Camp Vicki

In (let's see...) three days, me and my brother and sister are packing up and heading to DeSoto, MO to go to Camp Ne-o-tez. It's about an hour away from where we grew up in West County St. Louis, and I kid you not when I say that it is probably among my top five favorite places on this Earth. I said that to Mallory the other day in the car and she laughed and called me dramatic... but I'd even go so far as to say that to me it IS Heaven on Earth. And anyone who wants to call me dramatic can do so in the privacy of their own home outside of my earshot.
Meredith, you have no idea what an amazing place you are really representing when you wear that shirt i gave you (although you must have at least a small concept of it since you wear that shirt like all the time)
Why is it so great? I think it's a combination of things. For one thing: I think that Camp Neo-tez is inherently better than all other Christian summer camps. Just because of basic characteristics like geographical location in the U.S. and the natural features it is built around. But the biggest reason is probably memories. Some of the best memories I have of my mom are from that camp. And not only that, but to this day, every time we go back, the people we see there are people who loved her like nobody's business. And they love us because of how much they loved her. She is all around me when I am there.
When we were growing up, mom would always take a week out of the summer and head up to Camp Ne-o-tez to be a cook at the High Teens week. And every year, she's drag us kids out with her and we'd run around all day catching crawdads and frogs and bugging all the older kids. We loved it. Nobody telling us what to do... unlimited ways to entertain ourselves. Cool teenagers everywhere. Staying up late. Tons of other little "cooks kids" and youth minister's kids to play with.
And the happiness didnt end with my childhood. It's like I said, everytime I go back... I'm surrounded by people who knew her. People who were touched by her because of the servant she was. People who begin to tear up just looking at me because they loved her so much. I didn't know as a child how blessed I was to be able to call that woman "my mother" but I'm able to see it now years later when i reunite with those people at camp. Teens who used to camp there and are now grown up with families and working as staff members will tell me about all the crazy pranks she pulled on people, and about how boldly she spoke about her Lord to them, even as she was going through cancer. I can't tell you what it does for my spirit to be in that place and around those people. I mean, I love living where we do now... but its very different because no one here knew her. No one. They can identify with us now, but they can never know who our mom was. And that's ok, but wow... when someone CAN its just the greatest!
So that's the biggest reason why. The memories. There's a gazebo there that they built and dedicated to her after she died. There's also a tradition that the counselors do with the senior girl campers where they take them out into a field and they have a time of sharing and worship and it is awesome. And it was instituted by my mom, i dont know HOW long ago. And this year I got an e-mail about it, saying that they want me to help carry on that tradition as a counselor. They are still doing it! I love that.
I was going to put a picture up with this post. Its of all of us as very little kids at camp. If i find it i will add it.