There is Nothing like a Camp War Eagle Friendship

As I settle in to our new apartment, in a new city, begin to make new friends, find a new church home, learn my way around a new area, and thankfully live this new life with my new and wonderful husband, I have been remind of two things. The first realization that has come to mind, something that I have always known but have never experienced in such grand fashion before, is that life is full of change.  Change is a great thing and even though it is difficult at times, the Lord uses change to shape and mold us to be more like Christ.  Secondly, I have come to understand more than ever that one very important thing remains constant, and always has, second of course to our growing relationship with the Lord, and that is CAMP FRIENDSHIPS.  Today we are going to take a jog down memory lane, and I have no doubt that each of you are willing to take a ten minute break from studying for the test that you are so thrilled to prepare for. 

Most of you know that I grew up going to Camp Ozark as a camper from 1996-2005. Now, if any of you need proof that camp friendships can last forever, I give you Camp Ozark 2003:

July 2013. The day after Leslie and Darrick got engaged. Just look at those faces!

Trumbo, Leslie and I met in 2001 and the two of them are still, and always will be, two of my best friends. Their friendships are consistent and have never faded.  So, I have always been a believer in cultivating and continuing camp friendships.  Over the last seven years that I have been working at Camp War Eagle, as a counselor, top and permanent staff, I have made some of the most incredible friendships that I know will last a lifetime, just as my friendships with Leslie and Trumbo have lasted.  One of the greatest blessings is to see all of you continuing to build upon the friendships that the Lord started in the summer of 2013.  I truly believe that if I were to ask each of you to tell me about your top three CWE memories from 2013, each of you would spend about three hours telling me about the wonderful friendships that you formed this summer.  In fact, I know that you all could go on for days, because each time that I spend a few minutes browsing one of two social media outlets, Facebook and Instagram, I see more posts about CWE friendships and how much you all miss each other than anything else. Here is one post, from the wonderful Allie Featherston, that helped inspired this blog:

“Finally finished my memory wall. It doesn't do this summer justice.. But it's a wonderful reminder of the work God did in my heart over those amazing 10 weeks. Camp, thank you, thank you, thank you for blessing me with such a fantastic opportunity! Can't wait to come back! (And have a BLUE summer:))”

Now let's be honest, nearly every CWE girl counselor has a memory wall like this, most likely inspired by Allie's post. :)

Camp War Eagle friendships are so sweet.  The summer of 2013 was an incredible summer and I know that each of you will never forget the impact that you had on the campers’ lives, and when we really think about it, ours as well. God was so faithful in providing for us this summer and more than anything, I am seeing that He provided wonderful, lifelong friendships for all of you.

So, now that each of you have had some time to reflect on your summer and the wonderful friendships that you have made, I want to challenge you to do three things:

1. Invest in each other.  Don’t let those friendships slip away.  The CWE and Ozark friends that I have made have been such a huge part of my life and the same will be true for you if you invest in each other.  Those girls and guys have been a part of so many memorable life events: great conversations, road trips to see each other, reunions and so much more.  Several of them were a part of my wedding several weeks ago as well.  These are the friends who will be there to encourage support and love you when you CHOSE TO INVEST.  God can continue to do great things in and through your friendships with each other. 
2. Encourage each other spiritually.  The Lord can provide fellowship and encouragement, which are so important, even when you do not see each other often. Philippians 2: 1-2 says, “If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”  Let this scripture take root in your heart as you remember to encourage and fellowship with each other as often you can.  
3. Come back to camp next summer- 2014!!!!  There is no better way to deepen these friendships that to come back to CWE next summer and serve together.  You know you want to!

In closing, I hope that all of you experienced the blessing of friendship this summer and are continuing to experience the love that the Lord shows us through camp friendships.  It has been such a joy for me to see the fun posts on our Facebook page and the constant reminders of why we work for Camp War Eagle. Friendships were made and lives were changed- I saw this throughout the summer but social media has confirmed. J  Please continue to share those memories, deepen those friendships and for goodness sakes, go visit each other.  There is nothing like a good CWE road trip!  For those of you who really like to travel, Richard and I are always up for visitors here in Atlanta.  Atlanta is great, but we all know Arkansas is better!  I guess I would please my husband and make even more camp friends if I signed off by saying, “Go Hogs!”  But really….”Go Pokes!”  Our Camp War Eagle full time staff love all of you and are blessed by your friendships.  Have a wonderful week! 

A Reason to Celebrate!

Today, the sixteenth day of September in the two thousand and thirteenth year of our Lord, Meagan Plank1 turns 10,000 days old. Ten thousand days!! To celebrate this achievement, we presented her a custom CWE certificate surrounded by the fanfare of a paper chain, cap gun, and her own VIP wristband (left over from the VIP lounge at Masquerade). The merriment will be a three-day long affair, culminating with a waffle bar on Wednesday.

Meagan accepting her certificate of achievement. 

You might be thinking one or none of these two things: "When will be my own Tkday²?" or "Why should I celebrate this day?"

Luckily for us, the world wide web is sprinkled with 10k day enthusiasts and online calculators to help nail down your long awaited day. The day occurs about 4 months after you turn 27 years old, in a time of life when adulthood lingers and no other ironic milestones are happening.

As to the second question, perhaps I have already begun to answer it: It is a fun thing to celebrate when there is seemingly nothing noteworthy happening! Haven't you heard radio announcers say "Happy Monday!" on Monday mornings? Do you have friends3 that love to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day by irritating everyone like the title says, or Kansas Day by reminding everyone of John Brown, or the entire month of November by avoiding razors?

Until the next 10k Day celebration, maybe we can become a people who are good at celebrating the seemingly nothing times.  In collecting all of the newsy updates for this fall's Zipline over the last couple weeks, I know lots of amazing things are happening in your lives.  Much is happening that is worthy of great feasting- weddings and new jobs.  Much is also happening that does not even seem worthy enough for an instagram.

We worship a god who is Lord of the feast, a God who changed water into wine as His first miracle, and in so doing gave those wedding-goers a foretaste of the eternal feast coming at the end of history. That day, Jesus may have been thinking about his own wedding feast. God speaks about this feast in Isaiah 25:6-8- "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine- He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken." Talk about the grandest 10,000 Day celebrations!

Maybe right now there does not seem to be very many happy things to celebrate about. When Samwise Gamgee woke up to see Gandalf after being rescued from the fires of Mount Doom, he says,"Gandalf, I thought you were dead. But then I thought I was dead. Is everything sad going to come untrue?" Jesus has insured that our ending will be a day of great celebration, when all tears are wiped away, when everything sad is going to come untrue.4

For most of you, there is still at least another five years to plan your own 10k Day celebration5. Until then, lets keep celebrating the littles, in light of the lots that is to come. In the words of C. S. Lewis, "we are summoned to pass in through Nature, beyond her, into that splendor which she fitfully reflects."6


-Molly


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¹She organizes all the retreats, camper paperwork, and a whole bunch of other stuff. She does everything.
²What all the hip people are calling it.

³And by friends I mean maybe you and me…

⁴Timothy Keller's, The Wedding Party, is where much these thoughts about the miracle in John 2 are sourced. 

⁵Mine is on a Saturday and everyone is invited and its going to have a ten thousand toothpicks construction contest, a 10k race, a flea market white elephant gift exchange, and a block party featuring a Dad Band.7 

⁶From The Weight of Glory. He gives good perspective about understanding the things that we think are really great in light of what they really reflect.

⁷Dad Band= band full of your friends' dads. Its all the rage.