Yes, I did say that I would post this about.... 2 weeks ago. And no, I'm not making any excuses. It's me and my wretched procrastination again.

Anyway, since I really don't remember the events of GenJ summer camp on a day-to-day basis, I'm gonna write about what I remember.

(btw, one of the little tidbits I picked up during the camp, courtesy of Mr. Grewe, is that emotion invokes memory. So you can assure yourself that whatever I post here, I felt quite strongly about.) :-)

So, the first thing that comes to my mind: the Trials Simulation Game. Basically, the layout went like this: Take turns running around a field 4 times, then go to the middle where Mr. Lorrig, the "Cost of Discipleship" was waiting, where he would give you a number of pushups and situps to complete. (Supposedly, he gave you a number according to your age.) After that, we would walk down a path where Mark, my dear brother in Christ, would stand with a pitcher of water and a cup, saying "drink! Drink! You're thirsty, you need water! Come off the path!" Thankfully, a brother had warned me that if I took the water, I would have to do it all over again. I was like "heck no, I'm not doing that again!" so I just waved Mark off.

Then, I came to an area where Samuel, another one of my big brothers, (a REAL big brother,) was standing over a narrow wooden beam supported by three bricks. We had to walk over that beam without falling off. The problem? Samuel had pillows in each hand.

Ooh boy.

When it came my turn to cross that bridge, Samuel, labeled "Pride," started shouting off a bunch of taunts to me, saying stuff like "You think you can do this on your own? You think you a big shot? Huh?" I only found out afterwards that if I had only said "No, I need God's help," he wouldn't have hit me. As it was, I was stuck pondering what to do, when Mr. Grewe, labeled "Really BIG ego," started walking up to me with a stick.
Now, I dunno about you, but I prefer to get hit with a pillow in the chest rather than a stick on the behind. So, I ran across the beam as fast as I possibly could. I absorbed one HUGE pillow blow to the chest, but I got to the other side without falling. I was quite proud of myself.

I was told to walk back to the porch where we had started from, and wait for everyone else to finish. As I was walking along the same path that I had traveled before, however, Mark splashed me with a cup of water. Come to find out later that that was a lesson in the price of resisting temptation: you get bit.

So, why did this invoke an emotional response? Well, after the camp was over, I heard that the whole thing was RIGGED AGAINST ME. For one thing, Mr. Lorrig gave me a 30 pushups and double the number of situps, 60, just because he wanted to. It had nothing to do with my age. Then, Mr. Grewe started walking toward me when I was contemplating how to get across the wooden beam, just because he wanted to wallop me with the sticks.

I felt loved. REAL loved. XD

Second memory: the "hot seat" prayer time. Overview: sit in a circle, and take turns praying for one guy who was sitting in the middle of us. Seems simple. But it was far, FAR from it.

I can't remember most of the details of the prayers, but all I know is that near the end, I had to walk away from the circle. Not because I was sick or anything, but I was crying so much that I couldn't stand it. My emotions were a stew of sorrow, repentance, regret, pain, and almost every other negative feeling one can think of. For the first time in my life, I was forced to lay prostrate on the ground, crying out to the Lord in repentance. When there is nothing else on your mind but God and you, you can't help but cry in self-helplessness.

After the tears of sorrow and repentance for my sins and shame flooded out of me, a whole new well sprang from my eyes, this time of joy. Of love. Of pure adoration for my Savior. For the first time in my life, I really felt his hand. The whole experience was something you absolutely cannot put into words. I now know the true meaning of "words are insufficient."

My third memory: The worship time in the attic. I guess this was originally supposed to be a campfire time, but for some reason or the other, we went up in the attic instead of to the campfire. And I think it was all for the better.

One of the things we learned was that "worship" literally means to "make higher." And make the LORD higher, we did. I had my viola with me, and Luc had his piano skills with him. Together, we made a heavenly melody for the LORD and for the campers, playing and singing songs of pure praise. Tears flowed like wine, voices were raised as high as they could go, and every hand was outstretched to God. Communion was taken up there, and so was the practice of writing your sins on a piece of paper, and nailing them to a wooden cross. But those practices took on a whole new meaning for me, personally. And I'm sure it did for everyone else up there, as well.

Fourth, and last for this post, the legislative simulation. If you've ever been to GenJ's iGovern Camp, you know what I'm talking about. I learned, firsthand, how different what you mean to say in your words, and what is actually conveyed can be. Case in point: a bill that I really like, a banning euthanasia bill, was introduced and passed. Problem is, the bill also prohibited our military from killing their enemies, for a reason that I cannot remember. The action to pass the bill was quickly recalled, and the bill was sent back to committee. Sooo.... I'm looking forward to camp next year, so I can learn from my mistakes this year and take more precautionary measures. :-)

There were so many more memories that I had during my camp. But I can only write so much at one time, and I hate leaving a blog post in "draft mode." So, I shall leave this at that.

Catherine, Andrew, Kepa, Samuel, Ana, Christiana, Hannah, Julia, J Kim and Sweet, Q Woo, Mark, Halley, Ricky, Luc, Jimmy, Bethany, Chelsea, Nathan, Ian, Jordan, Jon, and all my other Brothers and Sisters I got to know so well during camp, God Bless You All.