Well I have just recently finished my third summer at Blue Haven. Although the summer is over and I had to part ways from people that I care for deeply, I also don’t feel incredibly sad. I’m not down and out about leaving camp because I know that those types of relationships and mountain top experiences (figurative and literal) need to spread out. Once camp is over each session, and at the end of the summer there are disciples being spread out wherever God has placed them to do his work. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Summers in the New Mexican mountains at Blue Haven always fly bye. They go quickly because it never stops. We are constantly with kids; getting to know them better, playing with them, coming up with funky talent show skits that are never as good as when you had the idea in the cabin, laughing with them, hiding your frustration and annoyances around them, we worship and pray with them consistently throughout the day, and then, they leave, and a new group of kids come in.
In between the groups of kids that come into camp you would think that we would rest, we don’t. At least I didn’t. How can we? That half a day that we get to ourselves we usually spend talking about the kids, and laughing about the kids, praying for the kids. It’s the only time we get to actually hang out with each other and get to know the people we are working with better. And then next thing you know, it’s all over, and everyone leaves.
It’s a weird job, but it is worth every second. Since camp has been over I’ve been driving around and camping. I’m going through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. I’m currently in Sedona and as I was marching up Mt. Wilson yesterday, over the Red Rocks, I took a look at some of the giant cliffs about me and I thought to myself, “Wow, GOD IS HUGE!” I know we hear that a lot, but it’s the type of thing where I starting thinking, “How am I not OBSESSED with God’s word? rather than reading it because I know I’m supposed to and I feel refreshed afterwards. How do I not want to praise him with authority! rather than praying when there is a problem.”
Thankfully he has forgiven us for our selfishness and continues to make himself known to us in many ways. We just constantly choose to seek after other things and be, (as a wise man used to say every time he preached, “needy, needy, needy.”) We really do act needy when there’s only one thing we need to seek after.
