Daniel and I both had wonderful experiences going to church camp as kids. I have such fond memories of the summers that I was 10-12 going to Camp Omagh in Canada. As a teenager I went to Wilderness Trek in Colorado almost every summer. Those experiences had significant impacts on me.
Daniel
attended Hy Lake Christian Camp close to Rock Island State Park here in
Tennessee. I know those are some of his best memories as well.
The
church we attend does a three-day camp every summer starting at the
completion of third grade. Jack was so excited when he realized he was
old enough to go.
Since
this is new territory for us as parents, Daniel and I felt better
knowing that Daniel could attend as a chaperone. He and another dad got
to be the counselors for the third grade boys. Honestly it was a great
opportunity for Daniel to go and spend some time with other adults from
church – I get to do that type of thing quite often while he is stuck at
home working. Thankfully camp was flexible enough that he could do some
work from there.
I
think Jack was a bit anxious when we finally arrived at the drop off at
church. It was pretty chaotic as they tried to check everyone in and
get them loaded on church vans. The theme of the week was "More Than" (I
actually designed the t-shirts) and the location of camp was Camp to
Know Him in Alabama.
Jack had a blast! 
The
water sports were amazing – there was kayaking and a water trampoline
and a huge inflatable tower to climb and jump off, and also a rope
swing. The camp had its traditional shaving cream fight – a first for
Jack. He even took it in stride when he got asked to skip around the
dining room with a girl (one of his friends). We are so thankful that it
was such a good experience for both Jack and Daniel.
