The second session of Royal Family Kids Camp was held in July with 131 children and 129 volunteers. There were over 50 new campers and thus a lot of first time memories were created. Our camp scribe captured these stories:
Counselor Jay said his camper, James (6 years old), arrived on Monday and the first thing they did when they got to their room was an inventory. He and Jacob pulled everything out of his luggage and made sure he had a swimsuit, towel, etc. Then they went to lunch and while sitting at their table, Jay noticed that Jacob seemed to be in deep thought as if he were still processing the inventory. In a very concerned whisper, he told Jay, “I can’t go to sleep tonight!” Jay asked him what he was talking about and he repeated, “I can’t go to sleep tonight!” Jay asked him why and his little eyes started to well up with tears as he said, “I don’t have my teddy bear!”
Even though bedtime was still a long way off. A lot of teamwork took place behind the scenes to address this emergency. Later in the afternoon, a teddy bear was brought to Jay. Jay hid the bear in his backpack until bedtime. At bedtime, Jay found the boys in bed preparing to hear a story. He quietly slipped James the teddy bear and said, “Hey buddy, I’m sorry your teddy bear couldn’t make it this week, but this is Ray and he can be your camp bear.” Jay said the worry and sadness left his face and James produced the biggest smile you’ve ever seen! James didn’t have any trouble going to sleep.
Sandra has a little 7-year-old camper named Maria. On Monday, Sandra realized that Maria was terrified of water. She would only sit at the pool entrance where she could get a little wet, but was still sitting on the pavement. Sandra patiently encouraged her into the water by standing on her knees so she was the same height as Maria. She managed to get her to the 2ft. mark, but she held onto Sandra very tightly out of fear. On Tuesday, Sandra learned that Maria had seen someone drown, which explained her terror. Sandra proceeded very patiently and slowly earned Maria’s trust.
She introduced her to the pool noodles and Maria managed to get in the pool just a little without holding onto Sandra. Sandra then convinced Maria to ride on her back out to the 4ft. rope…Maria had a death grip the entire way and back. Wednesday, Sandra got a “pinky promise” from Maria that she would use the noodles to swim out to the 4ft. rope by herself. So Sandra went out to the rope and waited while Maria worked up her courage. She grabbed two noodles, held on for dear life and kicked her little legs until she reached Sandra. Maria was SO EXCITED to tell me this story!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support this summer!!
Darren Edwards,
Executive Director