Co-ed day has just begun–I can hear the joyful shouts as the games begins! Today is Color War and the spirit of competition is strong between red and blue this year. Who will win? We’ll have to wait and see!
The last two days have been full of fun and packed with adventure. We debuted some new programming that has had us over the moon with excitement: full-camp whitewater rafting, an exquisite “goop dinner,” and some time for talks and reflection on friendship and community. To say that it was a blast is an understatement!
We call these two days of fun and reflection Środowisko (pronounced shro-do-VEES-ko), a Polish word that means “environment;” its a term we are borrowing from one of the intellectual and moral titans of the last century–Karol Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II. Personally, JPII is one of my heroes and it is a fun fact about his life that a key part of his philosophical and theological development took place during his ministry to young people at a university. As part of his outreach, he lead a group on a rafting trip for a couple of weeks each summer to talk about the God’s creation and the human person. These groups ended up forming a bedrock of close friendships that he relied on for the rest of his life: this was his Srodowisko, his environment, both socially and in the natural world. Of course, we can’t help but see the parallel while we are at camp, a grounded and outdoorsy environment filled with a beautiful social milieu. Taking the time to rejoice together in our surroundings and to reflect more intentionally on our role as part of God’s creation was a huge gift.
And of course, there was the goop dinner — we figured if we were going to teach about community and friendship, we may as well throw some manners in there too! The goops are lighthearted childrens’ verses designed to teach good manners by showing how not to behave. I have loved reading them and this year a family of goops joined us at a special dinner we had planned. It was a night of great poetry and fun!
Lastly, we have been so delighted to welcome our first group of 2-weekers to Kahdalea and Chosatonga.
Every day here is full of excitement, adventure, and chances to go deeper in friendships – and we are seeing the fruit! The smiles covering our campers’ faces outside my window at this very moment are testimony to the freedom they are feeling! Stay tuned. When we’re not out adventuring, connecting with campers, and altogether enjoying screen-free time together, we will keep our camp families updated via our blog.