Counselor Retreat!

We had a wonderful weekend up at camp on April 3-5 with all of our amazing counselors and counselors-in-training!

We had a really great time together, and our closing talk this morning by new Program Director Caleb Wragge really brought it all together. Caleb talked about how it can be a wild time when, as a leader, camp isn’t mostly about you anymore. But in some sense, it is even more about you, because there is a new depth you get to experience of growing into what it really looks like to be a leader. He talked about his own experiences, and how he grew over the three summers, from when he was a CIT to when he was a first year counselor to when he was a second year counselor. He talked about this one camper who didn’t like what he expected him to like showed him that being there for each camper looks different for each camper. In these moments it’s okay to let your ego go and recognize when you need to pivot. And the joy you bring to others through that real kind of servant leadership just ricochets right back to you. 

The theme of this final talk was “Going Forth,” and it is about how going into each new experience isn’t about “Going First” or needing to be the best; rather, it’s about who you are going with, and how we all are needed and belong in the unconditional love of the community of faith. 

We will be building all four talk themes from this retreat into our summer theme at camp. For now, here are two pictures from the weekend. Thank you again for supporting and encouraging your teens to be part of this weekend and this program as we keep growing our community!