Summer Tree
Our final day is both restful and fun. This morning was Summer Tree, which affords campers and staff the opportunity to share what is on their hearts. Again this year before meeting as a big group, our cabins met with just their cabin to share gratitude, honesty, and love for each other. Then we marched down toward the OC to this year’s summer tree to meet as a group as cabin by cabin campers poured out their hearts.
This gathering is really hard to explain if you are not present. So I decided to take a few written notes and share some quotes anonymously from our time together this morning. I think they speak for themselves.
This whole camp— you know people care for you.
You helped me grow as a person.
Camp Huawni will always be my second home.
Camp Huawni is the best camp I will ever go to.
Whenever I was scared to do something, my counselors always helped me and made me feel better.
[My counselors] are always right by my side.
The Camp Song says “best friends to me”…that’s true for me.
Without our CITs, camp wouldn’t be camp.
Even though I live 7,000 miles away in Hong Kong, Camp makes me want to come back every summer.
You really are helping me find my true significance and purpose.
This is my first year and I’ve never felt more welcome in my life.
This place is not just a camp, it’s my home…my family.
The fact that a bunch of 16 and 17 year old girls can get together for two weeks and have no drama….that’s incredible.
I feel like I’m so close to God here and it rocks.
I have 11 best friends…who does that?
The one quote that wasn’t a quote, but a very touching moment, was one of our boy campers who told his brother how much he meant to him, and then just cried because he was so overwhelmed with emotion. His brother and the entire cabin then proceeded to give him a big group hug.
Today at Summer Tree I was reminded of a few truths.
- Camp is so much bigger than one person or one family.
- Camp only is what it is because of our counseling staff who have chosen to give their summer away to our campers. They make camp remarkable.
- We experience God’s love through our friends at Camp.
We are getting ready for Initiation this evening and are excited to welcome in 17 first-time campers to the Tribe.
Closing Day
The gates open tomorrow morning at 9am and we will begin our Closing Ceremonies at 10:30am. I really want to encourage you to spend time with your child’s cabin counselors at their cabin in the morning. We have carved out 1.5 hours for this soul purpose. I’d encourage you to ask about your child’s camp experience and how your child’s counselor saw them grow up this week. We are excited to see you tomorrow!
