Summer Staff Reflections:
Counselor Reflections from Bryan: “The best moments of camp would be spending time with my fellow counselors. I’ve made some friendships that will last a lifetime. This is a great group of people who I am proud to call my family/friends. I will miss them a lot. I also enjoyed spending time with the kids and being a role model to them. I hope this has been a life changing experience for them because it has for me. I will miss camp so much. I love this place. I feel like its home.”
Reflection from Counselor Ashlynne: “I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I know God placed me here for a reason. I have developed so many new relationships/friendships with people I had never met until I came here. This has been an experience I will definitely never forget. This summer has surely shaped my life in more ways that I know. Seeing the possible ways we affected the children’s lives made it all worth it.”
Reflection from Counselor Reba: “The best moments from camp were the Night Owls, spending time with the other counselors and campers, doing daily activities, water olympics, Battle-O, dance night, talent show, leading worship, skits, music, and the Night Owl evening activities were great and fun to participate in. The workers here were like family and will always be there for me and in my heart. ”
Reflection from Counselor Jenny: ” Growing, listening and teaching are just a few of the many life skills I’ve learned here. I will miss a community where I’m surrounded by friends and nature. I hope and pray that God continues to help this camp grown for future campers.”
Reflection from Horse Wrangler, Holly: ” I love teaching kids and seeing that light bulb turn on about something. The best part is helping a child to get over a fear and form a new passion like riding.”
Reflection from Counselor Seth: “Camp Monroe greatly helped me to learn who I am as a person, as well as allowing me to exponentially grow both internally and in Christ. The opportunity to work with so many different types of kids was absolutely amazing and life changing.”
Reflection from Lifeguard Joe: “The thing I enjoyed most about camp was the experiences I gained, like going down the Lumber River, and the friendships I made.”
Reflection from Counselor Chris: “I’m not one to reflect very much on paper. Yet I know Camp Monroe this summer has been a place full of new people, friends, and experiences that I hope to remember for a long time. I had a lot of fun! I especially enjoyed battle-O and gaga ball.”
Reflection from Counselor Qunchao: “I really enjoyed working with campers from different backgrounds. I learned that you can’t treat everyone the same because they are all different. I also enjoyed having a different pastor each week. They read the same passage but explained things in a new way which made me rethink every time.”
Reflection from Counselor Sarah: “Things I enjoyed this summer:
-Shabooya Role Call (It always made me smile)
-Energizers! Especially Revolution and Ants
-Skits
-Becoming less fearful of bugs, snakes, other critters, the dark and the unknown.
-Getting to know people and their unique personalities
-Accents of Clement, Michele, NK, Q and Ashlynne
-Michele and Bryan’s Dancing
-Day Campers!
-High and Low Ropes
-Bible Studies with my kids
-Getting to know the different campers and laughing with them.
-Spending time at the barn with Holly and the horses (especially Too Tall).
-Eating my last hobo pie- it was good!
-Splish, Splish, Splash- always fun!
-Gaga Ball
-Pool Time
-Pizza at lunch
-Singing Worship songs
-Playing a duet on the Piano with Joe
-Singing silly songs with campers
-Seeing the talents of others at the Talent Show
-Sleeping on the porch
-Playing “down by the river..,” sings, and other games”
-Laughing with counselors and staff
-Creating check-ins with my campers and seeing others check-ins.
-Learning from my mistakes
-God revealing to me truths about myself, others and Himself.
-2 Campers saying that a “high” of their day was when I shared my story with them.
-Singing to Thomas whenever me and my horse camp girls saw him.
-Seeing campers smile, laugh and have a good time.
Reflection from Counselor NK: ” I learned a lot this summer. Being a counselor has improved my leadership skills. I enjoyed working with every group I had throughout the summer. Patience was a skill I had to learn. A lot of these skills will help me in the future. The experience of being part of summer staff will help me be a better and wiser person. My whole camp experience was very positive and meant a lot to me.”
Reflection from Counselor Clement: ” I enjoyed the activities such as playing gaga ball, the waterside, water baseball, canoeing on the Lumber River, playing blanket volleyball..ect. The high ropes and zip line is heaven for me! I had a spiritual awakening time at Camp Monroe. The everyday two worships brought me so close to God my Creator and I loved that. I was filled with joy when I hear kids saying that they enjoyed the activities at camp and that they wanted to come back again next year. Truly, I learned how to be a good parent for kids ages 5-17 years old.”
