Courage and Traditions

We talked about courage at Council Fire last night, a quality camp wouldn’t be here today without!

It took courage for a Presbyterian minister to follow God’s call to leave his prominent preaching position to start a girls camp in the mountains. It took courage for his daughter to keep that camp going after his death, at a time when it wasn’t common for a woman to run a business. And it took courage for my mother to make a stand for Christ at a time when everyone else was afraid of being “Jesus freaks.”

That was the story we told last night, the story of Libby re-committing Greystone to Christ. She had always loved Jesus, but became convicted in the early 1970’s that she lacked a true personal relationship with Him. As He worked in her heart, she wanted to reflect that change in camp and make a bold stand for Him at a time when the culture was going the opposite direction.

Everyone tried to talk her out of it, but she was absolutely resolute on the point. Jesus would do what He wanted with Greystone. It was His. If camp had to close it in a year or two because of financial collapse, then camp would do so gladly. His will be done! If He wants a camp to build His Kingdom, then let Him have this one.

Talk about courage! Courage is required at camp in so many more situations than just jumping off the Blob. It takes courage to leave home. It takes courage to introduce yourself to new people in a class. It takes courage to be kind to the girl sitting by herself. It takes courage to ask a counselor for help. We want to help the girls see that this kind of courage is beautiful, and to take that light home with them.

But on to today! Tonight is Five Year, a beautiful (and sometimes emotional!) night where we get to recognize campers who have come for 5 years or more (with three of those being at Main Camp). It’s a big deal for campers to give up so much of their summers every year to jump into “the bubble,” and we want to celebrate that. We also get to hear from the 54 “Senior Seniors” as they tell us why they come back year after year.

This year we’re giving the Seniors a new way to share these memories, and they are thrilled about it! Instead of giving live speeches, they will be telling their camp stories in a series of videos that we’ll all get to watch together for the first time tonight. The Seniors were a big part of making this decision, and their creativity and enthusiasm really comes through in the videos - they will be treasures the girls can look back on for years! We’ll share the videos on tomorrow’s blog so that you can enjoy them as well. It’s going to be a beautiful night!

• Breakfast - Frittata
• Lunch - Lettuce Wraps
• Dinner - Italian Night

We’re back in our normal summer weather pattern of warm weather and afternoon showers. It’s a perfect day in Tuxedo!