Robert came to Wanake because his grandfather took him to a United Methodist Church and ensured he got to camp. “I came to the Racing, Reels, and Rods program for the video games and the go-karts,” Robert remembers. “Throughout the week, we had Bible study every day and prayer before meals. My counselors were different from other adults in my life. They saw things from a different perspective. Even when it was raining, they were positive. They didn’t consider swimming beneath them. They enjoyed life. I asked my camp counselor Travis, ‘why are you so cheerful, so chipper.’ His answer was Jesus! I had no male role model at home, and there was a hole in my life. What I saw in my counselors was what I wanted in my life. I wanted to be part of it. My counselor, Travis, and I prayed together, and I asked Christ to be part of my life. This was a turning point in my life.”
“Once back home, the void in my life that had been filled with video games, TV, and staying up late (and not taking care of my studies) now became time for a church youth group, studying the Bible, and prayer. I also started attending a student-led Bible study at my school. Before camp, I had been taught through words and actions that ‘real men don’t cry.’ Now I was learning that Jesus wept! God wept! Crying could be a sign of strength.”
“I can’t imagine where I would be in life without camp, without those first counselors, Travis and Will. Wanake is my spiritual home, where my faith was founded. I stand on this foundation daily as an employee, youth pastor, husband, and dad. Now, as I pray over the youth in my youth group and my own children, I pray that Wanake can be their safe place—that their time at camp will be even more powerful than mine.”
Thank you for your generosity to Camp Wanake which helps others, like Robert, find role models with attractive faith whose impact the Holy Spirit uses to transform lives and raise up leaders in the church.
