In my years with CP, I have helped CP move warehouses, staff housings, and offices many times - a total of 6, I think. So, needless to say, I have moved or touched most every computer, desk, dish, tent, climbing rope, and flashlight that CP owns. In addition to all of these moves, I have seen CP change communities and leadership. I have a tendency to only remember the great memories of my CP past (and there are many) and not so much the hardships that I have experienced. For me, I have learned that continuously longing for people and places of the past can be a slippery slope. It is not always a bad thing to look back on the people that have blessed our lives and have helped to shape us into the people that we are now.It is only when our reminiscing pulls us away from being present with the time and place God has put us in do these memories begin to hinder us.
It is important for us to be self-aware of where our mind and heart is present and that is something we should all be praying for. But, like a headlamp in a dark cave, we cannot see all of what is ahead. We do not always see the unexpected dips or rocks, but we do have the experience of the path behind us to learn from and help us as we continue on our journey. Likewise, we do not always know what the end of the journey will look like; so, it is important that we not become distracted by things of our future that are still in the dark to us. We must strive to live in the present, taking the lessons from our past to help us as we strive towards the future, whatever that may look like.
I am blessed to have found Confrontation Point. I have been a camper at CP for years, but this is my first summer working for the ministry. I have found that the jump from camper to staff member has been my greatest challenge. As a camper, you are surrounded by familiar faces and have usually had previous experience working with your group. As a trip coordinator at CP, I am working side by side with new people from all over. These last few weeks have been extremely busy, filled with program training activities and group preparations. While our CP family will undoubtedly encounter trials this summer, I truly believe that I have found people that I will be friends with for life.
I have grown a lot in the past few weeks and view this experience as a gift from God. I am learning more about myself at CP than I would in any other environment. It hasn't all been easy, but the people at CP have given me the tools to overcome challenges and be successful.We are going to do awesome things this summer and our goal is to glorify God's Kingdom. I know we will do that.
We have had an awesome summer start! Staff training has revealed the high quality of young people we’ve recruited; there are numerous growth opportunities for them to experience in 3 weeks of workshops, adventure activities, skills training, community events, devotional times and overnight excursions. Recognizing the educational value of a summer at CP, a few of the 25 staff have even integrated internship requirements with their summer roles.
One highlight for me has been the Staff Covenant discussion. The Staff Covenant is a contract we create together that goes above the normal expectations of community living and challenges us to “go deeper”. It was so encouraging to hear staff members inspire the rest of us to “Practice Living in the presence of God” or “Learn something new about a prayer partner each week.” We’ve also committed to some fun random things on the Covenant too like “Joke time at breakfast!”
A second highlight was the cave training trip a few days ago. Due to recent heavy rains, the cave was muddier than ever. Someone described the mud consistency with whip cream! There was one section in the cave where a few of our staff chose to slide down into a mud pit -- disgusting and hilarious simultaneously! The coolest vantage point was sitting on an overlook in a cave “hallway” that was large enough for a freeway and look back at 25 headlamps following behind. This made me think of the cave devotional that one of our managers gave, referencing Mathew 5:14, “You are the light of the world”. During the devotional, we sat in complete darkness until each of us shared a “personal gift that God had given us” and turned on our lights, one by one. It was a powerful metaphor of Christian community.
