A Lovely Summer Camp

CAMP MULBERRY ROCKS MY FACE OFF!!!!!!

Man, I'm glad I got that out there! When I was nine years old I went to Camp Mulberry for the very first time. It was everything I had ever imagined it to be and more. I fell in love (with the camp, that is). My grandparents had taken my mom and her two brothers to camp when they were teenagers and my two cousins Lexi and Rebecca had been going to camp for a few years, but I had never gone. I had only heard stories.

So the year I was nine I was so pumped to go to camp I'm surprised I didn't die of excitement! When my little feet hit Mulberry ground I said "See ya!" to my mom and dad and didn't stop going until that next Saturday came around. I was on the Bible quiz team, I sang in the choir, I even participated in all the sports.

The two greatest parts of Camp Mulberry though, are these: the people and the church services.

I'll start with the people. Until I went to Camp I had only ever been to my church and one other church for VBS. I knew that there were millions of people all over the world, but I had never met any of them outside of my hometown. So, camp was awesome for me because it was in Hot Springs, Arkansas, EIGHT HOURS AWAY from my hometown. And there were young people there from Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio, Texas... everywhere! And I love making new friends. Some of my best friends today are those I have made at Camp Mulberry.

Even better than all of the great people there, though, is the experience one has with God when they go there. Rarely ever do kids come to camp unsaved and leave the same way. I mean, they just can't do it. The presence of God is so powerful at Camp Mulberry. It is life-changing. I mean, I'm just having trouble right now even coming up with words to describe the way that God moves there. Whenever I leave Camp I feel weird being in the world. It's nuts. I think Heaven is going to be a lot like Camp :)

I still go to camp, but last year was my last year as a camper. This year I'm going back as a worker! I'm doing day-camp and leading praise and worship at the kids' service... I'm so pumped!!!