jam packed with joy, laughter, and feelings that truly can't be expressed until they are felt and lived out. While it is heartbreaking to not be able to spend more than one week with each group, it has sharpened my focus on the world around me, and who my God is, in amazing ways.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

194686
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

17548
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

459881
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

27785
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments