Last week, on the only rainy day we’ve had in the past several days - I watched “A WEEK AWAY” - with four of my grandchildren. We were in the “summer camp” mood as our church - THE HARBOUR - was in the middle of “SUMMER BLAST”. “A Week Away” - is a delightful musical about teen week at camp Aweegaway! It has great 90’s songs - Dive - Baby, Baby - Place in This World - Big House - Awesome God/God Only Knows! It has great themes - boy meets girl - troubled kid finds out life is going to get better - camp games are epic - camp directors are the best! We’ve watched it so many times and we don’t tire of it.

I love everything about summer camps! For as long as I remember I have - directed - counselled at - taught Bible stories - led worship - cooked - did dishes - you name it - I’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to be involved - and the great joy to see kids and teens lives changed! I’ve not ever regretted volunteering at camp!

Our boys went to summer camp. Their first experience was just down the road at Camp Hermosa. Founded in 1929 by a group of Baptist churches in southwestern Ontario, Camp Hermosa has grown into a wonderful, rustic setting for campers of all ages (grade 3 – adulthood) to discover God and deepen their faith while making friendships that will last a lifetime. Hermosa offer a wide range of summer activities, including swimming lessons, nature hikes, sports, drama, worship and Bible study, campfire, crafts, and a variety of theme meals. Most days end with a quiet, contemplative worship service at Vesper Point, a clearing in the trees that overlooks Lake Huron, which boasts some of the world’s most beautiful sunsets. Our sons spent many happy summers at Hermosa.

The second camp that is near and dear to our hearts - where our boys spent most of their youth and teenage summers is in eastern Ontario - at Camp IAWAH (IAWAH - stands for In All Ways Acknowledge Him - Proverbs 3:5,6). My brother Phil worked at Iawah for 25 years. He and Gwen continue to volunteer there. Randy and I volunteered there for years - directing the Jr. High camp for many, many summers.

What does a camp day look like at IAWAH?

It starts early. It starts with the birds. It starts with the sunrise. It starts with whispers. It starts with some campers heading down to the lake for “morning dip!” Time to rise and shine. Breakfast is cooking.

In the Dining Hall, the delicious smells hit before you get there. Bacon. One or two summers, I volunteered in the kitchen so it would reduce the camp costs for the boys. I would start cooking bacon right after breakfast until noon - BLT’s at boys camp! Those bellies seemed to have bottomless pits. There’s something magical about food cooked in bulk… it fills the whole building and wafts outside. At the beginning of the camp day - campers shuffle in with messy braids and lopsided ponytails, still wiping sleep from their eyes. They leave breakfast full. Full of eggs, fruit, hash browns, and the anticipation of something good coming next. And something good always does.

After breakfast comes PrimeTime, a few songs, and a Bible story. The whole camp gathers to pray, to sing, to open their hearts for the day ahead.

By 9:30 am, Wolfe Lake is wide awake. Wakeboards skim the surface, canoes glide through the lily pads, and someone shrieks their way into the cool water. (Zac, Ben and Pete - did their bronze cross and bronze medallion swim lessons one summer and then worked at the waterfront for many years.) In the woods, archery targets thud. In the Craft Shed, the glue sticks seem to be always missing, and there’s glitter in someone’s hair. My sister, Brenda, was our totally awesome craft lady at jr. high camp one summer. What a blessing to have spent that week together.

Lunch is loud. Gloriously so. There are cheers for clean cabins and seconds on grilled cheese. Sometimes it’s someone’s birthday, and the whole dining hall sings…just off key and off-beat enough to be perfect. Letters from home are given out and the recipients have to perform a song or a dance - something special to receive their letter.

The afternoon is for adventures: scaling the climbing wall, epic hits in archery, tag, a pond study with a wilderness instructor who makes bug ID feel like a superpower. There’s beach time, the Blob, and cabin challenges where teamwork matters more than talent. Then comes Tuck; sweet treats during rest hour. And after that, the Wide Game. It’s the one where everyone runs and everyone laughs. It’s joy in motion, finished off with a quick dip in the lake to cool down and wash off.

Supper shows up right on time. And again, the food isn’t just “good for camp.” It’s good. Real. Nourishing. Made with care and plenty of it. No one goes away hungry.

Evenings at IAWAH are perfect. There are lawn games by the lodge, friendship bracelets being made under the Meeting Tree, and an epic game of four-square. Then it’s time for evening PrimeTime, this time around the fire. The type of campfire that you remember in February. The kind where someone shares a story about Jesus, and it feels like He’s right there beside you. At girls camp - we often referred to these nights as mascara meltdown.

By the time the stars appear and the evening snack is set out, camp starts winding down, maybe not in volume, but in activity. Cabins glow from within while campers run to and from the washhouse.

And then, finally, sleep.

At IAWAH, no moment is wasted. Every polar dip, every campfire, every whispered bedtime question is part of something bigger. Because this place is more than cabins and canoes, it’s a community where kids grow in courage, character, and faith. Where servant leadership isn’t a slogan; it’s carrying the paddle for someone else. And Jesus? He’s here. In the laughter, in the stillness, in the stories we share and the ones still unfolding.

Last week - my church - hosted SUMMER BLAST! There were about 125 kids enrolled from jk - through - grade 6 - with over 50 volunteers. Along with two other really great women - we were in charge of 25 (grade 1&2’s) children for the week. The Harbour church does things up really - really good. There is no cost for our camp. Every kid gets a t-shirt in a vibrant colour according to their age group. Six groups! (I was yellow). Everyone gets great snacks every morning and on the last day - parents and friends are invited to a bbq - hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone. This year’s theme was space.

The day begins at 9:15 am (although kids are there by 8:45) with rousing singing - a story - a weird scientist and his helper show up to do some experiments. Can I just give a shout out to the four young ladies who led the singing - all smiles - full blown energy - I couldn’t take my eyes off them. The kids loved them too. From 10 am - 11:30 - the six teams (3 junior and 3 senior) rotated through 3 stations - crafts - games - and - team building. From 11:30 - 11:55 - more singing! More excitement. By 12:15 - all the children had been picked up by their parents and we were done until the next morning.

Can you spot the summer crafts hanging proudly in the tree?

Things have changed throughout the years. Some things are very different from 50 years ago when I first started volunteering, But some things haven’t. Like - there are always kids who need a week or two or three in the summer with structure - there are kids who really don’t like crafts but always present them proudly to their parents at the end of the week - there are kids who love to sing and jump and learn new songs - there are kids who ask great questions - there are kids who know that the mad scientist isn’t really mad and isn’t really a scientist but laugh at his antics - there are kids who are shy the first day but by day two are pumping out high fives to their leaders -there are kids who love getting their snacks in the middle of the morning - there are kids who love dressing up -there are kids who keep coming back year after year.

And there are leaders and helpers who keep coming back year after year for all those kids. I will too! As long as I can!

By the way - during the movie - A Week Away - while the kids were watching and munching on popcorn - this Grammie might have dozed off a few times! (And that’s good).