The Reset Button (Or: Why Camp Can't Get Rid of Me)

When I was a junior in undergrad, I took an information technology course and subsequently went through a phase where I was obsessed with the British television program The IT Crowd. The show, which follows two traditional IT professionals and their accidental, completely-technologically-incompetent supervisor, is most known for the bored way all three employees would answer the phone:

"Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

Ever since I was twelve years old, my chance to turn my soul "off and on again", my opportunity to hit my internal "reset button", so to speak, has happened at summer camp. Whether in Canada or the States; whether I was a camper, counselor, worship leader, retreat attendee, chapel speaker, office manager, or had some other hat on; whether I was thriving in my faith or crippled with overwhelming doubt, camp has always been a place where God could slow down my anxious mind and capture my heart again. Over the years, He has met me time and time again on the banks of lakes and the bunks of cabins, in the midst of fields and in tiny chapel buildings, in conversation and in silence. Camp is where I restart, reset, and walk away rested and reaffirmed in my relationship with Christ.

In 36 hours, I get to press that button again. 

To be perfectly honest, six months ago I did not think I'd be going back to camp. I start grad school in the fall, so this felt like my last summer where I could reasonably get away with bumming around Wenatchee without people starting to get suspicious. God's plans are better than mine, though, so I find myself starting to pack my bags to once again spend the summer at Moose River Outpost in Jackman, Maine. It's a truly special place, full of absolutely wonderful people-- but that's not why I'm going back. 

The sunset over the lake at Moose River Outpost.

I'll be at camp because I firmly believe in the powerful way that camping programs can create space for people to meet with Christ. All across the nation this summer, children, tweens and teens will be packing up bags, kissing their parents goodbye and choosing to share a bedroom with fifteen strangers. They'll learn new skills in craft rooms and canoes. They'll test their limits as they hike up mountains and zoom down them on bikes. They'll learn healthy competition as they take on other cabins in evening games. They'll laugh themselves silly as they throw on last minute costumes pieced together from random clothing items in their suitcases. 

And as they do all these things, they'll be building friendships and community that bond you together in a way much stronger than you could imagine possible in such a short amount of time. They'll be having conversations about life and faith and Christ in chapel and Bible studies, around the dinner table and the campfire, while kayaking or rock climbing. They'll get to encounter the gospel stripped of its frills and powerful in its vulnerability. They'll be doing life with staff who work countless hours not for personal gain, but so they can love like Jesus in tangible ways.

As these students go to camp, they'll meet Jesus. For some, it may be their first glimpse of faith that lays groundwork for later fruit. For others, like myself, camp creates the environment where they'll first declare Christ as king, receiving His gift of grace and sacrificial love. For others still, camp will be the place where they answer God's call in their lives, calls to participate in His kingdom and love the world around them in bold and risky ways. 

For all of us at camp, staff and student, friend and supporter, camp is the place where you can see the Holy Spirit alive and active, if we only open up our eyes to His presence. 

That is why I'll be at camp this summer: Not just because I love the people and want to add to the collection of mountain biking scars on my legs, though trust me, I'm definitely looking forward to both those realities. No, I'll be at camp for one simple reason: God will be there. And where God is, I want to be courageous enough to go. 

If you're the praying type, I'd supremely appreciate your prayers this summer. The list I'm leaving below is specific for myself and MRO, but there are hundreds of camps that will be helping thousands upon thousands of campers engage with Jesus this summer. Pray for me, pray for whatever camp or camper is nearest and dearest to your heart, but remember that we are all part of a broader movement with Christ to further God's kingdom. 

1. Pray for boldness and confidence as I step into a new job. I'm the female program director this year, which is a different role than anything I've done in the past. Among other duties, this means I'm responsible for caring and ministering to the female counseling staff, as well as running camp evening programs and making sure the experience is fun and rewarding for counselor and camper alike. It's a big extroverted role for my little introverted heart, so I would appreciate prayer for energy and excitement, as well as renewing moments of time alone with the Lord. It's also stretching me way outside my comfort zone (I am terrible at basically alllllll the activities the campers are going to do), so prayer for confidence and boldness is appreciated. Please pray that I would listen to and learn from my staff, and that I would be able to support them well. Finally, I'm astoundingly grateful that I don't have to do this job alone: I have a fantastic male counterpart who I'm excited to work with this summer. Please pray that my co-leader, Sam, and I would be able to work together well, respect one another, and spur each other on to bigger and better leadership and bigger and goofier skits. 

My co-leader, Sam, was studying abroad in Scotland last semester and I got to visit him at his university. We had already planned the trip and found out only days before I arrived that we were going to be leading together this summer.

2. Pray for a cohesive staff team. I will admit I'm biased, but I think the MRO staff are some of the best people you'll ever meet. Even so, after you've been living in tight quarters with someone for weeks on end with no access to Netflix or ability to control your own schedule, it's easy to decrease the amount of grace you'll show to the people around you (or, at least, I'm hoping that's true for people other than me). Please pray that as a staff team, we would be able to model for our campers what unity in the body of Christ looks like. Please pray that we would be safe places for dialogue and vulnerability, both with our campers and amongst ourselves. Please pray that we would serve one another like Jesus served us. Please pray that in the moments when we are exhausted and broken and at the end of our rope, we would turn to Christ for His grace, love, and energy, and that He would give us the power to shower those gifts on the people around us. 

3. Pray for safety. At MRO especially, these campers are participating in activities that range everywhere from learning how to roll a kayak to how to shoot skeet. Our staff are well trained and impressively diligent-- but even so, accidents happen. Safety for campers and staff are prayers that we will always, always appreciate. 

4. Pray for rest. I'm entering into this summer weary. While I am so thankful for the opportunities for adventure that have presented themselves to me lately, I also haven't been in the same time zone for longer than three months for over a year now. Right now, I'm longing for a sense of permanence and a chance to be genuinely embedded in community. I would greatly appreciate prayer that God would use this summer to prepare my heart for my first semester of seminary in the fall, and that I would get sweet moments of genuine rest with and in Him. 

5. Pray for fun. How boring would it be if you went to camp and never laughed or cheered so loud you lost your voice? Please pray that all those who find their way onto MRO property this summer would be overwhelmed at the sense of joy present, and that they would experience it for themselves. Pray that this laughter and goodness and light would point people towards Jesus.

6. Pray that we'll all meet Jesus. Whether its for the first time or the thousandth time, please pray that everyone at camp would encounter Jesus in fresh, eye-opening, life changing ways this summer. Camp isn't about the program. It's not about the games. It's not about the worship team or the chapel speakers. Camp is about Christ, and I know He has amazing things in store for us all. Pray that we keep our focus on the one who deserves it.

The MRO mission statement reminds us to "seek Christ, build community, and embrace adventure." Wherever we find ourselves today or this summer, I pray that we would all live out those callings to the fullest.