Catholic Camp

(I just realized I never posted this update on the second camp the kids went to in August ...)

After less than 48 hours to rest and repack, the kids headed back to a different camp. This one was with the youth group at church, and they'd never been before. CC was so excited, because she really loves going to all the youth group meetings, and she idolizes the adult leaders of the group. But Sweet Pea and Little Man hadn't met many kids yet, so they were a little nervous. 

One of the great things about this camp was that MJ and I didn't have to drive them. Praise the Lord! We just dropped them off at church on Monday morning, and they got on a bus with the rest of the group. It couldn't have been easier!

But because the kids had never been to this camp before, we had no idea how Catholic it was! I mean, the summer camp they've gone to for years now is Methodist, so they sing some Bible songs and have a pastor tell them some Bible stories a few times. I expected the same kind of thing with this camp. But that couldn't have been further from the truth.

The first day, we clicked on the photo link to see what the kids had been up to. Hundreds of kids were there that week, from parishes all over the country, but one of the largest groups was our parish: about 60 kids. Some of the first pictures posted were of the group carrying giant crosses around the campus. Wow. Okay. 

During the rest of the week, we saw pictures of them at Confession, daily Mass, Adoration, veneration, and small group meetings. Of course there were also pictures of everyone swimming in the lake, playing games, making crafts, sliding on a slip-n-slide, climbing ropes, rappelling off a tower, doing color wars, boating, etc. The kids tell me that every morning started with (optional) Confession, then Mass, then breakfast and religious meetings and activities. The afternoons were for non-religious events.

Unfortunately there weren't many pics of our kids. But we got the occasional glimpse of them! And after the kids returned, they wanted to see all the online photos. They explained each picture to us, even if they weren't in it. It was nice to get that much detail about what they'd been doing. The camp clearly employs a very talented photographer, because the pictures were wonderful, and some of them (unfortunately none of my kids) were works of art.

There were so many pictures of all the Catholic traditions they were participating in, MJ and I were pretty shocked. All week, we wondered (and worried) about what the kids were thinking. They had definitely not been expecting it to be so religious!

But we shouldn't have worried. All three came back gushing about how wonderful it was, and how they want to go back next year. They even said they liked it better than the camp they usually go to! I am so thankful they had such a wonderful time, and I definitely plan to send them every year in the future. Praise God for such incredible, engaging youth leaders who inspire our children, and introduce them to our faith in such a vibrant way!