Through the Eyes of My 10-year-old Self

August 6th, 2014 by Daniel VandeBunte, Camp Geneva

My adventures here at Camp Geneva begin as a little kid about to leave home for something unknown. For me, that consisted of hopping onto a huge double-decker bus for my first day of Day Camp. Once I tasted a week at camp, I was hooked. The amazing experiences continued on Shores with songs and skits, Bible studies, color wars, lanyard making, and my personal favorite- counselor hunt!

Although all of the activities were fun and memorable, the real reason I was drawn to camp was the people… the counselors. I had never seen a group act so crazy and energetic. I had never seen a group live with such love and joy. The people are what make camp such an incredible place.

Day Camp, Shores, and Pines were all a part of my childhood, but it wasn’t until my last summer on Pines when I felt my faith mature and become more personal. A strong moment that sticks with me from that week of camp was a game called “Romans and Christians”. It is a game that challenges students to verbalize what they believe and why they believe it. I had never been asked to articulate my faith like that before and I remember laying awake in bed that night (way past bed time) thinking about what my God and my life meant to me. It was strangely uncomfortable, but I loved it.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning out shelves in my room and stumbled across an old math book from fourth grade. I threw it away, but my mom happened to find an essay about Camp Geneva inside (pictured below). The paper helped me refocus Camp Geneva through the eyes of my 10-year-old self. Now that I’m an actual counselor here, things have really come full circle. I realize that everything we do here is for the kids. It is about showing them the love of Christ and inspiring a spirit-filled life. I used to look up to my counselors as some type of superhuman college student, but I realize now that I am in that position, that I am nothing; God is everything. I wouldn’t have made it past day one on my own.

 

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