(Thank you to counselors) On Sunday morning I made the trek up the hill from my house, which sits at the base of camp to our office. In the midst of this walk I was blown away by the number of sounds that filled the air. I heard birds chirping, squirrels clicking, leaves rustling on the trees, a distant sound of rushing water from the power house, and then of course the blowing whistle of the train going thru town. These are sounds I think many of you had probably become accustomed to while you were here helping make Kids Camp 2011 such an amazing week. It was a special time in the presence of our Shepherd.

Once I was at the office I stopped and did a 180 degree turn; starting at Ponderosa Lodge, moving past the Dogwood Dinning Hall, the pool, and over towards the Cedar Lodge field. Something was definitely missing. As I observed an empty camp I was struck by not just the absence of bodies, but more so the absence of sound. I was so blessed by the sounds of joy that exuded out of your kids. Thank you for being here to be a part of that great noise.

As many of you know this was my first summer participating in Kids Camp… And having heard so many epic stories from the past, I wasn’t quite sure if this week would live up to its expectations or not. Well for me it did! I walked away with some unique memories to hold onto. One that I would love to share with you all, came from a conversation with a young boy around the topic of receiving God’s love. We were sitting in the meeting room listening to one of the talks about the overflowing love of God. I looked down at him and said, “Isn’t that so cool that God just keeps choosing to love you?” His child like response was filled with both wit and understanding. He looked back up at me and said, “John, I got God’s love yesterday when you stamped my hand in the chair. I already have God’s blessing.” Wow!

As I reflect that moment and many more like it that happened during camp, I am struck by a couple of thoughts. The first thought….were we all able to walk away from camp knowing that in some tangible way we had been able to receive the love of our Shepherd? And second, was that love something we only held onto for a moment up here in the mountains or are we still exploring the ways in which we are His chosen children? I hope we’re still exploring it. Until next year. Be blessed!

Camp Alta (Thank you counselors)