As you can imagine, at a camp that takes place in North Carolina in July, the pool is an important part of our day. The kids have at least one swim time each day, and on some days, there are two swim times. At every meal, I ask kids about their favorite things. Swimming is the most common answer. So, when we found the pool was likely unavailable, it was a concern. Many people had spent many hours working to repair the pool (which had apparently been leaking the year before). The pool itself was fixed, but the repairs required digging up the concrete deck around the pool, so we couldn't get to it. On Sunday, we believed it to be possible that the concrete would get poured on Monday, the pool inspected Tuesday morning, and that we would be back in business by Tuesday afternoon. Then, we had a long, heavy rain on Sunday and a thunderstorm on Monday afternoon. Concrete cannot be poured over wet ground, and it is unwise to pour it if it looks like it will be rained on before it sets; so that meant there would be no pool. The adults were worried that this might make for a bad week, but alternate plans were made. On Monday, the kids played water games (think your middle school field day activities), and then we rented an inflatable water slide. The squeals and laughter coming from the kids on that slide were a sign to me that they didn't feel deprived.
Because last year, we didn't have "real camp," we invited the kids whose last year it would have been to return this year. That meant we had a group of graduates who were 12 and 13. As you know, 13-year-olds don't enjoy the same things as 7-year-olds, so our director planned a sort of parallel camp schedule. It wreaked all kinds of havoc with the schedule because we had to split the staff in ways we hadn't before. Adding to that was the goal of keeping kids and adults in cohorts for CoVid reasons, so our poor directors kept having to schedule and reschedule where our people went. While that was a challenge, it led to some people doing things they never had before. I did two nights of counselor relief, an hour at bedtime when the counselors get a break and staff members spend time with their kids in the cabins. I had never done it before because most of my work takes place in the evenings, but because of the challenging scheduling, I got to spend some sweet time giggling with delightfully creative girls who told me about their imaginary pets and sang very silly songs.
On Tuesday, we were supposed to have a special event with the Super Skippers, a jump rope squad that teaches the kids how to do some tricks. We have had them before, and they are amazing. For some reason, they were unable to come. With no time to plan an alternative, our evening activity became free-play with the birthday presents the kids received at dinner. I took the opportunity to make one of my eleven Wal-Mart runs (no, that's not hyperbole), and when I returned, I found groups of kids and counselors playing basketball, swinging and climbing on playground equipment, playing with slinkies, and riding bikes. Have that one hour of unscheduled time was nice for them. All the things we plan are awesome, and too much downtime would lead to problems, but that one hour was lovely and made going to bed that night a bit easier because they weren't transitioning from a super high energy activity.
Because we are considered a compassionate charity and work with children in foster care, there are some things were are not allowed to do. One of those is holding altar calls. We are free to teach Bible stories and pray with kids and respond to their questions, but we are not allowed to ask them to come forward or raise their hands, etc. Of course, that means we also tell anyone we have invited that they cannot do it either. The magicians we invited to perform on Thursday went right up to that line, and every adult in the room was scared they were going to cross it. While it shouldn't have happened, God still used it because the kids asked their counselors questions that led to important conversations.
I'm not sure I've ever had a week at camp where more changed from the original plan, but I also don't think I've ever had a camp week where it seemed every kid had a good experience. That's not to say we didn't have drama and tears (We had some 13-year-old girls, remember), but at the end of the week, they went home with the experience of riding a horse for the first time or finding the items on a treasure hunt or building a wood project they could be proud of. They took home a bracelet or keychain or checkers board or hat or decorative rock or painting or fuse bead necklace or Lego project or tie-dyed pillowcase (we have a lot of crafts) they enjoyed making. They went home with the memory of singing and dancing with people who treated them kindly and a CD and CD player so they could listen to those songs and make those memories last. Their photo albums will serve as a touchstone to remember all of these moments and relationships when their lives are hard and they don't feel important. They won't remember that the schedule changed or that the Super Skippers bailed. We hope they will remember that they are loved by a group of adults who will always hold them in their hearts.
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