In my years of working with Living Youth Camp, in various capacities, I have seen again and again how it makes such a difference in the lives of young people who attend and who take advantage of what it has to offer. This is not an automatic process; a young person has to be ready for the experience. It can give motivated young people many opportunities to grow in ways they might otherwise never have imagined. Below is an account written by a bright young woman whose life has been shaped by her camp experience. I hope you find it as encouraging and inspiring as I did when I first read it. -- Sheldon Monson
The first year I went to Living Youth Camp, I was 15 years old. I was awkward and shy. I did not want to be there. Truth be told, I was terrified. I had never liked talking to people I did not know, and there were a lot of people there I did not know. When I first arrived, I stepped into a culture that I did not understand. The rules were different, the way of doing things was different, and the traditions were well-crafted and established. I was so far out of my comfort zone. I wanted to go home.
Fast-forward to today. I am now 29 years old. I have not missed a year of camp since that first year. That is 14 summers of camp at LYC—three as a camper, eleven as a staff member, and all but four of those eleven as a counselor. That does not include the years I have been a staff member at preteen LYC camps. I have eaten, drank, slept, breathed—I have lived—camp every summer since that first year. You could call me a “camp junkie”—I mean, nearly half the summers that I have lived I have attended Church youth camps, and during several summers I attended more than one. When I graduated from college and knew that my summers would no longer be free, I prayed for God to grant me a job that would allow me the flexibility to still attend the youth camps (at least one) every summer. He was gracious to allow such a job opportunity. I continued to go to camp—two each summer.
Why?
Why did I keep going all those years, serving as a staff member, working, giving up time and money to attend, especially since I did not even want to be there when I first went to camp at 15? What changed? What drew me to that event each and every year? What made it something I wondered how or if I would ever give up and stop doing?
Living Youth Camp changed my life.
You can read that sentence and think I am sensationalizing. I assure you that I am not. My experience at camp shaped, so very deeply, the person that I am today. Despite my shyness and dislike of talking with people I did not know, I met a lot of friends that first year. It helped that it was so strongly encouraged to get to know everyone, to “M&M” (Mix & Mingle), to not leave anyone out, and to make a concerted effort to involve those who may otherwise be left out, ignored, or overlooked. The traditions, the rules, the different ways of doing things all worked in concert to create a culture that was so drastically different from the world that I had no choice but to stop and think, “Why is this so different?” and “What are the reasons for these differences?” That way of thinking and questioning directly impacts my life and how I view the word of God. When I read the laws and statutes or about the things Jesus did that were “counter-culture” to the world around Him, I cannot help but ask those same two questions. In that asking, I can learn the mind of God—what reasons did He have for the laws He created, why are they so different from the world, and what is the purpose behind it all? For the Christian walk we must change our way of thinking to align with God’s, so we can understand His purpose and how to think like He does. At camp, I learned to change my way of thinking to align with the direction and purpose of the camp itself. Same principle. Powerful concept.
As I progressed through my years as a camper and on into years as a staff member, I learned more about the purpose of the Church’s youth programs. In staff orientations, the directors were not shy about stating, “We are selling something,” “We have a product we want these young people to buy into,” and that product was a different way of life. I believed in that product. I believed in that mission. I understood that in order for the Church to continue strongly, the youth of the Church must understand how to live a different way of life, how to have a godly way of thinking. They will have to continue the struggle against sin, society, and Satan long after we are gone (should the Kingdom not come first). As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
This is the core of why I have been to camp for so many years. I was changed by the culture, I believed in the purpose, and I wanted to give those who are younger than me the same opportunity to connect with their peers in the faith and to learn a different way of life—“a way of life that works.” Without dedicated people willing to serve at our summer camps, they would not be able to continue. There were absolutely wonderful people who made camp possible and wonderful the years I was a camper. Seeing their sacrifice and dedication, I could not help but be compelled to “pay it forward.” —Leona Dorothy
Editor’s Note: It is not too late to sign up for Summer 2014 Living Youth Camp activities! Learn more by reading the Living Youth Camps promotional piece, which will soon be sent to all Living Church of God member households. You may also go to www.LivingYouth.org to find out how you, or a Church youth for whom you care, can attend.
