20 Years Later...

I can hardly believe that 20 years have passed since I first arrived in the United States to work at a Salvation Army Summer Camp.  As a 19 year old I had progressed quickly within a British retail chain, but something was missing.  I later came to realize it was a purpose in my life.  My pastor encouraged me to consider spending a summer at Camp Redwood Glen, a Salvation Army Summer Camp nestled in a valley within the Santa Cruz mountains.  Having applied through an organization that sends young adults all over the world every summer to work in camps I was hired as a camp counselor at Redwood Glen.  In fact, it was at Redwood Glen that my now wife and I first met and formed a relationship that continues to flourish.

Needless to say, when I drove onto the camp grounds of Camp Del Oro in Nevada City on Monday to participate as a member of the program staff for a week it was like a step back in time.  As I watched the young counselors assist their children with dinner on Monday evening I commented to my wife how young they all were.  She was quick to point out that when we were in their position we too were that young! I have however been reminded in the hours that have past since then that the impact this and other Salvation Army camps can have on the life of a child is profound.  For some of the children who come to Salvation Army camps their time away from home is the type of refuge they long for. 

Last night I had the privilege of interacting with a young man whose ragged and dirty clothing was a telltale sign of the challenges he and his single mother face back at home every day.  The image I saw before me was once I had experienced time after time when I served as a counselor 20 years ago reminding me of the words of Ecclesiastes 1:9 which states, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”.  The Salvation Army’s camp therefore offers a week-long refuge for children in Solano County, away from the pressures of their often broken world. 

Even though Suisun City’s new Kroc Center has not yet opened, program opportunities are beginning to develop.  Next week a number of children from Solano County will travel to Camp Del Oro for a week of crafts, swimming, canoeing, games, campfires and memories they will cherish forever.  With a special scholarship campaign about to launch, next year we hope to send 100 children to camp which will have a dramatic impact on the life of each child who attends from this and our surrounding communities. 

In the months ahead watch for other program opportunities to develop including Marriage Enrichment to build stronger relationships, community vocal groups and group fitness classes.  Time moves on and we all age a little more each day but the opportunity to enrich someone’s life never ceases.  Join us on the journey to an even greater community.