Responding to Summer Camp

August 10, 2010

ATTENTION ALL CAMPERS,

It’s been a couple of weeks since you returned home from camp.  How many times did you hear the question, “So, how was camp?”  Did you have a good time?  Do you miss it?  Do you want to go back?  What was the best part?  What was the worst part?  Is it nice to be back sleeping in your own bed?  How was the camp food; it wasn’t too disgusting was it?  What did you learn?

As your Pastor, I would just like to say that I’m thrilled that you decided to take a week out of your summer to go to “Church camp.”  Whether you went to Shalom Camp at Mt. Cross or you attended Outpost, Sherwood Forest or High School Camps at Calvin Crest, I sincerely hope that your camp experience was memorable and perhaps even “life-changing.”  In my own life, some of my most significant spiritual experiences happened during weeks of summer camp.  Was this the case for you too?  I’m writing this letter because I honestly want to know what your camp experience was like.  I was with everyone at camp (at least for part of the time), but I wasn’t there for every minute of your experience and I haven’t necessarily heard what you thought about it.

I would like to invite you to SHARE YOUR STORY.  It may be that you don’t have a super-serious moment to describe or maybe you do.  What was something memorable that happened at camp?  Maybe you could answer some of these questions:  What was the best part of camp?  What was something you learned at camp?  What was something that happened at camp that you didn’t expect?  How did your week at camp change your life?  Did you make any commitments during your week at camp?

I feel so blessed to get to work with all of you amazing kids and talk to you and hang out with you, but there are many people in our church who don’t have these same opportunities.  Did you know that there are dozens and dozens of adults in this church, who don’t even know your name, who love you and pray for you?  The adults in this church are passionate about young people and it encourages them when they get to hear about what God is doing in your life.  Did you know that it cost nearly $19,000 to send all 50 of our kids to summer camp?  While you and your family paid a portion of this, more than $9,500 came from scholarships that were made possible through our fundraising efforts and the generosity of all the people in our congregation who supported this experience.  God is definitely good!

What I would like you to do is to SHARE YOUR STORY by writing it down and sending it to me.  You can write it with pencil and paper and mail it to me at the church, but I would prefer that you type it out and email it to adam@hopelutheranfresno.org or you can leave a comment right here on this Blog.  Write a letter, share a story, answer some of the questions above, write a poem or talk about a meaningful Bible verse you learned.  Do whatever you want; just send me something. J  If you have some pictures that capture your experience you can send those to me as well.  My plan is to use YOUR STORIES to share with our congregation.  What you send may be used in any of the following: Blogs on our website right here, in church newsletters or in a flyer/brochure that we plan to publish as a special gift for our congregation for all of their love, support and encouragement.  I recommend that you take a few minutes in the next day or two (before you get busy with school) and write down your thoughts and send them to me.  I would really appreciate it.  Please don’t hesitate to call me if you or your parents have any questions.  Thanks for your help.

Very Truly,  Pastor Adam Knudson

Posted in Uncategorized