A view from the bridge.

I've been back from Camp for three days.
It feels like a lifetime.

There were 4 leaders for 16 kids. Great ratios if you're into that sort of thing. We went to Lake Champion in Glen Spey, NY. Its a Young Life facility that opens itself up for high school weekends. Beautiful place, I'm convinced that the Holy Spirit takes up residence there when no ones looking.

Our church has been taking kids there forever. This was my 15th trip as a leader. Every trip has been different and the same - taking kids through the message of the gospel, running with them, letting them know how much they are loved by their God and their leaders. The faces change but God and His message are constant. I see you, I want the best for you , come to me and there will still be hardship, but I promise you good news. Camp is truly a glorious experience. To have the opportunity to laugh over the foozeball table, bond over a cup of cocoa, pour out over a long walk through a woods, it opens kid's hearts so that they feel what God's love is. Over and over and over......

The day to day rush of being a youth leader or a high school student doesn't leave enough time for that. As a leader you have administrative and family responsibilities, some even have a "real" job where work has piled up over the weekend. Then there is the planning to do for the next week. As a student, there are countless pulls on you, schoolwork, friends, family, chores, fighting temptaion at every turn. It easy to let the camp experience fade in the rear view mirror of the rental van as you get closer to the life you left behind.

I find myself wishing for little Tupperwear containers...put pieces of camp inside and seal them up with a burp so kids and I can extend the shelf life a little bit. So when the first hits from the very real world come, you could open it up and take a good long sniff. It would smell of pine and cocoa and snow and laughter. It would remind you of being loved and accepted and honored as one of God's chosen. It would bring you back for just a moment so you could bask in it. Someone from Tupperwear should get on that...

In the meantime God sends us. He sends his Word. He brings us kids with questions and struggles who want to know that someone sees them. I'm grateful for the trust He has in me. To honor that trust, I'm honest when I don't have all the answers. I struggle with them and sometimes I don't understand, but I won't hide from them. I always come home ready to take on new challenges, forge new realtionships and renew my relationship with kids and Christ.

Over and over and over.....<3