It's Monday night here at the farm and it's dark … I've decided that I don't like the dark anymore. After being in a land of perpetual day it's hard to get used to the dark again. The past couple night's I've woken up in the middle of the night and it's been pitch black and I didn't know where I was. Last night I was half dreaming and I thought I was trapped in a cave. It kinda freaked me out. It took me a minute to realize that I was safe, but I still need to turn on a light and go for a drink to get my heart to stop racing … it kinda sucked. I think tonight I'll leave the curtain open so some light will come in, maybe that will help. Anyways … what was I saying … oh yes, it's Monday and I'm at the farm … tomorrow I head out for the last leg of my journey. Edmonton, Calgary, Regina then home! Yippee!
I got into Dawson on Friday evening, the drive from Liard to here was good, from Ft. Nelson to here was tedious but I managed to make it with the help of CBC Radio 1, which, by the way, has really good programing in the evening … I'll have to tune in more often. I had a good chat with Aunt Brenda then it was off to bed because the next day I was heading to Camp Sagitawa.
Camp Sagitawa is located on
Moberly Lake which is about a one hour drive west of Dawson Creek.
Moberly Lake
I started going there when I was around 9. The reason I think my parents started sending me there was because it was close to my grandma's place and the farm so they could drop me off at camp and have a nice visit with grandma, plus it was only a 3 hour drive north of Prince George where I grew up. So at age 9 or so I went to camp for the first time, my councilor’s name was Steve. He was tall and had red hair … I think … also, here's the weird part, my friend Stirling was in my cabin that first summer and when I began to work at camp he was there and we didn't realize it till we were looking through old photo albums one day and saw our cabin picture! It was really weird! Stirling and I are good friends still. We were both grooms men in each other weddings and when ever I come out here I always end up hanging out with Stirling. Our relationship is great cause it seems like we always pick up where we left off. In fact that last time I saw Stirling was when I came out here before moving to Manitoba 4 years ago and it felt like I never left.
So I was a camper since I was 9, and when I was old enough my parents would put me on the Greyhound Bus and somebody from the camp would come pick me up. I only missed my bus going home once cause I wrote down the wrong time. I though that was the greatest thing in the world cause that meant I was able to stay at camp for another night, also it meant I was able to hang out with all the cabin leaders and SEEDS (I'll explain about SEEDS in a minute) for the evening which was AWESOME cause I though they were the coolest people in the world!!
At age 16 I became a
SEED. SEED stand for Servants Encouraged Equipped and Discipled. The program is sort of like a Jr. Councilor except the SEEDS don't sleep in a cabin with the campers. The job of a SEED is to free the cabin leaders up so they can have more opportunity to share Jesus with the campers. So we would do chore like things (dishes, cleaning ect.) but we would also play with the campers and help teach a skill (I always taught canoeing and wall climbing) and we would also be part of a table group.
I was a seed for 2 years. Some of my deepest friendships I have today formed those first few summers a camp. After being a SEED I was a cabin leader for 2 years (you can't call them councilor's anymore cause we aren't trained therapist’s … that's the explanation anyways. Now it's cabin leaders …)
Here's a bit of Ken Trivia … at camp the campers are divided into table groups. That way the kids can meet new people and what not. Table groups were a lot of fun! Some times we would have wacky meals like giant/weird utensil meal or monk meals where you could talk. Also I invented Communist Wang-Ho. Ask me about it some time!
Anyways back to Ken trivia … also table groups are in a sort of competition. There were memory verses and different contests through out the week and the winning table group would get served at the end of the week by the program directors. It's called Top Table. So the Top Table would have a fancy table cloth and napkins, bigger glasses and extra juice! I NEVER WON top table … not once! I was part of a table group for 4 years and I NEVER WON! I had 32 chances to win and I never won … hehe … I came second one year by like 2 points, that was the closest that I ever came … but I'm not bitter :D I was also never on the brochure …
My favorite camps were always teen camps. My first summer as a cabin leader I had the oldest kids. There were 4 in my cabin. I had a blast with these 4 guys! One time, one of the other cabin's kept throwing pebbles on the tin roof. I was annoying so one of the guys piped up and said, “If they do that again can we go beat them?” I replied, “Well, you can't use your fist's, you can use your pillows, and if I was “sleeping” and didn't know you left there's nothing I could do about it right *wink* *wink* ...” Sure enough about 10 minutes later they threw rocks on out roof, conveniently enough I was “sleeping” and all I heard from next door were screams and the pounding of pillows! The cabin leader of that cabin the next morning complained to me that my guys had raided them, but to this day I maintain my innocence! I was “sleeping” … oddly enough they never threw rocks on our roof again! Hehe …
I was usually in Cabin 10. My friend Tim
was usually 2 cabins over. We would always have a Coke together before camp
started.
