Camper & Volunteer Story - Josh
Camper & Volunteer Story - Josh
Being born and raised in Sioux Lookout, Camp of the Woods has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories happened at camp, first as a “staff kid”, then as a camper, and eventually as camp staff. I distinctly remember being at camp as a young child while my parents were volunteers. Some of us staff kids were helping to water the flowers, and as I poured the watering can on one of the flowers it strangely started to buzz… that’s where I learned to be afraid of bees.
I learned more important and long-lasting lessons at camp too. As a camper, I first learned how to be away from my parents, and how to be homesick. I learned how to overcome my fear of heights on the high dive. I learned how to do canoeing, archery, and paintball. I learned to never look a Canadian Beaver directly in the eyes. And most importantly, I learned that God created me and loved me, enough to send His Son to the cross to pay for my sin problem.
I learned even more as a staff. I learned how to take intentional time to spend with God. I learned how to live in service to others around me. I learned how to share the Gospel and my testimony simply so kids could understand. I learned how to rely on God when I came to the end of my own strength and all I wanted desperately more than anything was a nap.
Camp of the Woods is unlike any other place I’ve been. I’ve come to think of it as a “thin place”; a place where the things that so often distract us from connecting with God go away, and it becomes easier to connect with the Creator. I first heard the term from Pam Kiper, a volunteer who affectionately refers to herself as “the camp grandma”. Away from all the distractions of work, school, and cell service, surrounded by untouched nature and people who love Christ with all their being, it is almost hard to not find yourself in deep prayer and meditation. This environment became so formative in my faith journey, as I became closer to the God I was there to serve.
Over the years camp became a second home for me. I know there are so many others who feel the same way about COTW that I do. It is an incredible ministry reaching out to the youth of Northwest Ontario with the love of God and the hope of the Gospel. Even though I don’t live in Sioux anymore, I am still encouraged as I hear stories from my brother who has joined the staff team the past few summers. Camp has been a staple in the community and touched so many lives, across generations.
As I think back on these things, I resonate with Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
