Sometimes people ask me, in not so many words, why Delanco? Why would I want to spend a week or even a weekend at a camp filled with sand, not the best of accommodations, and out in the middle of nowhere. Its really hard to explain in so many words why I am so involved at Delanco and why I push it so hard with the church I work at and all my friends. But I want to try!
Growing up in Sicklerville UMC it was a given that once you were old enough you spent a week at Delanco Camp. From my first year as a Junior Camper with Calvin Cobb as my dean I was hooked. I looked forward to going to Delanco every summer. I hated the drive there though. It was such a long 45 minute drive but boredom turned to joy the moment the paved road turned into dirt. Year after year I would return to Delanco and have an absolute blast with my friends. The older I got the more I was able to also grow in my relationship with God. Many decisions and commitments have been made kneeling at the old wooden altar there in the tabernacle. God has worked in my life summer after summer that I some how got to a place where if I wasn’t at Delanco at least once during the summer then the summer felt incomplete.
Years have passed since I have been a camper and I’ve gotten to the point where I can now give back to Delanco. I tell people that while God was just using Delanco to work on my life that I feel a sense of obligation to give back to Delanco as much as I can. Knowing how much God works through the ministry of the camp leaves me with a passion to see that work continue for years to come. Whether its through money, time, or some other way I always want to be somehow helping the ministry of Delanco Camp continue. God receives all the glory for what has taken place through Delanco Camp and I pray many more will be blessed through the ministry of Delanco Camp.
So what about you? Why Delanco?
– Josh Hallahan