iHope

The Bridge all the kids helped build.
Each plank represents a child affected by cancer
at this camp. Every year they will walk across this
bridge to get to camp. Such a neat idea!

 “This is Camp Awesome!” … “I never want to leave!”… “Can we stay forever?”

I heard this all week long.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better then yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. “-Philippians 2:3-4

This verse was talked about at church the Sunday after I got back from camp. I thought it was a fitting end to my week.

 I packed up and headed almost 3 hours away for a week.  This would be the longest I have left my little man so it was bitter sweet for me. This summer I volunteered to be a counselor for a camp in the Dallas area. This camp was filled with children ages 7-16. I was lead counselor for 11 energetic girls, between the ages of 9 and 11!  Camp had the usual crazy songs, pranks, cool arts and crafts, etc. Only difference… These kids had all dealt with a cancer diagnosis.  This camp was for kids who have cancer or had gone through treatment already. They were able to invite 2 siblings from their family as well.  Most camps that are for kids who have cancer don’t allow the siblings to attend. This year things were different.

Co-Counselors and ex-campers

Siblings of cancer patients have their own battles and struggles to deal with.  Time is taken away from the healthy children and all energy is usually given the child that is sick. This can leave the sibling feeling alone and neglected. Resentment starts to set in. Mixed emotions consume and it is not uncommon for behavior problems to start with the siblings of a cancer patient. This camp wanted to include and celebrate ALL children affected by cancer; Children going through cancer and those innocently watching their brother or sister fight for their lives. It’s a fight for both, but most of the time the sibling develops wounds that are hard to repair. This camp is making the change.

 Cancer can take away a lot of things but it can never take away your hope. I think it was very fitting that the name that the campers voted on this year was Camp iHope. Hope is something these families know all too well. Hope for a quick recovery, Hope for a clean bill of health, Hope for a better tomorrow. One of the wishes a camper revealed at closing ceremonies was, “I hope to live long enough to just be.” HOPE.  We all can relate to that word, but for a child going through cancer, that word is everything. This camp IS everything to some of these kids. Some will be back again next year for another fun filled week of games, pranks, swimming and laughs, but the heartbreaking reality is that others won’t be returning. This part of camp is the hardest. Another angel will earn their wings and forever be remembered in the lives that they have touched. It’s not fair and is never easy to explain why another camper Isn’t here this year but, in the world of cancer, it is our reality.



Ransom note the girls gave another
cabin.



For one week these kids get to be just normal kids. There are no tears; there are no hospitals, just pure innocent fun! The girls spent the week making new friends, talking about what pranks they were going to pull on the boys, playing mad libs, swimming and learning that we all have something to learn from one another.  “Birds of a feather.”  That is the quote on one of the posters in our cabin for the week.  We dubbed ourselves the Flamingos! Our motto was that even though we are all different and unique in our own way, we all have something in common. We all can learn from each other. The girls loved it. Covered in feathers and glitter we proudly placed the poster by the door.  These girls took that motto to heart and around every corner I saw how these girls came together and took care of each other. At camp, you don’t have to explain anything. People just know. I found a quote by C.S. Lewis and we had it on poster board in our cabin. It read, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” That describes camp. You swap chemo stories, drug side effects and proudly display scars. You talk about anything and everything. Most of the time, it doesn’t involve the word CANCER. Looking around the cafeteria it is hard to pick out those who have a cancer diagnosis. These are just kids desperately wanting to just be.  This week of camp was such an amazing time! I was truly happy and felt I was making a difference not only in my own life, but in the lives of these girls. As an ex-camper, I was able to relate to most and the struggles they have and will continue to face with survivorship.  Beating cancer isn’t the end of the battle. While cancer doesn’t define who I am, it is a part of my life. There are scars left, emotionally and physically, that remind me every day of what I survived and what I continue to survive. 

 Such a fun time
 getting to wear a different costume
every day!

We started the week with an “Attitude of Gratitude”. As counselors, we were there to serve them as campers. This camp was ALL about them. We were there with a servant’s heart to give a week of our lives to touch these kids. By the end of the week these kids were teaching us life lessons, I won’t soon forget.

Closing ceremonies was bitter sweet. It always is. When I was a camper many years ago, it marked the end to our fantasy world and back to reality. It is an emotional time for these kids. They had a week filled with HOPE. Hope that life didn’t have to be different for them all the time. Hope that they were not alone. Hope that amidst pain and sorrow; Joy and laughter can still exist. 



Check. What's next?

 

This camp brings so many children together and creates HOPE.  I am so thankful I was able to be a part of this wonderful place for these children to come and just BE.  It not only changed my life as a child, but even into adulthood I am still affected by one week with so many amazing people!