This past week, from June 17th to the 22nd, I had the opportunity and privilege of serving at Camp Barnabas in Missouri with Claire’s church. For those of you who don’t know, Camp Barnabas is a camp that allows kids with disabilities and special needs to do all the activities they often don’t have the opportunity to do at home. Each of us “Missionaries” that went were paired with a camper for the week, and we did everything with them and their cabin during the week. Going into the week, I knew to have as few expectations as possible. Claire had told me many stories of the times she went in the past, so when she asked me if I wanted to go this summer, my answer was an instant yes. I barely thought about it, and before I knew it, I was on my way to Missouri with my best friend and people who were currently strangers but would quickly become like family. The only thing I knew for sure was that it was going to be a hard week. I had never worked with special needs kids before, and very rarely interacted with them. So, I knew I had to keep my expectations as low as possible, especially since every year Claire had gone previously was different. We arrived at camp on Saturday and went through training sessions until Sunday before the campers arrived. These sessions were to prepare us for everything we might see during the week, and how to handle different situations. These sessions suddenly simultaneously made me feel more prepared and more nervous for the campers to arrive. The camper I chose was a 15-year-old boy named James. The cabin we were placed in was a group of autistic boys, since the camp was short on male missionaries. This meant, that as girls, we didn’t have to do the “messy” side of the job, such as helping get the campers ready for the day or for bed or helping them in the bathroom. About half the church group, including Claire, was placed in B5. The rest were in a girls’ cabin. The boys and three of us girls were in B5, along with two other girls and one other boy from other churches. Our cabin staff were two guys named Collin and Drake. They were absolutely fantastic and really intentional about going deeper with us since we had a higher functioning cabin. Most of the boys were very independent and didn’t really need us to keep track of them. But we were still required to be by their side at all times and make sure they were having fun. James, my camper, also had anxiety and was scared of thunderstorms, loud noises, and big crowds. Throughout the week, we had to randomly leave the main group because it was too much for him, and he often wanted to go back to the cabin if something scared him too much. He loved the pool but got too scared to go down the slides later in the week. We went out camping in the woods one night and waded in a creek. James was terrified of the creek, but we got him in the water eventually, and then it still took a long time to get him out and back onto shore, because he was so scared to move. He would also ask the same questions and say the same things repeatedly, causing me to repeat myself as well. I have no idea how much information from the week he comprehended, but he responded well to what I said so hopefully I had an impact on him. He had this huge, adorable smile that made me smile every time I saw it. As the week went on, I got to see James come out of his shell more and interact with his cabin, making jokes and having fun, and laughing. He was such a joy to work with, despite the patience required for his constant questions and anxiety. By the end of the week, he did not want to go home, and it broke my heart to see him not want to leave. He enjoyed every minute of the week, even with the things that scared him and pushed him. We got to go camping in the woods, swim in the pool, do karaoke, play basketball and mini golf, get dressed up in fun things and go to parties, participate in an emotional ceremony honoring campers who had passed away, learn fun camp songs, win competitions, shoot rifles, and just hang out with the campers and other missionaries. It was such a fun week, but emotionally and physically draining. I learned a lot and got some really good affirmation about who I am and what I’m good at. One of the things that Collin and Drake did at the end of the week was to actually wash our feet, encourage us, and then pray with us. Collin was singing and playing guitar while Drake did the dirty work. We went up one by one, and while it was my turn, Drake told me that I was an example to him and the rest of the team in being present and never leaving James’ side. It was a really cool moment and just helped me remember that that was something I was good at and a gift God had given me to glorify Him. All in all, it was hard to leave after the week was over and I hope and pray that James learned as much as I did last week and that I showed him God in a new and palpable way.
This year has been crazy filled with new opportunities and adventures and I am so blessed to have been able to experience all these new and exciting things with new friends and old. I’m learning to count my blessings and remember all the good things in the midst of the bad. I can’t wait for all the other things God has in store for me this year.