Texas Tragedy Through the Eyes of a Past Camp Counselor (and thank you to camp counselors everywhere)

Tragedy is not a new word. And tragedy involving children isn’t a new concept (unfortunately). Yet for some reason, this particular one has struck a chord in my heart - possibly because of my camp counselor background and this story of young lives lost while attending camp. When I first heard about the flooding, I didn’t know what it would entail but as I dug in, tears filled my eyes. For the last few days, my reloaded browsers have shown me the numbers 41, 27, 10 and 1. Meanwhile the overall death toll continues to rise and the young girls missing from camp remain missing - and if they’re found, they are becoming heartbreaking recovery missions rather than rescue. 

 

So, it makes me think about camp. I was a camper when I was a kid and it’s a massive part of my story, shaping me into who I am today. Both the environment and counselors were reasons I wanted to be on staff somewhere someday. When that day came, it was a high honor to prepare to serve campers each summer. For 5 summers between two different camps, I served in different positions and in many different states. But before the snacks and the fun and exhaustion and traditions and memories and lost voices and funny moments and life change of camp could start…we trained because we were responsible for more. 

 

We trained to:

• Learn how to engage, love on, and care for campers
• Make things larger than life and fun
• Give them the experience of their lives for the 1 week we had them
• Make sure they felt seen, known, and were making memories
• Think on our feet 
• Run programs smoothly
• Keep campers safe

 

Keep campers safe. It’s a thing that you train for yet you hope there’s nothing more to deal with than a bee sting or a miscalculated water balloon. But in a moment’s notice, you might need to act… because you’re the one in charge. I imagine most of those counselors along the Guadalupe laid their heads down, tried to shush their cabins from giggles and conversations that dreamt for tomorrow, and drifted to sleep. No one knew what awaited in the dark hours of the morning when the floods came and there was no time to think as water surged and rose - only act. That’s the story we know. Or at least…that’s the rendering of what we imagined to have happened.

I picture moments of bravery yet to think about the reality those counselors and girls faced that dastardly night is almost too much to bear. 

 

I’ve prayed many prayers since following along the journey, I’ve cried more tears than I thought I would looking at those little faces and trying not to imagine what those little minds and bodies went through or where they ended up. I think about the parents that sent their kid(s) off, entrusting that they’d get them back in a week (or month for Camp Mystic) and hear story after story of the greatest few weeks of their whole summers. Yet, we know how this story is going.

 

I’ve learned throughout my life to trust the Lord and lean not on my own understanding. I’ve taught kids at camp what faith can look like and how they can apply it to their own lives. Yet, when tragedies like this occur, I find myself begging God to help me remember those truths while I also pleading that there might be just one or two campers or the remaining counselor found alive. 

There’s something special about being a camp counselor. Not only do you watch your campers grow and surrender and create lifelong memories but you do as well in a very unique way. Clearly, central Texas and these camps devastated by the floods will be marked in ways we cannot fathom. The counselors, staff, and campers that live to tell the story will be marked and bonded in ways most will not understand. I wish the pain was over and the story was done but I know that it is just the beginning as waters shift and searches continue and the camps pause from physical and emotional damage.

So to Camp counselors everywhere past and present. To the counselors that will welcome campers this week. Thank you for your effort, your time, your passion, and your love for “the game”. Press on through the tiredness. Through the setbacks, unruly campers, late nights, hot days, and wild moments. Because in a moment’s notice, that desire for being a part of something bigger than yourself (which is likely why you decided to become a camp staffer) might be put to the test and you were there. 

• Retired Camp Counselor 

(CentriKid and Deer Run)

Pictured: 200+ staff being prayed over before being sent out

Continued prayers for all affected by the flooding.