I’m Alex, program director at Camp Loucon, a summer camp in Leitchfield for 2nd-12th graders. We at Loucon desire for all our campers to experience Christ’s love and come to know the life He intends for all of us. Typically, I’d write a long explanation of why camp matters, how deeply it impacts youth, and how vitally important it is to spiritual formation. This month, however, I think I’ll let our campers do the talking. These are testimonies from senior high campers;
kids just like yours who yearn for something more, something that only Christ can provide for us. Here are some of their stories…
R.C.
Through camp, I have learned that God is pursuing me, that He is fighting for me, and that He wants to fix my brokenness. I don’t have to be defeated, I don’t have to feel alone, and I don’t have to be broken anymore. Why is this? Because a man was willing to sacrifice His precious, spotless, sinless life for mine. He wants to clean up my broken mess and make me into a new creation just as He is. But most of all, I have learned that I don’t have to be perfect, I don’t have to be okay, all that God asks is that I have a willing heart to let Him fix what has been broken too long.
M.G.
I have been going to Camp Loucon since the summer of 2010, and I plan to continue going for as long as possible. I hope to become a staffer one day, as I have seen how much they impact each individual life that passes through Camp’s gates. One of the things Camp is so great at is pulling away the “masks” that we put on our true selves to hide who we really are. We tend to hide our true selves because we are too afraid of being judged or hurt. We put on a show of “having it all together” hoping no one will notice us so that we won’t have to tell them what is really going on. I’m going to be honest and tell you that I am one of the previous types of people. I act like my life is fine, and that I can deal with every problem with a level head and a kind heart, when in reality I am just as broken as the next person.
R.G.
I have said it before that I don’t know where I would be today if it hadn’t been for some of those staffers showing me life as a follower of Jesus can be so much more. Before I went to camp, I knew who and what God was, I went to church, I had been baptized, but I hadn’t really thought about it going any deeper than that. Loucon showed me that there is a relationship that God wants with each one of His children, a growing and living one at that. And God is working. I had never heard Him, seen Him work, or felt so much of His love before going to Camp. I had never thought of Him as a living God, only someone in a book that should be believed in and followed. He came alive in those small moments at camp; it was like I was seeing for the first time, my eyes were opened and my heart awakened. And I haven’t looked back since.
O.N.
As a little girl, I would always hear about Camp Loucon from my older sister and brothers, and I could not wait until the day I would be able to go. When that day came for me to be a camper in 2005, I can remember it being the best feeling in the world. For the past 10 years, one of the best days of the year is getting to go back to my second home. At camp, I feel safe from the noise and judgment of the outside world. At camp, I feel loved by everyone. At camp, I feel wanted, I feel joy that I usually would struggle with daily to find. At camp, I make relationships with people who become my best friends, and I make relationships with staff members who continually support me. At camp, my relationship with God grows. Camp Loucon has helped my faith in God become very strong, and it would not be this deep without the help and support of staff members that I know are always there for me; they have helped me figure out who I am and who I want to be in life. By watching the staff, I have come to realize that God has called me to guide those who do not know Christ by volunteering and by doing more missions. Camp has affected my life in a way that I never knew possible.
If you wish to give this life-empowering experience to someone you love, go to Loucon.org/camps, or call our office at 270-242-7160 to check out our full summer schedule!
