Once they were down at the mudslide, Abigail hung back. She watched other kids slip, slide, and slosh into the thick goop like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Bee stood alongside Abigail as they both watched the muddy mayhem. A quiet presence. After a while, Bee noticed something…

A toe in the mud.
A step.
A little laugh.
Another step.

Before long, Abigail was stepping out further and further, deeper and deeper into the mud, until she was completely covered, grinning ear-to-ear, having the time of her life.

Later that evening, during a quiet moment around the campfire, Abigail turned to Bee and said, “Thank you for believing in me.”

Here’s the part Bee told her supervisor later:  “Abigail wasn’t the only one who needed someone to believe in them.”

This was Bee’s first summer as a counselor. Bee was nervous, too. Unsure and uncertain. Quietly wondering, “Can I really do this?”

Throughout the week, Bee watched Abigail change. Quiet and reserved when she arrived, Abigail started singing louder at mealtimes and around the campfire as the days passed. Each time a little bolder, a little more confident.  Like taking those steps into the Mudslide. Laughing. Splashing. Growing.

Bee was growing too. “Thank you for believing in me…”

“When Abigail said those words to me, I felt like I could actually make a difference. Like I mattered to this child. She gave me the confidence I needed to do this job.”

Bee was saying back to Abigail, “Thank you for believing in me.”

Camp is a ministry to children and to the young adults who serve as their leaders. Camp is a place where faith becomes real. Where courage grows. Where a young person discovers, “I can do hard things… and I’m not alone.”

That’s what happens at Camp Hanover. And you are part of it.