by Sara Brown

Every part of Family Camp was a sign of God’s glory and you can take my word for it or read on.

Family Camp weekend started as soon as I arrived at camp. After unpacking and eating a great meal, everyone went up to the mountain in their western cowboy clothing on the hayride. When we arrived at the top of the mountain there was an indescribable sunset to enjoy. It set the tone for meeting my friends and fellowshipping with my church family, I made a new friend too who I call my little shadow (Emily Clark). We all enjoyed roasting marshmallows; I must note that it was my first time having square marshmallows. This mountain top experience was only the beginning. After singing and listening to Mr. Lawson ‘s story we headed back down to camp.

Yes family camp bed time curfew is midnight so back down the mountain some of us joined Mr. Sterling for the traditional Polar Bear swim. That was followed by snack and a late night movie in Mohawk. We watched “Heaven is for Real”. Now that was a great movie, about a boy who sees heaven and meets Jesus Christ…it makes you think.

Saturday was another fun day. After breakfast our church family formed teams to play the ‘family’ games. Some of the challenges were interesting and since the theme for the weekend was Western Cowboy, well you can just imagine some of the things we did…spitting contest, sack race, dunking for apples (my favorite). And each team had names that reflected the cowboy age, my team was the Outlaws and it was there I met my now good friend Lucy. Lucy held that Outlaw sign up with great pride.

After some ‘down’ time from having so much fun I went to have more fun canoeing with Audrey. Then I hit the trails for some horseback riding, I really enjoyed this event and at the end of the trail I saw a cross with the whole city skyline behind it! The day ended with a great meal and a concert from the NEUE. Some us could not control ourselves, the music stirred us to do the ‘hoedown’. We did eventually wind down to a late night movie, ‘God’s not dead’.

Sunday was our last day at camp, story time with Mr. Sterling is always funny and good. We all heard about Bronco Bill. I personally liked that my dad was preaching and at the end of his sermon he had us all come up as a congregation, praying and singing then he shared something I think is important for everyone to understand…it is better to give your loved ones flowers now than when they are dead. He explained that his mom told him it is important to have time with your family and make good memories and I think what better place to make those memories than being together with your Church family at Family Camp. See you next year!