I first came to The Christian Appalachian Project in the summer of 2013 to serve as Camp Shawnee’s camp nurse. I am unbelievably grateful to be able to say I have been back to camp every summer since.
Spending a week or two at summer camp tucked away in the eastern Kentucky Mountains is the best part of my year. Camp Shawnee is my home away from home. I feel so much love at camp, love from the children, volunteers, and staff members. The love and positvity that is at camp is what carries me through the year.
I wish every day could be filled with camper smiles and roaring laughter. I want camp songs to be stuck in my head and I want tye-dye to be everyday dress code. I want to wear a camp shirt every day of the year and I want my wrists to be filled with friendship bracelets. The ‘Good Mornings’ and ‘Good Nights’ of camp are the sweetest greetings I hear all year. The smell of ‘Campfire’ means more to me than the smell of any other campfire. No day goes without a belly laugh that just won’t stop. No day goes without helpings hands that swoop in to tackle a project. No day goes without a hug when you need it. Camp is where I’m supposed to be.
What I love most about the Christian Appalachian Project is the sense of community. There is a sense of community in the areas we serve and there a sense of community amongst us volunteers after we leave. Over the years, I have found there to be a CAP network sprinkled throughout the country. I found that I may meet a person at camp one summer, and our paths will cross again one day, in the best way possible. We are a forever family.