Return to Neverland



This month I had the chance to step back in time. Into a world that has delighted and inspired and challenged me since I was the same age as Robbie and Maddie are now. I went to Camp Calvary. Boy do I love that place. 

It's been a long time since my last visit: 8, maybe 10 years. But it's always held a special spot in my heart. And I've been waiting ever since I first had Robbie until the day would come that he would be old enough to be a camper. This year was finally it and so I eagerly contacted some friends with boys his age and made plans for them to all attend together. Then I sent a message to Jean and asked if they still took volunteer nurses. She said they could make room for me and boy was I excited! 


I felt a bit like a kid returning to Neverland. So many things are still just like I remember: the Pond, the Pool, the Land trolley, and the Giant Hill. They are always adding on and improving so there was plenty that was new to me too like the beautiful coffee shop, the high ropes swing, and the miniature golf course. Always so much to do and see. In fact there are so many fantastic things to do now that a week really isn't enough time to take it all in. I'll need to go back again just to have time to try more of what they have to offer. It is an amazing place. 


But although it has changed and grown, it is still the same in the ways that matter most. Brian and Jean Wahlberg are still hard at work providing kids with an unforgettable experience. Rich and Barb Weaver are still the incredible hands behind the scenes making sure everyone is well fed and everything is in working order. Although the faces on summer staff aren't the same anymore, their heart for the Lord and their love for the campers is exactly the same. 
I wandered down to the snack shop and looked at the photos of past camp staffers. So many great people who are still out serving the Lord just in a different way now.



The campfire (as always) was the highlight of the week for me. Sitting by the fire, listening to these young kids talk about what God had done for them is priceless. It brought back a flood of memories for me of all the years and all the decisions I had made for the Lord at camp. Camp had such a huge impact on my young heart: it influenced me to read my Bible, follow the Lord with my life, and share my faith. Then when I had the chance to serve on camp staff, it taught me to work hard serving the Lord (really hard) while still having fun along the way. It also gave me the priceless chance to sit and talk with so many campers about their faith and be there when the Holy Spirit brought them to an understanding of the gospel. Those experiences profoundly influenced who I am now and prepared me in many ways for the life I live now overseas. 


Introducing my kids to that kind of experience was priceless. Allowing them the chance to sit and listen to Forest Chapman bring the gospel alive on their level, listen to kids their age share testimonies, and watch the camp staff sing their hearts out to the Lord is something that was invaluable to their young hearts. Coming from a land where those type of opportunities don't really exist, this was profoundly special to us. Robbie still can't stop talking about it. And on Thursday night Maddie sat with me and talked through what she had heard and made a decision to trust Jesus as her personal Savior. Since then she has been bubbling with enthusiasm to read her Bible and talk to us about what she is learning. 



I am amazed over and over again by how carefully God has arranged each experience in my life to prepare me for the ones that will follow. He consistently and without fail gives me exactly what I need without me even recognizing the gift. Camp was and is one of those gifts into my life. Truly Faithful people are hard to find in this life. People who just serve continually, obediently, and without complaint or seeking the spotlight are extremely rare. My dad is one of those people. He's about to finish 40 years at the same job. His testimony in that place is unmatched. My pastor is one of those people. He's been preaching the word of God tirelessly in the same place for about that same amount of time. The Wahlbergs and the Weavers are also those same type of people. They have been serving hard and long through ups and downs and long after most people have come and gone. That's a huge part of what makes Camp Calvary so special. Their long consistent obedience has paid off in my life and the lives of so many others. I hope that is my testimony someday. Not that I acquired the spotlight or did something amazing, but that I served long and faithfully in the place where God put me taking the time to care for the lives He brought across my path along the way. That is something worth aspiring to. 

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