No week is ever the same as the one before when we're at camp, and this year was definitely not the exception. Tuesday brought the rain--storms like I'd never seen at camp before. Don't get me wrong, over the course of nearly 20 years at camp, it's rained plenty. Some years that's all it does. But these storms caused the cancellation of afternoon activities and kept our kids hunkered down in the buildings they were in for hours. (They didn't mind though; I heard multiple accounts from kids that said they liked that it gave them the opportunity to get to know more people.)
Our creek after Tuesday's storms turned from a nice trickle through the camp to something a bit larger. This wasn't a huge deal; it just meant cancelling some activities like the Creek Stomp.
Wednesday was a really nice day! We hosted our annual Hot Dog Roast, but decided to have an indoor picnic with it since the ground was wet from the day before. The kids had a blast as they ate their hot dogs and watched videos of our sports and nature reports from the day.
Throughout the week we'd been focusing on "The Jesus Way". Our themes each day up through Wednesday included feeding, forgiving, and loving your neighbor. Thursday's theme was serving humbly. We began the day with a great message about what it means to serve, thinking about our purpose behind why we serve, and what it means to be humble.
The rains continued throughout the afternoon and our campers continued doing various activities that the staff planned out for them. It was really just another typical (but rainy) day at camp. Behind the scenes though, our fearless leaders were making plans for how to proceed as the radar continued to show more and more rain headed our way. Unbeknownst to the kids, the creek began to flood, and conditions weren't looking that great.
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| Our fearless leaders determining what to do next. |
By the time supper rolled around, it had been determined that we were going to evacuate. We had to safely get all of our campers to the dining hall for supper and proceed from there. As campers who'd been waiting in the Bull Pen came down the road, they linked arms as they crossed the flooded street and moved on toward the dining hall. Everyone was so brave and calm as they worked toward getting to safety! Emergency management arrived at the camp to help start the evacuation, and once campers had eaten supper, they were loaded onto school buses and transported down the road.
Because campers didn't know that we were evacuating camp when they arrived at the dining hall for supper, they didn't have time to pack supplies. (This, of course, was for safety reasons. We needed to get out as soon as possible.) So upon arriving at our new destination, Emmanuel Assembly of God, we were soaked and empty handed. This didn't dampen the spirit of camp though. I think to many of the campers, it was a fun "field trip" while at camp. We had program meetings, 5 o'clock news, and continued our camp plans. The intermediates and seniors even got to have their annual Thursday night dance!
Throughout the evening, I waited by the front door to greet community members who stopped by to drop off donations. This. Was. Incredible. I truly don't have words to describe the outpouring we received by the community. These people--people whose own homes were flooding or at risk of flooding--were leaving home and bringing us their own goods. They donated blankets, pillows, clothes, food, drinks, and toiletries--bags upon bags upon bags of them. Truck loads of them. One lady made TWO trips of truckloads of items! Another lady commented that she was sorry that all she brought were towels because the dollar store (the only store in the community) had SOLD OUT of blankets and pillows. We had bag fulls of toothbrushes and deodorant, bags of washcloths, bags of socks, cases upon cases of water and crackers and other snacks. I stood, fighting back tears of gratefulness, as each person made their trip into the church with more and more goods for our 360 campers and staff. Again, it was incredible.
That night, everyone nestled somewhere in the church and attempted to sleep after an incredibly emotionally draining day. We packed the sanctuary, hallways, and Sunday school rooms with campers sharing blankets, pillows, pews, and spaces on the floor. This was the most humbling experience I've ever had. As I sat on the floor in my still-wet shorts, short sleeve shirt, and flip flops, I began to start feeling the cold settle in. I managed to find a pair of boys socks that fit half of my foot and two little boys shirts that hadn't been claimed. I pulled the shirts up over part of my legs and tried to find comfort on the floor. For hours, I could feel myself start to drift off to sleep only to be awoken by my own shivering or discomfort. Between near constant prayers throughout the night, I kept finding myself thinking, this is silly; why don't we just go back to our beds? or why don't I just go grab a blanket and pillow? only to remember that we couldn't go back and we didn't have any more blankets or pillows. Over and over I would think about the homeless, the refugees, and the people in West Virginia who were undoubtedly going to be affected by this flood who experience this feeling regularly. I knew that our situation was only temporary. Only one--maybe two--nights of being displaced, being cold, and being uncomfortable, and then I'd be home in my warm house, comfortable bed, and dry clothes. I give thanks to God daily for these things, but I'd never actually thought about what it'd be like without them. I wondered to myself, how could I be so selfish--so ungrateful? I couldn't wait for there to be daylight so that I could just get up and do something instead of sitting, waiting for the hours to pass and the night to end.
Finally, it was daylight. I grabbed my camera and ventured outside for the first time since we arrived at Emmanuel Assembly and the rains stopped.
Once everyone began to wake up, we ate breakfast, had morning worship, and the kids went to classes. Throughout the afternoon, parents began to arrive to pick up their kids (a day earlier than they typically go home). We continued camp even though we weren't at our home--the perfect example that camp isn't a place; it's within us.
On the way home, I finally had the opportunity to see what it was like outside. The water had receded, but we could clearly see where homes had been flooded. Bridges were surrounded by dams that trees had made as they were washed down the river. Fences had remains of leaves and debris all the way to the top of them showing that the water had been at least 4-5 feet deep in those areas. I was able to get online and see the news coverage and the loss of life that these floods had taken, all the while being thankful that I was headed home, but feeling selfish that I was doing just that and so many others weren't able to just leave. This was their home. They were going to be dealing with the after effects for weeks to come.
I implore you to consider donating goods or money to people in these communities. Many people have lost everything, and what's worse, they're under yet another flood watch again today. These are people who are willing to help others even when they are being affected themselves--the very definition of what we should all be like. We can continue to learn from camp--from Thursday's theme--to Serve Humbly. They have already showed what it means to serve others. Now we can do the same. They can use any help that you can provide.
