What a Summer without Camp Taught Us

“Unprecedented.” We have heard the word more times in the past few months than we ever thought possible. The pandemic has provided us with the opportunity to experience things that have not happened before and in the spirit of the Great Day Attitude, we now take a look back at our 101st summer and try to find the lemonade that is surely hiding in the sour tastes of camp without campers.

Camp without campers is quiet. This silence was depressing at first, but as time went on we grew to appreciate the sounds of the creatures who were still enjoying Greystone. We heard owls at night, songbirds all day long, hawks and even eagles! We heard crickets, cicadas, frogs, horses neighing, dogs barking, and even bobcats! We heard the wind in the pine trees, the distant sound of thunder, and the sound of rain approaching (you can actually hear the rain as it marches across the fields and lake before arriving at camp).

The quiet was beautiful and led us to moments of prayer and praise for God’s wonderful creation. It taught us to step back and take in the beauty that surrounds us all the time.

Camp without campers is filled with nature. Camp is a pretty big place and animals love it without campers! We saw bears walking through tentalow row! We saw deer grazing on Apple Hill! We saw beavers swimming in Lake Edith! We even saw Bald Eagles catch fish! Each sighting came as a complete surprise and filled our hearts with joy.

Camp without campers is boring. Without you, we didn’t have nearly as much fun. You make us laugh a lot! You make us think a lot! You are wonderful to talk with and wonderful to get to know. You make every moment delightful. From dawn to dusk our days are filled with quality social growth and that growth is more appreciated now than ever before. We have learned anew how much we need you in our lives and we can’t wait to see you again!

We know that you can’t wait to be at camp again next year, but at camp we encourage you to always consider why you feel a particular feeling. Why do you like camp so much?

It isn’t because of the great t-shirts that we give away all the time. It isn’t because of the amazing classes and Evening Programs. It isn’t even the delicious food.

It’s the people! Your friends, your counselors, and your Lord. God is present at camp in a way that fills your hearts with joy. The Holy Spirit is everywhere making our days better in every way: filling us with spontaneous, joyful, whimsical moments that only happen when we are all together.

We give God the glory for making camp so good. He has done this for 100 years and we can’t wait ’til He does it again. Expect next year to be better than ever!