Today we continue our weekly Tuesday Testimony post where we are having campers, staff and parents share their story about how God used Delanco this summer in their lives. If you would like to share your story email dan.ulrich@delanco.org.
If I had to name a specific date or event in which I began my journey in faith, it would definitely be my first summer at Delanco Camp. Many of my friends share a similar story of how camp changed their lives in such amazing ways.
I remember being a camper for the first time at Middler Camp. I was so eager to explore and get to know everyone in my dorm. I couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to spend a whole week at this amazing camp growing closer to God.
That was four years ago and every year since then has been magical. Someone I know even described it as a “little piece of heaven.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. This past year had been difficult for me. I was deciding on whether or not I should quit my job and on top of that trying to find the motivation to read my bible. One night I was praying to God about it. While praying about my job situation, I got a text from my youth pastor Chad asking if I’d like to be a camp counselor at Middler Camp. I immediately knew what God wanted me to do so I put in my two weeks and said I absolutely would love to.
Initially I was nervous because I didn’t really know anybody else that was going to be on staff besides Chad, but the moment we started our first counselors meeting I felt so incredibly welcome.
Middler Camp is such a special place because it’s the transition between being a kid and becoming a teen. Nobody is in such a huge rush to grow up yet. We still get to put on skits and dance around to songs like Jesus Is My Superhero (which was our theme song for the week). This particular group at Middler Camp was so incredibly wonderful. Everybody on staff seemed to agree that this had to be one of the best years ever. Everyone was so willing to help out in any way needed. It almost seemed like the whole entire camp was one unit, everyone included and cared about everyone else.
I could go on and on about every single thing that happened that week but that would take so long. Some of the best parts (in my opinion) was the color war dodgeball, getting all the kids to dance to various songs, the superhero baby food game, canoe races and of course Chad’s message. The best thing was seeing relationships being built, not just with God but with each other. It’s evident that these students genuinely cared about each others’ souls. Something that touched my heart was a story I heard one night after an altar call from some of the guy counselors. They told us that all the boys went back to their dorm to get changed for night games and among themselves they decided that they should have a prayer circle. Everyone was just crying out to God and praying for each other. It’s stuff like that, which makes camp such a magical place.
I am so grateful for the opportunity God provided. I am thankful for the relationships I made with my campers and the rest of my staff. It is an amazing sight to see the way God’s vision unfolds. I am so glad I was able to help plant seeds in these kids hearts, and to see seeds being planted. I can’t wait for next year so I can see how else this camp changes kids lives, just like it has mine and will continue to.
