You would assume that a native Minnesotan would know how to navigate a canoe on a lagoon. Of course, any Midwestern lifeguard should have the ability to cross a choppy lake. For me, this was not the case. There I was –a girl born and raised in a state with more than 10,000 lakes –paddling with all my might only to spin in circles with no hope of reaching the shoreline.
What’s worse, I was the guard on duty. It was my job to watch the campers as they skimmed along on paddleboards. What is a lifeguard to do if she isn’t able to keep her own canoe heading in the correct direction?
I never wanted to be a lifeguard. I dug my heels in the dirt when my mom signed me up for the training. Nevertheless, by the summer of 2024, I was about to start my third job as a lifeguard. I’d worked one summer at Camp Wakonda in Wisconsin and the next at a pool near my house. Now I was working at a place I’d never been to before: Camp MiVoden in Idaho. Adventist summer camps have always been special to me, so why not work at one I’d only heard about from friends? It couldn’t be that difficult being a counselor and working at the waterfront, right?
I was prepared for the campers who jumped into the deep end of the lake without knowing how to swim, but I was not prepared for the day when the girls in my cabin declared war on each other. I knew what to do for bloody noses and skinned knees, but I wasn’t sure how to react to tears of homesickness or pretend sprained ankles. As I quickly found out, this job was in no way easy. The early mornings and interrupted sleep at night, the runaway campers and the campers who refused to listen, were all exhausting. Despite these things, camp is a place like no other. Any Adventist camp is a special piece of land set aside for the Lord, a space for the love of Jesus to work miracles.
The influence of camp
I grew up going to North Star Camp in Minnesota. As a kid, I never understood the effort, preparation and time that go into making a summer camp successful. God chose a man named Harris Jones to help bring North Star Camp to life. Jones encountered seemingly impossible roadblocks: unbelieving people, the hardened hearts of landowners, the regulations of the state. The enemy threw all these things into the path because he knows what happens at camp –the miracles and opened hearts. But our God is great; nothing can derail a plan that He has set in motion. Each Adventist camp –not just NSC– was plotted out by God before anyone ever came up with the idea of summer camp. And that’s why Adventist camps are like no other place.
By the end of my summer at MiVoden, I could look back and see that the hand of God had been working in the lives of the campers. The tears and angry words in my cabin turned to laughter and songs as each day passed. For most of these kids, it was their first week away from home. Many of them had been sent by grandparents and church members who insisted to parents that camp would be a wonderful experience. And they were right.
My campers, as difficult as some of them were, asked deep spiritual questions. Some of them thought about Jesus for the first time. Those who had only heard mention of God opened Bibles and sang worship songs. Some had never heard the stories of Paul, David, and Ruth and soaked up each story with an intensity only 10-year-olds can have. This brought the questions: Why did Jesus have to die? How did God shut the lions’ mouths? Do you think my cat will be in heaven? They asked about baptism, wondering why we gathered at the waterfront each Sabbath afternoon to watch someone get dunked in the lake. They questioned the need to forgive their friends. I answered these the best I could, but I’m still growing in my relationship with God too. The seeds were being planted, and they were starting to bud.
The transformations that happened at camp would not have occurred anywhere else. Spending a week away from the problems of home in the middle of mountains, hills, or plains makes the beauty of our Savior a little bit clearer. For these kids, it may be the only time they will experience being where the people around them are fully dedicated to loving them no matter what, the only time they ever hear about Jesus. They are God’s children, the future leaders, workers, and caretakers of our world. The enemy is doing everything possible to keep them from hearing the Good News. We can’t let that happen. Camp offers a space to lay down the load of life for a week and experience God in a new way. Who knows, it might even change their lives.
Our rescue
And what about the lifeguard serpentining in the middle of the lake? I’d made no progress toward shore, and it was almost lunchtime. I thought I was going to have to jump in and swim for it. At just the right time, a couple of family campers recognized my plight and swooped in to save me.
It was only later that I realized God was teaching me a lesson. I was the lifeguard. I was in charge of keeping those around me safe. But in that moment, I was helpless. The waves tossed me in directions I didn’t want to go. Fortunately, deliverance came at the right moment. I was brought to shore and patiently shown how to handle the vessel should that ever happen again.
One of my favorite promises is found in Isaiah 43. In the second verse, it says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (NIV). Camp is a place where God works miracles, offering campers and families protection from the winds of life and giving hope to those who are facing the waves. God does this for everyone at camp, not just the campers. Because, believe it or not, even the lifeguard needs to be saved.
Sami Hoffer is a sophomore Biomedical Science and Writing Studies major from Minnesota. Along with being a student athlete and Minnesota Vikings fan, she hopes to become a Physician’s Assistant and publish her own books.
