Faith was a middle child in a strong, tight-knit family with an older brother and a younger brother. Her church supported her week of summer camp at Wanake with encouragement and funding.
“It was one of those weeks when a group of junior highs really wanted to talk,” the counselor remembered. “Many of the conversations included references to how difficult it was to live with their families – brothers, sisters, and parents. It seemed a common thread for all the campers -- except for Faith! She could not understand how families could be so much trouble.”
“On the last day of camp -- a few hours before camp was to conclude -- Faith’s pastor arrived to take her home. He explained to her that her younger brother had been riding the lawn tractor with her older brother. He had fallen off and been killed. No one in our group knew what to say to Faith,” the counselor went on, “but they did want to be with her. So, the entire group sat in a circle around her while she cried and didn’t say anything.”
That autumn the counselor heard from Faith’s mother. “Every camper in the group has written a letter to Faith at least once,” Faith’s mother remarked. “One of the campers who sent a letter to Faith included Frank, a camper with learning disabilities,” the counselor noticed, “for whom writing was a challenging task.” Faith’s mother shared, “On the day of the funeral everyone was ready to leave when we noticed Faith wasn’t there. We went to Faith’s room and there she sat in the middle of the floor, dressed and ready to go, quietly singing camp songs.”
Your generosity to Wanake provides an experience in Christian community that can meet the needs of campers as they live their lives in a world with difficulty, loss and tragedy. Thank you for making Wanake a place to practice living out our beliefs for both those experiencing challenges and those who support them.
