Something New
I embarked on my latest adventure on Aug. 23. I moved back to Pennsylvania to start a new job at Camp Hebron, which is a Christian camp and retreat center. My Camp Hebron journey started in 2018 when I was first introduced to Megan, the program director at camp. She is a fellow Loft team alumni and Messiah College graduate. The Loft program was a leadership development and discipleship program that God used to transform and mature me during my college experience. Megan visited campus to recruit summer staff. After our initial conversation, I seriously considered joining the 2018 staff as a Recreation Director and to serve as a rock-climbing guide. I ended up not accepting that position but continued building a relationship with Megan. I frequently would chat with her when she would recruit on campus and kept Camp Hebron in the back of my mind as a potential place to get involved. Over the course of the following years, she frequently suggested that I consider Camp Hebron for summer employment, but the timing just wasn’t ever right for me.
Sometime after first becoming aware of Camp Hebron, I attended a retreat on the property. I spent a weekend with my fellow Loft team members fellowshipping and serving at camp. I have fond memories of raking leaves, playing in the gym, and laughing around the table in the dining hall. After that initial experience, I returned to the property twice for Messiah leadership retreats. I made more memories of passionate worship nights around a fire, hiking up Peter’s Mountain, and getting lost looking for the breakout sessions scattered around the property. Throughout college I always looked forward to trips to Camp Hebron because they gave me a chance to escape my normal routine and just have fun.
Last winter, as my time with OneLife came to a close, I received a text from Megan out of the blue. She told me about a potential year-round employment opportunity on the program team at camp. After three years of it not being the right time, I was finally able to accept a position. My responsibilities include maintaining the adventure facilities and equipment, dreaming up new programming, partnering with a local youth center, horse wrangling, facilitating adventure and team-building experiences, heading up a home school recreation program, and co-directing Release Time, which is a youth group program for 4th and 5th graders. I can see how my diverse life experiences have uniquely prepared me for the role. I have enjoyed diving into this new environment and getting to know the team that I have joined. I have no idea what God has planned for me here, but I am certain it will be exciting.
