Monday, June 29, 2009

Young Life Capernaum Camp

Well, this last week I was at YL Capernaum Camp in Williams, AZ. At this camp I was a buddy to a special needs individual; basically I kept them on track for the day. Anyway, its a Christian camp supporting these people and helping them to have a close relationship with Christ and live normally without being made fun of for their differences.
In the beginning, before going to camp, I was a little weary. David Thames, the director for Northern Arizona came to my house for a leader/ buddy meeting make- up. There we discussed the week and prepared for the new experience. Somewhere in this mix we watched the 2008 YL Lost Canyon Capernaum video. In this video there were dances, carnivals, parties, and pool olympics. I totally freaked and prepared to be miserable. The only thought running through my head was, "Oh my goodness! We are going to be in the middle of Pool Olympics and my camper buddy is going to be holding onto me to stay up and I am going to drown us both!" Pleasant thoughts right?
So... I am there and everything is beyond it's best. I had a good time. There were many times when I felt like I could just slap my buddy, but I got through it. I also met two very special people at camp who are my new heros. First and foremost, Lori Whelan. She is the most amazing incredible woman I have ever met. I can't begin to explain how much she means to me or what she has done for me. For example, I was saved by the Lord November 2008 at a Women of Faith Conference. Somewhere along the road I got lost somehow and Lori was the one who led me back to Christ's feet. Of course you wanted to now my life story right! Well, I know I will be keeping in touch with Lori. In fact she has agreed to do my baptism sometime this summer once she has her mom at a steady pace in health and has the estate managed. Second, is Brendan McCarthy. He is a professional singer/song writer, who was at camp for the whole week and is also singing and sharing at other camps here in Arizona. I was expecting him to be there for a day or so and then be back on the road with work like any other artist, but no. He was there visiting and encouraging and setting a great example all week. He is really a great person and I am honored to have seen him in person. If he ever gets really serious with his music and stops hanging around with us crazy guys, I will most definitely be one of his travelling fans, supporting what he lives for. I love you guys. God bless you. Pray for Lori, her mom, and Trent Fogelson whos brother just died (he fell off a bridge in Alaska). Man have there been a lot of recent deaths in this town. First Randy, then Trevvor and Chase.
I encourage all to go to this camp as a buddy or leader and also send people with disabilities. It was life changing for me and I have met some very good and lasting friends.
Amen