Castaway is a camp that I was introduced to after attending Young Life here in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin this past year. Young Life is a Christian organization that would meet Monday nights at around 7pm. We would all hang out for awhile and then the leaders (usually really fun, young, cool people) would put on a funny little skit for us. Then we would sing all sorts of songs. The songs included popular ones that you would hear on the radio as well as religious songs about the love of God. At the end of "Club" (as they call it) one of the leaders would tell a story from the bible and pray with us. Afterwards we would all hang out and talk. I was usually one of the few who stayed until only us and the leaders were left, which usually ended in us having to help clean everything up. But, we didn't mind as long as it gave us a few extra minutes with those people.
Now that you've pictured what a typical Young Life Club is, picture it on CRACK. That's when you've got Young Life Castaway Club. People from Young Lifes all over the world come to this camp and join together to praise and worship God and just to have a good time. There is not a dull moment at Castaway because there is never a moment when you're not doing something. Whether it's singing or dancing or having deep discussions with your leaders, you're always on the move.
The first day of camp was kind of intimidating for me. I had gone to fall camp earlier in the year, but that was only 3 days long and could not prepare me for the upcoming events of the next week. Arriving on the coach bus to probably 30 summer staff members making a line for you to run through from the exit of the bus was awakening enough. We were each assigned a summerstaff memeber right there to carry our luggage to our cabins for us! It was the sweetest thing to have someone else carry your bags there for you. Castaway isn't a camp where you're expected to rough it out in the wild. It's more of a resort type of camp.
The first club was even more epic than the arrival. They played songs that everyone knew and songs that were unique to young life. We all had such an amazing time and I remember thinking life couldn't get much better than that. But boy was I wrong. The next day we went one something that others are familiar with only from the movie Jaws.........the Banana Boat. Us brave souls were dragged out onto on a giant banana by a boat we were attached to. The driver seemed nice enough, but we soon found out that her one and only goal of the day was to knock us off of that banana and into the freezing cold lake as many times as possible.
We spent most of our morning in that freezing cold lake shivering and laughing at each other. I have to say that after that first plunge I felt I had conquered my fear of lakes. I've always had a fear that some kind of fish (usually a shark) would come out of nowhere and attack me. Sharks are probably one of my biggest fears in life, next to drowning. But, after realizing that most things in that lake were probably more afraid of me jumping in the water than I was of them attacking me, my mind was cleared of all those scary thoughts. It was a very freeing feeling to be out there on that lake and not be scared.
My next favorite part about camp is the food. The food is absolutely amazing. Every meal was made to perfection and there was always enough for everyone. Callie, our waitress for the week, was quite the rage amoungst the boys in our group. About to be a senior in high school, and with a charming southern accent and blonde hair, the boys fell pretty hard. You would think it would be annoying to hear them constantly talk about her, but it was actually adorable. Us girls approved of Callie and we even had the chance to hear her amazing life story when she visited us on one of the last days in our cabin bearing cookies. She brightened up everyones mealtime and made the amazing food even better.
Zach and I eating a fabulous meal at Castaway. Somehow at every younglife camp there ends up being a picture of me stuffing food in my face (:
The beach was amazing at Castaway and we spent a few of our days just hanging out there. Although it ended up with my entire body being covered in red, it was completely worth it. However, if I had to give one word of advice for the beach it would be to always remember sunscreen. Also, beware of evil boys from your group trying to throw you into the lake fully-clothed. THANKS GUYS.
Left to right: Thomas, me, Jordan, Averi, Leah
While meeting new people is always fun, it is even more exciting getting to know people from your regular group. Our cabin had a lot of time to get to know each other better than we did before as well as our whole group (guys and girls).
Jordan and I on the second to last day. This kid is like my brother. Also, there's Ben lookin' swag in the backround walking away. He's probably still wearing his fake mustache (:
All of us girls outside of our cabin. Left to right: Erin (Carin' Erin), Averi, Mariella, Rosalie, Katrina, Jenny, Laurel, Kyleigh, me, Leah, and Andrea (Baby Mama)
But about those new people who we met(: it's always good to better yourself by meeting and developing relationships with new people. It's very encouraging to be introduced to someone who actually seems to have an interest in you and where you're at in life. Everyone at Castaway is so friendly, it's like we've always known each other. I love all of my friends at this camp, new and old, and whether I even met them or not, I wish them all the best in their lives. They don't deserve anything less.
Ellis and I on the second to last day of camp
Leaders: Erin and Andrea(and baby)
Girls: Leah, Katrina, Averi, Jenny, Laurel, Rosalie, Mariella, and Kyleigh
I hope that you all always remember Philippians 4:13, and that I as well as your heavenly Father will always love and cherish you. (: xoxo
-Jessie
