Camp

One of my earliest remembraces of childhood is going to Fort Hill Christian Camp near Chillicothe, OH being with my dad for the week. There were Bible classes, singing, SWIMMING, and canteen, and SWIMMING, and horseshoes and so many fun things. There were kids all over the place. By the way, at that time, the swimming was in a nasty creek with cold, cold water. I went back several years later as a camper.
Later, I counseled at Camp Tahkodah in Arkansas. It was so much fun. The people there seemed to have the same beliefs as I. I'm not talking about clones, but they loved God and have a moral system that coincided with mine. I think back on some of the close relationships I established at that time.
As a youth minister, I would go to camp. It was a great experience! At one camp in Louisiana, one of our members flew A-10 bombers. When he found out we were at camp, he would come and give us an aerial show. It was sooo cool.
In 1991, we moved to Springdale, AR and began anew (I say "anew" because I had been to camp there before in the late 70s) with Green Valley Bible Camp. Since 1991, I think I have only missed twice. I have driven from my home in Nashville, TN and now from my home in Omaha. Now I help co-direct the session and it has become a family affair. My entire family attends. My wife as a counselor, my daughter as a former camper, now counselor, my son-in-law as a counselor, and my son as a camper. We're also taking two of his friends. So many say, "Oh, you are so nice to go and help those kids." Let me let you in on a little secret. I do it because I get a lift. Think about it. How many camps do you know with plush surroundings? How good is the food at camp? Where is the fellowship so sweet? Where can you go where worship is releasing? Where else is the singing so, well, angelic?
My daughter asked me the other day, "Dad, will you still go to camp when Nate's gone?" The answer? Probably. Got a camp story? Let me know. Have a great day.