Mark’s Story
“At home, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that God only works in particular ways. In the Boys’ Camp Dining Hall, however, our narrowmindedness is quickly shattered. In the Dining Hall, we are promptly exposed to the unpredictability of camp; you can plan things to go one way, and regardless of how thoroughly you prepare, activities can quickly turn into something you had never imagined or accounted for.
In one of the wackier themes that I can remember at Boys’ Camp (designed by Candy Man, of course), villains entered the Dining Hall; a mob of L-Team members was cloaked in black, scampering between the tables. Kid’s mouths were left agape at this display, as the mob-leader murmured descriptions of his insidious plot into a microphone.
Boys’ Camp was in danger.
Then, suddenly, a heroic character swung the Dining Hall doors open, revealing his posse of heroes. They were ready to save Boys’ Camp. The leader yelled, “Get ’em boys!” and all the staff watching assumed a stand-off between the two groups was impending. However, as I’ve learned, assumptions are never smart at Boys’ Camp. The campers had a different expectation.
The campers realized that they were supposed to be on the side of the good and the righteous and had to stand up against all that is bad in the world. So, they followed their leader’s command.
Rovers leapt off their benches, latched onto the L-Team villains, dragged them to the ground, and, I’m sure, clutched the poor villains until their skin was raw. Quickly, the villains were bound and Boys’ Camp was saved. It was a joyous moment for all of Boys’ Camp. After some retrospection, it became clear that this was more than just a simple moment of joy. It was a formative moment for the boys standing their ground in the Dining Hall, finding an untapped heroic capacity in themselves (which was previously lying dormant).
On one hand, this story represents a failure, where the Program Team’s plans fell completely apart. On the other hand, though, this story is a quintessential representation of the beauty of camp. In this case, it was in the Dining Hall that God told his children that they are integral members of His Kingdom—they are heroes in His story, even when they don’t see themselves written into the script. Likewise, they saw themselves as responsible for the administration of justice and they had the courage to undertake that calling. My hope and prayer is that this weird, spontaneous moment of heroism in the Dining Hall spawns continued and bold acts of heroism for the sake of God’s justice by those boys. Moreover, my prayer is that more and more weird and spontaneous moments in the Dining Hall spark future campers to take up the fight against evil in the world.”
Mark Standish ‘Kous’
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