I had the opportunity and privilege to go with G on his very first youth camp. I cannot believe I am old enough to have my own kid in youth!!!!! James and I used to go on youth trips all the time before we had kids and when our kids were very little. The last few years we have not been involved much, but I was so thankful for this opportunity!
We left early on a Saturday morning and headed to Camp WOW (Walk on Water) in Oklahoma. I would give you a reference point, so you would kind of know where we were, but I am not sure "near Atoka" or "between Gerty and Non" will be enough of a reference. Suffice it to say, we were in the middle of nowhere.
We took 400+ teenagers and almost 100 adults as we descended for 4 days on Camp WOW. It wouldn't be a youth trip if you didn't start out with a little excitement, so 30 minutes down the road 1 of our 10 buses started smoking. Luckily, they were able to replace it fairly quickly and we were on the road again.
The picture below was our first order of business. Have to get a picture before someone gets hurt, right?
We were divided into teams and family groups which allowed us to bond with many different people. I helped to lead a great group of junior high kids! What a blast we had!
Each morning and evening we had worship services and phenomenal speaking by Pat Cammarata. He really engaged the kids! The first evening we had over 30 kids give their lives to Christ. What a blessing! The second night, we had 110 kids surrender their lives to ministry/missions. I have never been a part of such an amazing experience. The really cool thing was those kids gave up their free time the next afternoon to come see what their next step should be. AMAZING!
The kids had a blast each afternoon - after playing group games, they had several hours of free time. There was lots to do - tournaments, water sports, board games, crafts, wall climbing, zip lines. I know there were things I didn't even see!
Below is G getting ready for group games, then enjoying climbing the net and going down the zip line.
This was really a great experience for me as well as G. I got to meet some great people that love kids and will be loving on mine too! We did not have any "issues" that I am aware of that could easily come up at camp - but the youth minister has been doing this for a long time - he knows how to have control before issues arise. Can't wait to go again!!!!
