OPENING DAY!
I woke up this morning, as I imagine many of our campers did, restless and full of excitement. A wee bit nervous too – this is my 24th summer as a camper, counselor or Director and I still get a little nervous! It is the start of another great adventure. And what a beautiful day for Opening Day! The weather is crisp with low humidity and with the afternoon high hovering just under 80 degrees . Camp is here again! We have been working so hard for this moment; it is a delight to welcome our camp community home.
As I think through the morning, community isn’t a strong enough word. Of course: Camp Family is what we say! So many old friends reuniting and new friendships being made. I am so thankful for the quality and care of the campers and staff who join us each summer.
The staff were giddy with excitement as the campers were dropped off. A crew of them stood by at the dining hall doors cheering campers as they arrived and dancing to the Chosatonga Songbook Playlist.
As I write now, our Chos-men are finishing up activity rotations and groundschools for the afternoon. It has been a wonderful hit! This year we are trying something new – rather than send them through rotations in cabin groups, we split them into groups of varied ages. It has been a great opportunity to see the older campers helping the younger campers and the returning campers helping the new. Camp is a family and the brotherly atmosphere among our boys is something that always delights me to see.
Tonight, Chosatonga will carry this momentum into the sacred environment of our first Councilfire. All is well at camp – I can already sense a palpable peace. Thank you for your trust in us and joy of sharing your campers with us! Keep your eyes open for our daily blogs, and for our pictures uploaded to Campanion twice weekly! We are so grateful for this opportunity to host our campers and share these beautiful mountains with them. Pray for us – we pray for our camp families every day!
