Summer 2021 has been a summer to remember! It’s been over a year since we’ve been able to have Sonshine Day Camp in person and what a treat it was to be with campers, TLC’s and staff! Even though camp days were shorter and there was a limited capacity, staff and campers alike enjoyed the time spent with one another. For 6 weeks, campers learned about God’s grace, forgiveness, love and His view on justice. Campers read about creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation. Through praise and worship, bible time, games, and activities, campers built a better understanding and foundation of the Christian life. With proper PPE and physical distancing rules in place, relationships between staff and campers continued to build and flourish. Thanks to the generosity of Sparks, churches and families, campers had enough PPE and snacks to last them throughout camp!
Throughout the summer, we wanted you to get to know our campers more personally! We made a ‘This or That’ video so that you could learn about what they’d prefer. We also made a ‘Day in the Life of a Camper’ for you to see what it was like to be a Sonshine Day Camper! Check out the videos on our Youtube channel.
TCM Summer Interns are an essential part of Sonshine Day Camp. Not only do they plan, prepare and execute camp, but they also work together with staff and volunteers to provide a caring, safe, loving, and fun environment. An environment where they share the love of Christ Jesus through teaching the campers but also through everyday actions. Here’s a story from one of our interns, Gloria from Kingston-Galloway.
“On the first day I met this camper, I thought he was so silly and quite immature. He would constantly bother those around him and get them to chase him around the room. He would express his thoughts aloud and not care how these comments would affect other people. But after a few days/ a week, I saw that he was one of the most mature out of the entire group. Although he did take part in bothering other people, he was never the first to instigate this. And after having discussions with the leaders about his misbehavior, I saw that he really tried to correct his inappropriate actions or comments.
During bible time, he was drawn to the stories and began to ask questions that sometimes caught me off guard. Through him, I saw that God was using our activities to grow this camper’s curiosity towards Him. I was happy that the effort we placed in making the lessons fun and interesting helped him understand difficult concepts and understand God’s love for him/ all of us.
Throughout camp, this camper’s growth paralleled my personal growth as well. He helped me understand that although they are just kids, they still have a concept of justice, happiness, etc. and their misbehaviors are just ways of expressing their innermost needs. Although he was silly at times, I saw him as a leader who took initiative and cared for those around him. I can’t wait to see the person he becomes, or as he told me, a basketball player for the NBA!”
Praise God for all that He has done this summer!