As you know, I just spent a week volunteering at Camp Mowana, and it didn’t disappoint. I was actually there almost exactly 7 days, arriving and leaving on Saturday afternoons, having the opportunity to meet and hang out with the staff during their time off in addition to the volunteering during the week.
What’s so great about camp? Working with the kids is great. No matter how much of a challenge a camper might be, there’s still a reward to be had from seeing them grow in some way, big or small, during their week at camp. As a counselor, I saw campers mature in their understanding of others, teamwork abilities, love through differences, and many other great ways. As the Discovery (Bible study) leader, I participated in the students’ faith growth in a different way that I did as a counselor. The two are very different from one another, but both are greatly rewarding in their own right.
The other part of that is the staff. When I go to Mowana, I can count on meeting fun, amazing, loving people who will leave a mark on my life. Even with only a short time to meet new people this visit, I found that same environment of love and acceptance that I’ve come to expect from Mowana staff. The Mowana community is perhaps what pulled me back for 4+ summers on staff and continues to make me want to work there as many more summers as I can.
Mowana isn’t something one can adequately write about in a blog, though; I think only current and former staff, and campers, though in a different way, can really know what it means to be a part of that Mowana community. I’m so grateful for my many weeks on staff and that I had the chance to return again this summer, and I look forward to many more fulfilling weeks to come in the future.
Posted by eric bjorlin 