Well....got back from camp today. I can't really explain it well, but I will do my best and put as much detail as I can recall without making it tedious., I will apologize in advance for mistakes or unfinished thoughts, as it is almost 1 o'clock AM as of this writing..
It started on Tuesday, I packed that morning...yeah, for me it's easier to pack right before I leave. .. .anyway ... we got to the church at around 9:30 and were on our way to camp. It is difficult to explain what exactly I felt on leaving. To be quite honest I was worried that this camp would spoil my memories of Sunnystones, and so when we got there I was filled with anticipation but also an unease, I don't know what I was expecting to feel when I got there but it was good to be there. As Aragon's heart was left in Rivendel, so mine is at Sunnystones Camp, I don't know whether or not it will always remain there, but for the last 4 years it has been. It is hard to compare any two camp experiences because they are all different from each other. Each year brings with it it's own joys and heartaches to be felt and remembered.
After setting up our things and having lunch and all of that jazz and meeting our speaker Andrew Cox, we played the survival game. Me and Widget were the only diseases this time, but it was just as much fun this time as the last. I made sure that I had plenty of water this time as last time was pretty crazy looking back, anyway I had a helluva lot of energy comparatively.
This year we had less people and a lot of them were new, so the atmosphere of the entire camp was very different from that of last year. I also was a lot more involved in the leadership side of things this year, so my experience was vastly different than any previous years. One thing I noticed straight away is all the intricacies of the different social circles popping up. It always interests me how people change around camp. It's not really so much that they change as much as they can't keep masking their true selves around you 24 - 7.
Some of the changes were very disappointing, I lost quite a lot of respect for some people, but I also gained a lot of respect for others, so a balance is kept. I also often wonder how people view me and how I must change, although I hope that I keep myself real at least 90% of the time.
One thing I did miss from last year is the worship that we had. We brought in the instruments and the youth band played before each session. It was quite hectic and probably more trouble than it was worth in the long run, but it really added a dynamic that I missed very much this time around.
The obligatory volleyball games and all the old in jokes started coming out very quickly. By the third day everyone was a little tired and a lot of different things were happening in plain view for people who observe. I see a lot of things that others miss, and miss a lot of things that others see, but I definitely saw a lot this camp. The nature walk was AWESOME! Not quite as good as last years, and definitely more tiring (man that hill!!) but definitely worth the time. There's actually a story behind the walk for me. I wasn't originally going to be able to go on it because of numbers or some such thing. And I'd really being hanging for it since last year, so much so that I was quite put out when I was told that I wasn't coming. I had to come to the point of letting it go completely and saying to myself that it wouldn't ruin my camp experience. Anyway, the night before I prayed that if God wanted me walking, then He would make a way for me to come, and the next day circumstances that I didn't even know about simply clicked into place and allowed me to come. Needless to say I didn't really put 2 and 2 together straight away...I was actually pretty bummed because I'd wired myself for the extra-walk activities around the camp, so I had to check myself on that and simply thank God for His blessing. Anyway, the walk was absolutely fabulous! Simply beautiful as only a bush walk with your friends can be. Hopefully I'll have a bunch of photos to put up soon ; ) We got back and we were incredibly tired but I at least was pretty exhilarated. The final day of camp was filled with various physical activities...such as soccer, painting and fishing....for some stupid reason I picked soccer without thinking of how smashed I'd be by then and needless to say I was pretty tired afterward, although I had lots of fun.
A lot of crap things happened that night and I pretty much snapped for the first time in a long long time. I'm not proud of it, but it happened, however a lot of good things happened also. The concert was fun, with various skits from the sound of music (you girls roxor the the h-core max x 10 + 1!! to take a saying from last camp) and the blender of doom!!! Damn you guys are so awesome!!
Physically this camp was pretty exhausting, although I think my body might be able to adjust a bit easier to lack of sleep, because I am able to stay up until 1:30 am writing this blog. The activities were all very strenuous and I had about 15 hours sleep over 4 days so I was pretty wrecked by pack up time...Mentally I was pretty focused most of the time, although stress played a big part this year because of my responsibilities and various other things...Spiritually, although the speaker was good and I got quite a lot out of it, I think I actually got a lot more out of personal revelations that God graned to me over the course of the camp than the sessions and group times.
Special thanks go to Mary Morrison, our cook, without whom, the quality of food wouldn't have been half as good as it was! You slaved over the kitchen for for days solid and you were absolutely AWESOME!!! Also the duty groups, it may not seem much to prepare tables for meals and clean up afterward, but it really IS a big deal and you guys were amazing! Other people include but not limited to, Erica, Widget, Phil, you guys are always awesome and without you the camp would not have been anything spectacular!
As a wrap up, despite a hell of a lot of things going wrong on this camp or things not being as they should, and the fact that I actually enjoyed last year a lot more, on leaving I still feel a sense of loss that goes words. On a lighter note though, I got my stitches out today!! Wootage!! Although now my eye looks even more MANK than it did before. Alrighty guys, I think I should get some sleep so I guess I'll see you all soon, I pray that you as much out of camp as I did and that God continues to bless you.
Cheerio, D-Man
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