The Magic of Young Life Camp



Throughout the summer at Young Life camps, staff and volunteers are loving kids of all abilities. Please enjoy reading about how God is working:


Caring for friends with disabilities is one of my greatest passions in life. But no matter how much I love them, how much they make me laugh, how much I enjoy the time I spend with each unique individual, I always carry around this weight and worry that something might go wrong. What if my friend suddenly decides they are angry…. what if the schedule changes… what if they decide it’s time to touch a stranger’s face without warning… what if I can’t understand what it is they are trying to tell me… what if we’re too loud… what if I can’t fix all the problems as quickly as they need to be fixed before we make a scene. It’s hard to explain this worry unless you’ve felt it yourself. Preparing for our trip to Young Life Camp, this weight felt heavier than ever. While I should have been focused on the hopeful anticipation in each of their faces, all I could worry about was where the keys to the rental car were, how late we were getting on the bus, what I was going to do with this many picky eaters all week, how I was going to keep up with the meds, how we were going to survive 5 days without our electronics. 

But the minute we stepped off the bus, I realized Carolina Point was different. They cheered for us as we arrived, and the work crew grabbed up every single piece of our luggage (no small feat, we don’t travel lightly). Instead of the awkward encounters I sadly so often witness with my friends out in public, this camp staff actively engaged each of our friends as they showed us to our cabins. And a portion of that weight I always carry just began to melt away. Within the first hour, we had hugged approximately 257 strangers, held hands with people we never met, (asked some socially inappropriate questions), and made fast new friendships. I realized this week was not only going to be a breath of fresh air for my friends- it was going to be that for me.

I could never put into writing all the amazing experiences a week at Carolina Point provided for our friends. They paddle-boarded, swam, drove go-karts, zip lined, jumped off the tower, sang and danced their hearts out, pied us in the face, watched the fireworks. In a world that tells our friends “you can’t”, it’s hard to describe how glorious it was for every activity to be presented with a spirit of “you can”. Each one of our friends experienced a major win this week, and wow- was it fun to watch! But even more beautiful than that was the grace and kindness that followed each time we got to the top of the slide and decided it was too steep, got to the zip line and decided it went to fast, got to the go karts and decided they were too loud, and got to the dining hall and decided we hated what they cooked. Every single one of these instances was met with a smile, a measure of grace I cannot explain- but it mirrored Jesus Christ in a more tangible way than I have ever experienced. Each person at Carolina Point celebrated our friends anyway, told our friends how proud they were of them, how brave they were, how beautiful they were, and how much Jesus loved them. 

On our way home, we stopped at fast food restaurant for dinner. My friends were tired. We all looked a bit disheveled. We were very loud. One of us went in the wrong bathroom. And all the people eating in that restaurant were giving us those “looks”. I realized in that moment that I had been 5 days without those “looks”, and that Carolina Point might be the closest place to Heaven that I have ever been. Because at Carolina Point, people who are not always valued in our world were told every single day that they are treasured, celebrated, accepted, known, and loved by Jesus. And sure, there were lots of broken bodies, but man- that place was filled with beautiful souls. It made me desperately long for the day when the pain of disability is forever healed in the kingdom of Heaven. It made me long for a body of Christ that makes great sacrifices to bring my friends with disabilities to the foot of the cross. It renewed my passion to do whatever I can to give these friends a chance to look on Jesus’ mercy and kindness toward them. 

Our world may never celebrate and treasure my friends with special needs, but Jesus does- and we are so grateful for the ministry of Capernaum for declaring that to them so stunningly this week.

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