PART II
Who knows how long I’ll be writing this, but if for no other
reason but to enjoy the memories… here are my memories of each group and how
that year played out…
CAMP GROUPS – I don’t remember all the groups I was in as a
sponsor, but I CAN remember many more of the kids than I do the names. But,
below are my camp groups while a student:
·
7th Grade – MASH 1714
·
8th Grade – Beverly Hillbillies
·
9th Grade – Biceps
·
10th Grade – Untouchables
·
11th Grade – Alpha/Omega
·
12th Grade – Boys of Summer
There were many others as a sponsor from 1994-2004. (We had
a ‘college camp’ in 1993 there at the same time as youth camp. This was the
first and only year in my time without Jr Sponsors. That in itself created a
lot of tension amongst those of us who expected to come back as a Jr Sponsor.
Once the leadership realized they needed grunts to do the dirty work… they
brought us back. J.)
I don’t remember the names of all the groups I got to be part of, but I
remember the experiences.
Below… I’ll just mention everything I can think of for each
group and/or general memories that will always be a part of me… and helped mold
who/what I am. Feel free to post some of your own memories as well… I’m sure
I’ll think of others after writing all this.
7th Grade – MASH 1714
1714 for the address of the church. I remember coming up the
year before with my dad and being mesmerized by everything going on just that
one night. All the chants (“Let me see your cockaroach, What’s that you say?!”)
I remember Benny and Cliff doing mail call. Hans Nicholson leading a prayer at
dinner. I couldn’t wait to get to ‘Camp’. My dad would tell me so many stories,
I couldn’t wait to experience them for myself. I wasn’t let down. I was new…
but it was still all I hoped it could be. We really had no clue what we were
doing but we did it as best we could.
I don’t remember the speaker, but Al Denson was the worship
leader. He went on to become quite a big deal in Christian music for a while. All
in all… it was all I expected Camp to be.
During the Senior Walk, I remember being the last group
picked up and goofing off the entire time. I didn’t realize it then, but an
amazing journey would soon follow.
8th Grade – Beverly Hillbillies
This was the first year in what would turn into the most
successful run of groups in camp history. This was before they split us into Jr
High/High School competition. All grades were lumped together in boys vs girls
groups (7th/8th… 9th/10th… 11th/12th)
and may the best group win. There was no participation ribbon. There was no
excuse that the older kids had an advantage. It was the Hunger Games without
the death. And we won. Not only did we win… we dominated. We won the Pep Rally.
I THINK we won the Talent Show, but don’t really remember. We won or placed in
the top 3 for Spirit Stick each day. The 7th/8th Grade
Boys beat up everyone else. We won Clean Cabin at least twice and always
placed.
Now, you may ask what’s the big deal? Well… we were slobby
Jr High boys and we had no vacuum. We competed against a bunch of girls groups
(yes, this was before they even thought about splitting up boys vs girls in
cleaning) with… duct tape and masking tape. You’d be amazed at how clean you
can get a floor when you wrap tape around your palms and feet. Our motto: If
you can see it, so can the judges. And I’m not lying… a SINGLE BLADE OF GRASS could
literally mean the difference between winning, losing… or even placing. So, you
had 25-30 Jr High boys fighting to get the whole group to clean (and not sleep)
a floor, bathroom, middle room and beds… AND organize everything to be
perfectly in unison all in an hour. And WE. WERE. GOOD. Nothing beats hard
work. And we worked harder than anyone. If there was any group who worked
harder than we did, it would be years later… but I’ll get to them eventually!
I also remember a competition where we got to chase a
greased up pig. It was all volunteer, but hey… I was a boy… what did I care
about getting nasty. Whistle Blows… I snag that thing in about 5 seconds. The
judges actually did a 2nd round because they didn’t think anyone
would pick it up so quickly. The round went so fast, it was kind of a letdown.
Round 2 starts… It only took me about 15 seconds to fight off everyone else and
snag that stupid pig again! Wooo Pig SOUIE!!!! Yeah… I hate losing… and even if
it meant chasing a greased up pig so scared out of its mind it pooped on me
when I got it, so be it. I was there to win. And win… I did. J
I remember Wally Banks and Rusty Averitt were our two main
leaders. My eventual brother-in-law Steve Gunter and Keith Humphress were also
with us as Jr Sponsors I believe. That was the first year I got to work with
Rusty. We developed a phenomenal relationship and I’ll love that man until I
die. (More about him later). But Wally… Oh, Wally. This is a large man with an
unnaturally loud, piercing voice who seemed to enjoy handing out pain and
punishment. And he had talent for it. What’s the most difficult thing to deal
with at camp? Waking up (and waking people up). But Wally, a former IRS agent,
knew a way around that. How does waking up every morning at 6:15am to the sound
of a wooden spoon banging around inside a metal trash can sound to you? I’ll
tell you what it sounded like: Pain. The IRS taught Wally well.
What’s the 2nd hardest thing to do at camp as a
sponsor? Get kids to fall asleep. Well… Rusty had an elixir for that. Despite
waking up at 6:15 and going non-stop all day/night long… it’s amazing how no
one is tired at 12:15 in the morning. That is until Rusty turns the lights on
and has us read out of Leviticus and Deuteronomy… out loud. Forget counting
sheep, try reading what animals are clean/unclean in Leviticus 11.
You won’t
last long.
Say many things about our leaders… but they were Godly
examples to us. And effective. Lol
Like I said earlier, this is also the year I invited Christ
into my heart. That’s a topic for another blog, but needless to say… it’s the
most significant moment in my life.
There was also the early morning devotional down at the
Prayer Garden. Contrary to popular thought, the Prayer Garden wasn’t just for
couples to go hang out and make out when they got a chance. Rusty impressed
upon us the importance of going each morning, regardless of how tired we were.
So, as a group… we trudged down there, half asleep, wearing our bandanas and
farmer clothes and made up half the population down there. Yes, it looked good
that our entire group was down there. But, it also taught me about leadership
and solidarity. Thanks Rusty.
I also remember meeting and hanging out with my first ‘camp
crush’ that year. I remember watching the Sponsor/Camper softball game under
sleeping bags with her when they still held it at night. And I’m not talking
10pm… I’m talking first pitch at midnight. It was even called Midnight Madness…
and it was AWESOME. Eventually that tradition disappeared for many reasons
(some probably good), but if you were innocent enough not to treat the dark
like a ‘messing around free-for-all’, then that was one of the coolest things
you could imagine.
Emory Gadd was the speaker that year I think, but I
definitely remember Greg Johnson was the musician. He was a short little dude
who really had a talent for leading worship. He came back years later which was
cool. He’s the one who led the song that I was saved to. I’ll always thank him
for that.
What made our group so special, I think, is the number of
‘alpha-males’ we had. Many of us went on to be Pastors, youth ministers and/or
serve in other leadership capacities. Every so often, you get a group (of guys
AND girls) that are born leaders. That was the eventual class of 1992. But we
had the adult leadership who did a fantastic job cultivating what we had. There
is no doubt God did amazing things with this group… and much of it can be
traced back to how Camp (and those involved) molded us. I’m convinced of that.
While 7th grade was a nice little rainfall… 8th Grade turned us into bona fide hurricane.
Great memories
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