In The expression, ‘The More the Merrier’ isn’t always true. Sometimes you can just have too much of even a good thing. Too many Holiday cookies, too many guests, or as our campers have learned, too many ducks at a picnic.
This summer we put the phrase to a test and found out that when it comes to summer camp at Ferncliff, the more the merrier is true. We didn’t want to count our chicken’s before they hatched, but as we approached the dog days of summer we started to realize that we would reach our goal of serving more campers than ever before. Last year we had 1202 and this summer we topped it with 1222. Yes, the more the merrier seems to be true when talking about summer camp. Let’s see what other phrases ring true when referring to this past summer season.
A breath of fresh air. . .
Beyond the growth in numbers, we recognize the supreme importance of spiritual growth and faith formation for our campers and staff. Being surrounded by God’s creation and getting a chance to try new things with new friends creates a prime environment for spiritual reflection. At camp, children and youth get a chance to share their personal story with caring counselors and realize the central role of their faith in their story.
Nothing to sneeze at . . .
Our summer staff worked their tails off. These college age young men and women from five different countries bent over backwards and went the extra mile to provide an amazing summer camp experience for the kids who came to camp this summer. They used every trick in the book and came up with creative one of a kind camp activities to keep things fresh and fun.
Cool as a cucumber . . .
Our leadership staff never hit the panic button and never seemed to run out of steam during the jam-packed eleven weeks of staff training and camp. This group of coordinators and directors were given lots of responsibility and we take off our hats off to this group of talented and tireless servants.
Ace in the hole . . .
In a blink of an eye our day camp program has grown into a large operation. Our day camp program grew by 40% for the 3rd year in a row and we served 327 campers. Not to beat a dead horse, but so much of the credit goes to our day camp directors and staff over the last three years to doing the work necessary to develop this program.
To make a long story short . . .
Summer camp 2015 was by the grace of God, a great summer. We don’t even have to go out on a limb very far to say it was one of our best summers ever. And make no bones about it, we are gearing up for an even better camp in 2016. The more the merrier? You can say that again!