Second Session

Thanks for the Memories

August 9, 2015 By Camp Blogger Leave a Comment

One of my favorite things about camp is our waterfront, to be more specific, sailing on it. When the wind is strong there is nothing else like it! This session I have been so lucky as to find four others who love to sail as much as I do or at the very least are willing to sail with me. Every day the five of us take out the Tern, our biggest sailboat, and chat and sail and talk about everything. Sailing is one of the best times to really talk to people because you are in a small boat in the middle of our bay and there are no distractions.

During session we have talked about different topics each day ranging from the happenings around camp to Christ and school. These four people have shown me so much in these few outings. They helped me to be humble and realize that everyone has a different struggle and the difficulty of one struggle does not lessen the difficulty of another. They have taught me that there are many different kinds of fun. All too often people think that sailing is only fun when the wind is crazy and the boat fast, but I think that I can speak for all of us when I say that some of the most fun days were when the wind died and it took us an extra half an hour to get back to the mooring and we just laughed and talked the whole time. They have taught me that to grow better you have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Most importantly they taught me that in 3 weeks you can make some of the best friends of your life.

I learned all of this from a group of only four people. I don’t have enough words to describe how much I have been blessed to learn from all 65 of our campers this session. I am forever grateful for the tears, the laughs, and all of the memories that I have with these incredible people.

Overall the group this year has shown me how Christ is working in each of their lives, even if they don’t quite see it yet. It reminds me of Chop Point School’s verse, Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

July 31, 2015 By Camp Blogger Leave a Comment

Last night was one for the books. We treated our foreign campers to a taste of America with a tailgate dinner of hotdogs and chips and then a night full of excitement at the Portland Sea Dogs baseball game. We left camp around 4 O’clock and went to the Maine Mall parking lot for our tailgate. We ate bottomless hot dogs and drank pink lemonade and got excited for what was to come!

The game started at 7 and we arrived shortly before and found our seats. One of the counselors made the mistake of giving me her selfie stick and so I made it my mission to get an all camp selfie. I definitely succeeded. The first two innings went off without a hitch and then the rain came. The announcer warned us all to go inside and about two minutes in there was torrential downpours and they had to cover the field. We stuck it out. It made for an excellent intermission and chance to grab some snacks, like the famous seadog biscuits, a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. The rain didn’t last very long and after about an hour the players were back at it!

While we were waiting for the field to be uncovered we decided to get some camp songs going. A camper and a few campers led “Swing Low” and we all sang along. Then a camp sitting across the field from us sang a song, so of course we came back with “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and after we had finished their counselors signaled us to do it again and both of our camps sang it together. It was truly a special experience.

Both teams played well and we were all tied up at the bottom of the 9^th. The final play of the night and the Sea Dogs were up to bat. The pitcher threw the ball and the crowd went quiet. He hit it out of the park! That home run won the Sea Dogs the game! It was the stuff of movies! We got back to camp a bit later than usual and had a late breakfast today to make up for it. All of the campers had an amazing time and were still talking about it tonight at dinner.

A Busy Weekend

July 27, 2015 By Camp Blogger Leave a Comment

This past weekend has been crazy full of excitement. The sailing trip went out on Saturday morning and that night the rest of camp got to participate in one of my all-time favorite activities, Progressive Dinner. Basically we go to different houses around camp and they each serve a different part of our dinner. The next day was overcast and rainy so we decided to take everyone bowling in the afternoon.

To start off our dinner we went to the farmhouse owned by the family that opened Chop Point. There they had prepared us dumplings and lettuce wraps. They were delicious and after seconds a few of the guys got a game of ultimate Frisbee going on the back lawn. Some of the other campers attempted to teach our one of our guy counselors how to French braid hair. At first our French campers were really confused because they had never heard of a French braid. Once the braid was started they realized that it was the same as what the French call an African braid.

We then packed up and headed to another house nearby on the water for the main course, ribs. After dinner we all had a chance to hang out on the lawn and play some games. A few people carried on the braiding while others started a game of soccer and others just chose to hang out and talk and watch the sunset. Some of the campers made their way down into the reeds to fish. We headed back to camp for the final piece of the evening and enjoyed ice cream sundaes in the dining hall. It was a great time and everyone enjoyed the night to just relax and enjoy their friends away from camp.

The next day we got rained out, so after a beautiful chapel talk by one of our counselors and a few group games we all headed to Yankee Lanes for some bowling. We broke up into groups of 6 and each group bowled two rounds. There was a concession stand and arcade games and other fun things to enjoy. Some of the campers were really amazing and scored well over a 100. On my team three of the six got a strike on the first bowl! I was not one of those three…

Many more adventures coming up so keep checking back for more posts!