Almost two months later, we returned to La Montana Christian Camps. I guess God decided to give me a second chance. I was terrified but He knew I didn’t want the memory of the place my team seemed to love so much to reflect what I projected onto it, I wanted the real thing.
So at 4 am, our team once again got up, made pancakes (our Friday tradition), caught three buses and made our way to the place my heart would grow to love.
This was a fresh start, a new group of campers, and a mindset I prayed into beforehand. Every hour we grew closer to reaching the grounds, so did the butterflies in my stomach. Partially from nerves and curved mountain roads, but mostly from the anticipation.
Over the course of the next seventy-two hours, I poured my heart into everything put before me. Serving food, being security on rollerskate night, washing hundreds of dishes, judging games, being a human mud lump when it rained, ropes course station guiding, lifeguarding, talking and befriending campers and sometimes just standing there waiting for whatever was next.
To say the very least, I LOVED it.
I don’t know what was different this time, actually, I do. My attitude. There was a visible 360 in the way I carried myself and I attribute it all to Jesus. Everywhere I looked this time, I saw Him. The excitement in the eyes of the campers when they thought they weren’t being watched, the way people cared for each other here and how the staff chased after Jesus just as hard as they were intent on sharing Him with the campers.
Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover how I felt about that weekend. Three days, in three days I learned how capable I wasn’t in myself, but in the Lord.
Anyone who has ever been a Christian camp counselor can probably say the same. There are good days, there are bad days, but at the end of the day, you love it dearly!
Enjoy a few pictures from this beautiful place that has a special place in my heart!
