And the Winner is...

I was a little nervous that after the gloomy weather all morning we would get stuck inside playing raining day games, but that was not the case! The Beach Olympics were in full force this afternoon. 

And the winner was…

Jesus, of, course!

A Letter to Parents

Dear Parents of these incredible campers.

I am writing to ask that I have permission to spend the rest of the summer at camp with your children. They each are incredibly beautiful people that I feel so lucky to be with this past week. Besides being completely selfish, I’m confident that they can find more bugs to eat, more craft projects to accomplish and more snacks to devour. I’m also confident that we could learn some more camp songs and crazy camp graces. We all probably need to spend more time in the lake being deep sea explores. Of course, you can come visit them, but I’m having too much fun to think this week has to come to an end tomorrow. And to be completely honest, one camper may have admitted camp food is the best food she has ever had in her whole entire life. 

Today, on our last full day of camp, we celebrate living in community with one another. We talk about embrace and what does it mean to embrace the neighbor. I cannot help but smile with how exciting it is to live in community with your children.

Let me know if my proposal is accepted. Maybe we can think of compromise. I may be willing to negotiate. 

God’s Peace,

Sandy

P.S. I apologize that some of your children are too fast for me ever to capture on film. Some of your children have also figured out how to avoid the camera, while others cannot smile big enough.  As I write this, three soared past me.

Our Campers are Doing Great

Just wanted to keep you all updated and let you know that our campers are:

1. Cleaning their plates

2. Making new discoveries in the lakes

3. Meeting new friends

4. Eating their fruit and veggies

5. Wearing clean underwear each day, even if it ends up on the outside of their clothes

6. And becoming closer than ever.

The One Human Family in our Everyday Life

It was not until I ended up at Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida following my sophomore year of college that I feel in love with outdoor ministry. It could have been that I got to spend most of my summer in Key West and near the beach, but there was still something unique about what I was experiencing, and even rather bazaar at times. For example, every Sunday we prepared to welcome a new group of students into our home, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Duval Street. This small Parish house had one large room, a kitchen, one bathroom inside and another outside. It was not long until we were forced into living communally.

I am watching the same thing happen here this week. It even began before we arrived at Luther Crest as I watched two middle students interact so beautifully with one of our younger campers on our way to camp. Those relationships continued as we were welcomed into the larger community at Luther Crest. 

We sing this song called ‘Brothers and Sisters’ during worship, and I often find myself  dwelling in what does it mean to be the one human family, brothers and sisters of one another. Of course, we have a family at home, yet we are creating family here as we share sacred time together. And for many young people, they are getting a glimpse into living in an intentional Christian community. As relationships are formed and nurtured, I begin to wonder how cool of an opportunity we have to be part of those relationships. We also have the exciting challenge to continue to create the space for this one human family to exist in our every day life. 

First 24-Hours of Camp

Once upon a time, let’s say eight months ago, I was revisiting my job decription. I came upon a list of long-term dreams. On this list was a joint-week at Bible Camp. The three pastors and I dreamed of how cool this would be for the young people in our congregations to experience a week at camp. Little did we know how big of a dream come true this was all going to be.

There are so many things I could already share with you after a short twenty-four hours. I hope these photos give you a little glimpse into the life of our campers.

Summer Kick-off with the Saints

The Collaborative kicked off summer with a tailgate and baseball game with the Saint Paul Saints. 

The Power of Camp

A great look at the power of camp in the lives of young people.