Farewell to our Mini Session campers! The Mini Session is our shortest session and is a great opportunity for young, first-time campers to have their first week at CKC – and what a week it was! They joined the camp community in our opening events, games, and ceremonies. They explored the many activities we offer and then ventured off for an overnight stay in Pisgah Forest. For their last full day, they went climbing at Cove Creek and visited the world famous Dolly’s Ice Cream. (Dolly’s has finally reopened after the damage they sustained in Helene – it’s definitely worth visiting to support them. Try one of their amazing flavors when you are next in town!)
What a gift it has been to have Mini Session campers as part of our community. They have been the youngest campers here and I have been delighted in seeing the other campers interact with them and take on big-brother and big-sister roles: encouraging them, coaching them, and cheering them on. That family environment is so important to our identity as a camp and a camp family – and that kind of behavior helps everyone grow in gratitude and maturity.
Speaking of growing in maturity: at our final breakfast with the Mini Session campers this morning one raised his hand during announcements and quietly asked if he could chime in. He stood up on his chair, introduced himself and said how much he loved camp. “Next year I’ll come for the whole summer!” Whether or not he comes all summer, I was so proud: proud of him, that he had the confidence to speak up, and proud that the camp community had welcomed him so well and created an environment where he could shine. My heart was full.
What an incredible gift camp is to our children. That camper felt the confidence that comes from a supportive environment and from growing independence. Truly, independence is such a hard-earned aspect of character growth, but it is so undeniably important to a successful life. It is also the fruit of trust: when we give our children the chance to step into new terrain without us it can definitely be scary for them (and for us parents too!) but what they infer is that we believe they can do it. We know they are capable. We trust them. That is exactly the message we want to be sending them. As we raise children, beginning with the end in mind is so important – and if that end is a capable, independent, faith-filled adult… well, let’s start sending that message of trust now and giving them the opportunity to practice spreading their wings a bit now. Thank you for allowing them to join us here.
As we wrap up this first week, cheer you camper on! Write to them and encourage them! Even though we know camp is a blast, building confidence and independence is tough work at times – so let them know that you know they are capable of great things, great kindness, great fun, and that you trust them. We know it can be hard to be away (for parents as well as kids), but we have great hope for the growth that can come from it. In fact, like that camper who stood up on his chair, we see that growth every day. Thank you for beginning with the end in mind. 🙂
A quick update on the day: the weather today was sublime. Warm, partly cloudy, and no rain. Many of our activities also took their first trips out today with the paddlers heading to Wolf Creek Lake, bikers to Dupont State Forest, and wilderness exploring the French Broad and going up to Black Balsam area. We were so excited to see the activity progressions pick up! (if you haven’t been to those areas before, take a minute to google them). In camp, activities are going strong – and I can report from the guys’ side of the mountain that the boys are already preparing for the archery competition quite diligently. So that will be something to look forward to!