After that I was the SEED leader, and I've also been the camp speaker there a couple times. But as much fun as working there was, Sagitawa has also left a lasting spiritual impact on my life. It's the place were I fully began to understand Jesus love for me. It's the place where I have been able to witness the greatness and majesty of God and it's also the place where I finally began grieving the loss of my mom.
Here's a couple stories to illustrate
As a cabin leader the first night I would share a little about my life, how I became a Christian and what not. I was also also ask the campers what they though about God. I had one camper who straight up told me he was an atheist. He didn't believe in God and there was no way I would get him to believe. I was alright with that, at least I knew where he stood. So the week progressed, we did our bible studies, went to chapel's, did our things. I chatted with him a little ever day, asked him how things were and what not. The last night, when the director typically gives the salvation message I could tell that God was speaking to him. After chapel he pulled me aside. He had tears in his eyes and told me about his life and how much he didn't like the way it was going, and that he though he might give Jesus a try. Praise God! That was probably the best moment I had as a cabin leader. I can't remember his name or even where he's from but I pray that he's still giving Jesus a try.
Another time I heard God speak to me. It was early, around 6:30am. I liked to get up early to shower have some coffee and read my bible before my cabin got up. I was walking across the big playing field to the main dining hall where the showers were. I looked up and the field was covered in dew, the sun was shining on it and it looked like a million diamonds. I also glanced at the lake at it was glass, not a ripple on it. Which is odd cause Moberly is usually quite windy. In that moment it seemed like all time stopped. In that moment I heard God say, “Look what I created just for you Ken” It was glorious! I can still picture it in my head and it still takes my breath away thinking about it.
I also mentioned that at camp I began the grieving process. In April of 2001 my mom passed away. That summer I went back to camp. That wasn't a very good summer. About half way through the summer I had a unusually difficult cabin, and an unusually difficult table group. It seemed like the kids were more interested in goofing off instead of learning about God. Which sucked for me. I loved teaching the kids about Jesus and it seemed like they didn't care. So one day I climbed a tree. I climbed a tree and wouldn't come down. I had anxious people at the bottom telling me to come down. But I needed somebody to come to me. I can't remember who it was, but somebody decided to climb the tree. He didn't talk, he just sat with me as I cried. My soul hurt. Eventually I came down, but that moment I began to fully realize that my mom was gone and it hurt. That tree isn't there anymore, but I made that tree legendary. Many more would climb the “crisis tree” as it was called. So if you see somebody in a tree that won't come down maybe you should climb to them, cause some times we all need somebody to come sit with us as we cry, and that's alright.
So camp has had a HUGE impact on my life. The current director Gary and his wife Audry are like a second set of parents to me, I feel. I have had many long chats with Gary, in fact just yesterday I had another long chat with Gary, he shared with me his passion for camp, and for Jesus and I left the table feeling so totally blessed and encouraged. I don't have words enough to express what Camp Sagitawa means to me. But it feels like the place reverberates with my soul so everything is at peace. As much as the farm feels like home, camp feels like my sanctuary. It's a place where God dwells and I always meet him there, and this time was no exception.
I was lucky this time because this weekend was the Alliance Church in Dawson Creek's family camp. So Stirling and his family were there and a few others that I knew where also there so it was nice to spend the weekend with them. The water was cold, much colder than the Arctic Ocean, so I didn't go swimming. But I went on the zip line a few times, climbed the big hill across the highway and had a nice time around the fire with everybody. I also got to sleep in Gordon and Brenda's sweat RV! They have a super nice motor home and it sure beat sleeping in the van!
The view from the top of the hill
As I mentioned in a
previous post when I come out here I usually mow the grass. I did that today and I didn't mow over any trees! There was one instance however where I was trundling along with out the blades going! Oops! Gordon walks over to me and asks me to look behind me. I thought I ran over something! But he casually mentioned that there were no clippings coming from the mower! Hehe … It's a good thing I'm not a farmer cause I would make a terrible one! Oh well … perhaps next time I'll be able to get it right :D
~ Until next time …
