Choose the Hard Right: “To love and be loved” – CKC Calcutta Mission Trip Report
For all the merriment contained in the Christmas season, a highlight of December was a joyful venture to West Bengal, India with a wonderful gathering of our camp family and alum. We had former staff members, current staff members, and parents of future staff members in our group. Numbering at 19 CKC staff and alum…
Adventure: “Worm & Flippers and Their Great Appalachian Adventure”: Lizzie Denham’s AT Trip Report
Last year, my Chos-man Aaron Miller and I hiked the Appalachian Trail. For those who are unfamiliar with the AT, it is a 2,194-mile trail stretching from Springer Mountain, GA to Mount Katahdin, ME. Every year, aspiring thru-hikers start at one end with the intention of getting to the other before the snow starts blowing. On average, 25% of people who start a thru-hike of the AT finish it. Aaron and I were 2 of that blessed 25% who made it to the end. Along the way, we went by trail names, his being “Flippers” and mine being “Worm.”
Be the One: “Checking on the Children” by Emily Heyne
This past spring, the stomach bug visited and made its temporary home in my family’sgastrointestinal tracts. My five-year-old daughter felt the presence of this unwelcome guestmore acutely than the rest of us. After four days of suffering this disagreeable intruder, I thoughtthe worst of it had passed for her, but that night, I was awoken…
Adventure: “Let Him Deliver”: Chosman Shares Love for the River in Ecuador
When Ricky Lytle left Dartmouth College in January of 2021 for his Winter term, his intention was to try his hand teaching kayaking in a different culture as well as to assist with some mission work on the edge of the Amazon. While his goals were clear when he arrived in Ecuador, Ricky wasn’t entirely…
Gratitude: “Delighting in the Human Race” by Emily Heyne
I do see the creative life of the Trinity at play in them, at the exuberant young voices raised in delight and affection for one another and for the role each individual holds in her place here. Camp life reminds me that I don’t need a special occasion to raise my voice in song, I simply need to run out of dinner rolls.
Adventure: “Challenges Help You Grow” by Jess Pienta
It’s still surreal for me to think about what the past 4 months have been. Five days after I finished working at Family Camp this past summer, I was in the air flying to Europe. You could say that was a whirlwind for sure. After I finished working as Head of Wilderness, I shortly began…
Choose the Hard Right: Choose the Hard Right
“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” – Gilbert Keith Chesterton There is plenty of excitement in this off-season at camp! Our year-round staff is working hard to prepare for the best summer ever! New and improved equipment, updated facilities, wonderful new friendships formed in…
Encounter Faith: Cultivate Wonder – Grow Gratitude
To this day, my first time canoeing Frank Bell’s Rapid is vivid in my memory: My tandem partner and I nervously approached the rapid’s horizon line. I could hear the crashing of the water and feel my heart beating. I was obsessed with the river as a camper, and always impatient for my next whitewater adventure;…
Be the One: JC Climbs Everest Equivalent for a Great Cause
Hello, my name is Eddie Perez and I am a Junior Counselor here at Camp Chosatonga from Memphis, Tennessee. For the last seven years, I have been blessed to call this community rooted deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains my home. Throughout these last few months, a majority of my time has been put into…
We are a Family: REUNION: The Mountains are Calling
The blessing of camp is that the circle of friendship extends not just through your cabin or tribe, not just through your session, your summer or even your era. Camp friendships cross lines of age, of experience, of location. The counselors I looked up to adoringly are now my peers. Campers whose homesick shoulders I hugged are now in the carpool line with me. The sister (and brother) hood we create in our Green Cathedral continue to weave us together over a lifetime.