An Interview - D10

"Hi, I'm an old camp brat.  My parents used to work at Arrowhead..." was the opening line of an email I received a few years ago.

Since 1945 there have been a lot of kids who have "grown up" at camp.  I am not one of them, so I often wonder how my daughter Natalie views camp.  What does she think about spending her formative years living where we work, play, hangout, serve, etc.  Over breakfast, I conducted the following interview.

Q: What is your favorite part of camp?
A: Campers (she said definitively... and then added "and staff and swimming in the lake").

Q: What is your favorite camp meal?
A: Chicken Fingers!  (she said with a smile.  That's no surprise, everyone loves our chicken tenders).

Q: What is your favorite camp activity?
A: Jumping off the tower at the lake... in the summer time.

Q: What is camp's mission?
A: To tell people about God.

Q: What would you add to camp?
A: A playground slide.  That would be fun.  And a bigger nurse's station.  And a bunk bed for my room.

Q: If you could work on staff, what would be your dream camp job?
A: I would work in the dishroom!  Or I would help you with whatever you are doing (yeah, her second answer was definitely trying to score extra Christmas bonus points).

Q: What do you think about growing up at camp?
A: Like, Wow!  Why do I live here and not somewhere else in the country, just in a house.  We have all this equipment and stuff here.

Growing up at camp certainly is a unique experience.  I love the blurring of the lines between family, work, home, play and ministry.  I think Natalie does too.  I hope that as an adult, Natalie will look back on her time growing up here at Arrowhead and say with a smile, "I was an old camp brat."