"Being here is like coming home again." This statement reflected the sentiment of many of the staff and veteran campers who gathered at Northwoods Christian Camp from July 20 to August 3. Joshua Penman, a veteran of five years, came to his "home away from home" all the way from New Zealand. Gina Gosse has been to all ten GYC/LYC camps and Annette Frank and Rachelle Fall are close on her heels with nine camps apiece. About a third of our campers were first-timers this year, but many of the others have made LYC a rite of summer.
Before camp began, there was a two-day staff orientation for counselors and department heads. This preparation time is essential to the success of the program. In it, Camp Director Gerald Weston covered the "Philosophical Approach" that is the undergirding of the camp. One point he made was that: "These teens who come here are not ours. They belong to their parents and ultimately to God. Parents have a reasonable expectation that they will be properly cared for and returned to them safely, and hopefully even a little better than when they arrived."
Mr. Lambert Greer then covered various legal considerations of which everyone needed to be aware. He also discussed how one can be successful as a staff member and said, "You are writing your resumé for 2005 by how you perform this year." Mr. Jonathan McNair pointed out the "big picture" of our responsibility to pass along to the next generation the true way of life we are learning. "We are here to do more than just 'play camp.' We are here to un-apologetically teach God's way of life," he said. Mr. Sheldon Monson spoke on the importance of leading by example—a principle that all his canoe staff know he practices.
Most campers arrived on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 20, but more than 50 were scheduled to arrive in the late evening by bus from the Saginaw Airport. This is always a stressful time for the office personnel, as each year some few individuals will have a flight delayed or cancelled and camp staffers must scramble to solve the difficulties that arise. Everyone was happy when the last flight came in on time and no one was delayed past the bus departure time, but cheers changed to disappointment a short while later when the chartered bus broke down 20 minutes out of the airport. This delay caused the bus to arrive at camp shortly after 1:00 a.m. and every dorm was disturbed by campers' late arrival, as they checked in and were scattered throughout the campus. Nevertheless, camp started with great enthusiasm the next morning in spite of the short night.
On opening day, Mr. Weston asked the question: "What makes this camp so special?" He explained: "We have a wonderful location with a picture-perfect lake, green trees surrounding a grassy meadow, deer with their spotted fawns roaming about freely, white fluffy clouds and blue skies. But is this what makes LYC so special? Other camps can make similar boasts, but what makes LYC really special is the way of life promoted here. We teach the way of love, which is defined as outgoing concern for the other fellow. When someone is trying to out-cool the other person, who is he thinking of? Himself! We want you to get your mind off yourself and be concerned about the other person. That shy, awkward or backward person may appear very different from you, but inside he has a heart, feelings, hopes and dreams, and he wants to love and be loved just like you. This is why we have traditions and rules to help you learn how to show outgoing concern and to think of the well-being of the other person. When all of us care about the other person, we all win!"
Christian Living was the first class of each day. The theme this year was "God is our Creator." Exciting new information has come out in recent years demonstrating absolutely that life demands a designer. As one prominent former chemical evolutionist explained on a video that was shown, "there is not the slightest possibility" of life springing up from chemicals alone. Each minister explained different aspects of creation vs. evolution. For example, Mr. Greer explained the gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, which allows for harmonizing some aspects of science with the Bible.
After Christian Living, campers participated in a full schedule of activities. A highlight for many campers was the canoe trip to Government Island. Mr. Sheldon Monson and his staff set up a well-ordered camp with interesting activities to keep everyone occupied for the overnight adventure. We were blessed this year with cool but good weather conditions for all four trips.
Before breakfast, each day began with Morning Motivation and one of our traditions: singing a corny little song for which campers and staff make up verses relating to events that occur during camp. For example, campers returning from the canoe trip look forward to stopping off at an ice cream shop in the quaint little village of Cedarville. Several years ago, the following verse was added regarding this delightful excursion: "After our trip / We took a walk / And soon we found / An ice cream shop." Another verse from a couple of years ago went like this: "In Mike's mattress / There lives a squirrel / He comes and goes / His name is Meryl." (It should be noted that the squirrel is no longer allowed in the dorm!)
