Thursday, June 18th
Our last full day at the camp was nothing short of a blast. We started with breakfast that included French Toast, eggs, bacon, and cereal (no milk). Not having to leave camp right away, we got some rest time after breakfast at the cabin, where we got ready for the day. Today, being “Julene’s day off”, not only officially from work at Prince of Peace (in observance of Juneteenth), but here in North Carolina, with her not having to lead the group and keep us busy. Our events for the day were mainly led by our camp counselors, Maggie and Sam. Since it was our free day, we chose to spend it hiking and rock climbing. Maggie and Sam led us on our hike to Cross Rock—a trail in the camp. The hike really emphasized the topography of North Carolina, but we’re tough, and for the most part, had no problems! Through the forest, we made it to our destination, the climbing rock. It was a pretty steep rock, and almost everyone took a chance to climb to the top, or almost the top. The view from the top of the climb was breathtaking; it was filled with forests and mountains, with little houses and towns peeking out every so often. After rock climbing, we took a short walk to Saddle Prairie for a ground-to-ground zipline. Around 250 yards long, the zip line not only overlooked a beautiful prairie, but gorgeous mountains as well. We were only there for about 30 minutes until we got a thunderstorm warning and headed back to our cabin.
After some downtime, we headed to dinner for some burgers, fries, and cookies! After dinner, we sat down for group reflection time: discussing scripture, our week, and our interconnectedness. Our newfound compassion and appreciation for community and our “daily bread” were made apparent through our observations of the local people; they continue to choose love even after a life-altering experience, demonstrating the impact of caring for your neighbor. We then wrote cards for our amazing Lutheran Disaster Response helper, Jonathan, thanking him for all his work and direction these past three days. Ending our day, we joined the rest of the camp for worship, where we sang and received communion.
Although the day wasn’t filled with serving the community, we still felt the presence of God in our activities. We had an opportunity to reflect on how the days that passed impacted the people around us and us as individuals. We appreciate being able to have this experience through Prince of Peace.
Booyah! – Erynn and Esmie
