letters from camp

Dear family, friends, and friends I haven’t met yet,

I believe we are overdue on an update. Here are the few things you might be wondering about my World Race journey, and an update on life at camp. 

#1. I’m five weeks out from training camp, which will take place in Gainesville, GA, about an hour’s drive away from Sharptop Cove, the Young Life camp where I am working this summer as the video production intern.

#2. I’m in the thick of making sure I have all the gear I need for training camp (any recommendations on sleeping bags anyone?) Still need a solid rain jacket, a sleeping bag, and probably a new pair of outdoor shoes. I’m making a day of it to head into town and get to an REI store this weekend on my day off. Very much looking forward to the trip to town! It’s funny how things you usually take for granted become luxuries once you’re removed from them. When I found out there was a Starbucks AND a Panera near this REI store…

#3. Support: I continue to be blown away by the Lord’s provision. I am well over half way to the $16,000. I believe the Lord spoke to me that I would be fully funded by the time I leave in September, and I write that boldly without anxiety because I believe the Lord is faithful. I really believe that. There’s still some more to go, but God is so good! Thank you over and over again to everyone who has come alongside me in this journey, through giving, prayer, encouragement and affirmation. You are all a blessing!

Now, about camp. I’ll keep the logistics brief. All you really need to know is that I love it here. I don’t think I could find myself in a better position this summer. I’m constantly thinking throughout the days, “How do I get to be in this place.” Sharp Top Cove is truly holy ground. The staff I work with and the community I live in is rich. 10 intern gals, and 10 intern guys, and we feel more and more like family every day.

It’s a unique job being the videographer at a Young Life camp. I get to be in a lot of places and work with a lot of people. I get to film adventures of mountain bikes, and zip lining, high ropes courses, and hoe downs. I spent the past session filming with Andrew Ripp here, and this week we’re doing a shoot with our incoming musicians, straight out of Nashville, Drew and Ellie Holcomb. But even better than that (really, it gets better) I get to talk to the campers and cheer for them from the sidelines, literally focusing in on their eyes, their hearts, their stories. I’ll see thousands of kids this summer, but one I won’t forget is Maria.

Every Thursday we hike to the top of a mountain. And every Thursday, you guessed it, I film us hiking to the top of that mountain. Sweaty and running up red clay trying not to drop my camera gear, I try to film every face on the hike and still beat the group to the top so I can capture the moment the kids cross the finish line. Every week there are campers who hate it. One in particular last week was Maria. The majority of kids came from inner cities and street ministries. You could feel a heaviness on camp property; the places these kids came from was dark.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about this teenage girl’s life. I didn’t even meet Maria until that Thursday morning hike. Maria was sassy and guarded, I could tell that immediately. She wanted, like many of the kids that week, desperately to be on the video, she would ask me over and over to film her and then back away when the camera pointed any where near her like she was afraid of it. She only became comfortable when I filmed her with her sunglasses on, like maybe that way I couldn’t really see her.

She acted tough. She made it known that she did not want to be on that hike. She didn’t laugh at my jokes going up the mountain. She acted mean. But my heart was pulled to her; I knew the real Maria wasn’t mean. Not the Maria God sees when he looks at his precious daughter. No, that Maria is anything but mean.

When we were finally at the top I spotted her and ran over, expecting her to be at least a little excited.

Nothin.

She was exhausted and parked herself on a rock, facing away from the mountains. She didn’t even try to take a look at the view, so close, just beyond the trees. It’s like she didn’t even think to do so. “Maria, no, come a little further. You’re right here. You have to come see this.” She grumbled, but I got her up and told her to follow me. She kept wanting to stop, but I kept telling her we were almost there.

Finally, we got to a clearing. It was such a beautiful day you could see the outline of the Atlanta skyscrapers. We sat down together and just looked in silence. Finally, I heard her say something. I honestly thought she said, “I’m mad,” which wouldn’t have surprised me, but right when I came back with some joke to cheer her up, she said, “No, no, I said, ‘I made it.’” I was so caught off guard. For one second, her walls fell down and she started laughing at me. But just as quickly as it came, she stopped her laughter. I’ve never seen someone fight laughter like that. She put her walls back up, gazed off into the distance.

I didn’t see Maria the rest of the week, but I prayed for her earnestly. I know, if only for a moment, Maria caught a glimpse of True Beauty. If only for a moment, I know she tasted Joy. The Enemy wants to do everything he can to block moments like this from our lives. A line from CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters describes the way the Enemy thinks about True laughter: “…the phenomenon is of itself disgusting and a direct insult to the realism, dignity, and austerity of Hell.”

The Lord wants to woo us with His beauty. The Enemy wants to separate us from it. The Enemy wants us to turn our backs and give up, all the while Jesus whispers, “You’re almost there. Follow me to the clearing. Follow me.” Often times we don’t even realize what our backs are turned to because we’re tired, we’ve become content sitting on the rock. But Jesus promises what he has for us is good. “Come and see,” he says. “Just a little bit further.” 

We have to get up and take a look. How will we know what the view is like at the top if we don’t?

Sending love from camp–always,

K

P.S. Want to write me back? It MAKES this girl’s day to find a letter in her mailbox—the real one, especially! 😉

ATTN: Katy Steele
76 Camp Hope Rd.
Jasper, GA 30143