For Creative Skills class, Mr. Greer had the campers launch bottle rockets and build bridges out of toothpicks. Dorm 4-B designed a bridge so well that it suspended 20.5 pounds of water before collapsing. In Life Skills class, taught by Mr. Jerry Ruddlesden (who attends each year as our business manager) students this year learned the life skill of saving money while shopping for groceries. Other classes included dance, campus improvement, volleyball and media.
Each year we drop a few classes and replace them with something brand new, or resurrect an old class to give variety to the program. This year we revived speech, fitness for life and flag football. We also introduced golf. The department head for fitness was Mrs. Larry Solomon, who also doubled as camp nurse. No campers needed to see her after fitness class, but more than one was known to see her before the class, looking for a way out. "Fit" is something most of our campers are not!
Each day ended with Evening Reflection. Campers and staff assembled in the chapel to sing a few hymns and hear Mr. Weston read a story that taught a lesson. Campers left Evening Reflection for their dorms and a good night's rest, singing "By This Shall All Men Know." After a hard day of work, staff then retired for relaxation to a tent dubbed "The Leaning Elephant."
One evening at the Leaning Elephant, staff member Dwayne Wilks noticed some strange lights in the sky. Being from Canada, he quickly recognized them as the Northern Lights. Within a few minutes, the entire sky was filled with streaks and waves of light. Runners were dispatched to all dorms to get everyone out to see this strange phenomenon, which most had never seen and some had never even heard of. Even some of our Canadian youth saw the Northern Lights for the first time this year! This was a special treat for Cecille and Cole Burkes and T.J. Arender, who traveled 31 hours by bus all the way from Mississippi. It was something very few of their friends back home will ever have an opportunity to see.
This year, we were pleased to have two special "guest appearances" at camp. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bryce came for the opening days of camp, and Mr. and Mrs. Roderick C. Meredith saw us close it down at the end. This was the Bryces' first visit to camp since it became known as Living Youth Camp in 1999, and they seemed pleased with the maturing of the camp program. This was the fourth visit by Mr. and Mrs. Meredith, and their third to Northwoods. Messrs. Meredith and Bryce each answered questions during Friday night Bible Studies, and spoke on the weekly Sabbath. Mr. Bryce challenged everyone to "be a pioneer in character," and Mr. Meredith spoke on the "big picture"— where we are in the world today, and how it is leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. It was very encouraging to have the Presiding Evangelist and the Director of Church Administration show such interest and support toward our youth and the camp program. We also appreciated having their wives help out in the kitchen and participate in the program.
Some members have asked why we chose a camp with such a remote location. There are two primary reasons. First, this camp offers a truly unique opportunity for our young people. It is away from big city lights and has a "camp feel." It is surrounded by wilderness, rather than by farmland or the hustle and bustle of a resort community. Our young people are able to see and experience things that they could not elsewhere. In addition to the abundant wildlife (including three wolves and a bear that were seen), there is the unique beauty of the magnificent Mackinac Bridge, which straddles the passageway between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The beautiful Le Cheneaux Islands near the villages of Hessel and Cedarville also add to the atmosphere. A fundamental reason, however, is that this camp is available, affordable and suitable for our program. It is extremely difficult to locate a camp that meets these qualifications, and the present location far surpasses our experiences in both Missouri and North Carolina. Every other camp we investigated was either too expensive, not available for the length of time and dates we need to work within, or lacking housing facilities that matched our needs. Even Northwoods lacked adequate housing at first, but after two years of negotiation the camp built a double dormitory, freed up a two-week time slot within our parameters, and was willing to work with us on other necessary improvements. So far, this camp has served us well and, for those of us who attend each summer, it is truly "like coming home again!"