April 1, 2012

I went to a fundraiser banquet last night for Daybreak Point Bible Camp.  It's a camp that we volunteer at in the summer.  I ran into some people I haven't seen in years.  Made me feel old.  Almost 15 years ago, my friend Chris brought me up there to volunteer.  7 days, 100 kids and a chance to share Christ and your life with them.  Now some of these kids we  met back then are graduating university.  Staff members we use to run around with are now married with kids.  Where did all the time go?  I remember telling a co-worker about the camp years ago and she was astonished.  She said, " you get 2 weeks of holiday a year and you waste 1 week of it volunteering at a kids camp?"  I thought that was funny, the work "waste".  I could sit here ignorantly and say that I have done a lot for these kids I meet.  In truth, this camp has done more for me than I could ever have given back.  I met June up there (that's quite a draw eh- volunteer at a camp, get a girlfriend- should be on the brochure). I proposed to June up there (with chris in bthe bushes and a video camera) I discovered how God works in mysterious ways.  You don't know what kind of impact or how God will use you in the lives of these young people.  I met my life long friends up there.  Sometimes it is just hard to describe- one of those, "you had to be there" situations.  I remember coming back from camp and telling all my buddies about what happened during the week.  They didn't get it.  I remember driving to one of my chemo sessions and thinking about the worst case scenario- if I died, I would not see Rhys grow up at the camp as I had envisioned.  That was one of my big worries, weird.  I went to Daybreak as an adult- never got to experience the life of a camper or a staff kid.  Two years ago, we went up as a family.  Rhys loved it- running around with 100 older kids for a week.  Funny how something as small as a week volunteering at a bible camp- turns into 15 years of memories and lasting relationships.  Where our lives will take us, only God knows.  


Rhys with Uncle Chris