During Labor Day weekend, I attended the 50th anniversary of Asbury Hills United Methodist Camp. I worked at the camp in the summers of 2000 and 2002. It wasn’t the best paying summer job I had during college, but it was a memorable experience. During my first summer, I was a resident counselor. Most of my camps were with fourth through sixth graders with the the occasional group of junior high or high school campers. I slept under tarps, ate hobo dinners, played camp games and enjoyed the wonder of the natural world. On the weekends, the staff would eat dinner together on Friday night, and spend Saturday on our own hobbies. Mine was reading. I bought my first Tom Clancy book that summer, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Every Sunday campers would come in about lunch time, and we’d begin our week of camp again by making ice cream.
My second summer, I was trips and ropes co-coordinator. I split the summer in the camp’s 15 passenger van (nicknamed the deathstar), on the ropes course or belaying kids up a pine tree. I learned all the little gas stations to stop at to get bottles of Cheerwine long before it began to sell in every grocery store.
Throughout my experience at camp, I met wonderful co-workers, interesting and involved ministers and lots of kids. Some of those children left having spent a good week with friends. Others left having a unique experience that they would remember for a very long time. I’m glad I got to help them experience the beauty that can be found at Asbury Hills. It’s also good to know that you can make a lasting impression on someone’s life by simply being attentive. I’ve run into some of my campers years later, and they still remembered me. I even ran into one while I was in Paris four years after he was my camper. It’s quite a surprise to meet someone you know when you are thousands of miles away from home.
Congratulations to Asbury Hills. It’s been a blessing to so many people for the last 50 years. I look forward to the blessing camp provides in its next 50 years.
For a peak at the celebration, I’ve uploaded a short Youtube video and the first few pictures from my photo gallery. The link to the entire gallery is at the bottom of the post.
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