OC
Capernaum’s High Rollers took 18 students with special needs and 16 leaders to
camp this year. After a 5:30am wakeup call on July 1st, and a long car ride up to Northern
California, we finally arrived at Woodleaf. Our Capernaum friends were thrilled
to be there and could hardly wait for club that night. It never ceases to amaze
me that of ALL the fun things to do at camp, the activity that our kids look
forward to the most is Club – singing, dancing, playing games, and hearing
someone talk about Jesus at the end of the night is what they anxiously
wait for all day long. We did, however, find a way to occupy ourselves during
the day by hanging out at Woodleaf’s heated pool, going on “The Blob”,
conquering our fears at “The Tower”, scarfing down a few whirlies at the Sugar
Barrel, venturing onto the giant swing, taking advantage of the waterslides,
and testing our leader’s driving skills on the Ridge Runners (dune-buggies).
Camp never fails to be a whirlwind of fun, emotion and laughter. But, in the
midst of all the commotion, it is where friendships are built and it’s where
many of our Capernaum friends discover that they can be accepted, loved and
cared for by those around them. Watching our Capernaum friends come out of
their shell, after realizing they are loved and wanted, is one of the biggest
blessings any leader could experience.
One of our campers, Bret, started
coming to Club only a few weeks before we went on summer break. The first time
I met Bret he was quite, reserved, and seemed to have a desire to go unnoticed
to the people around him. Dance parties are a huge part of Club in the Capernaum
world; the only way Bret would take part in this activity during, was to dance
in the corner, facing the wall so that “no one could see him” dancing. Bret’s
time at camp was one that was a true joy to be apart of. Those who met Bret
when he first came to Club were able to witness the change that took place
while we were at camp. He became increasingly open and comfortable with the OC
Capernaum family (some may argue that he was too comfortable, haha). Bret let
us dance with him on Western Night, watch him run rampant at the camp carnival,
and see him conquer the first level of “The Tower”. What a beautiful
encouragement to see a kid, who didn’t even want to come to Club, enjoy himself
at camp for 5 days!
The
Lord provided encouragement through Bret, and provided peace through my sweet
friend Meagan. I have had the pleasure of knowing Meagan for almost 5 years. I
met her when she was 15 and have had the joy of becoming close friends with her
and her family over the years. Meagan has a severe case of Cerebral Palsy and
is wheelchair bound. Meagan, like many of
our kids, needs more rest than the most people. The extra downtime that's
needed for Meagan has become one of my favorite aspects of our friendship. At camp,
Meagan and a few of our girls will sometimes head back to the cabin during free
time to lie on our bunks and just have girl time. We’ll talk about our favorite
part of camp, what we plan on getting at the Sugar Barrel later that day, and
of course we talk about all the cute boys at camp that week. In the chaos of
camp, this simple, restful fellowship has been one of the biggest blessings to
me personally.
Though
Meagan has a sweet, gentle spirit, she does have some spunk in her. This year
at camp, the girl’s cabin was right above the boy’s cabin. We had a balcony
that hung over the deck of the boy’s cabin and when the boys walked out of
their room, they had to pass underneath the girl’s balcony. The day before we
left camp, I walked into the girls cabin to find Meagan and Bailey (another one
of our very sweet and normally
well-behaved Capernaum friends) pouring water on our guy leaders as they walked
out of their cabin. The two girls giggled with the pleasure of knowing that
they “got’m!” and the exaggerated reaction of our guy leaders made the girl’s
laughter increase all the more. Walking into that room to the sight of these
two sweet girls causing just a little bit of trouble was so precious! The
little moments like that are what made camp such a blessing this year.
Our Capernaum kids come to camp because of our cool, college-aged leaders and fun events that take place - the messy obstacle course, the big swing, the waterslides, the mud games, the 80° pool and “The Blob”. But for me, and many other leaders, the best part of camp is getting to see kids like Bret come out of their shell and make friends, or watching two sweet girls pull a prank, or simply hanging out in the cabin for some “girl talk” and fellowship. Thank you so much to those of you who support this ministry. It is so important that our friends with special needs are able to experience the same things every other “normal” high school student experiences. Everyone serving in this ministry would tell you what a blessing it is to hang out with these kids. Thanks to all those who make it happen!
Our group!
Caleb hangin by the pool
Meagan getting ready for The Tower
Laura, Katy, Alysa and Ashley waiting to go on The Tower
Shanel did it! Ready to jump off!
Jack, on his way up
There's Kyle, just hangin' out!
Here is Bret on The Tower
Campers and Leaders at Carnival Night
Jason on Western Night
Jon with his leader, Isaac, at the last club
-Rachel Antoun
