I’ve been coming to Camp Hebron for as long as I can remember. My first experience that I can remember myself was doing Moms and Tots with my mother years and years ago. Eventually years later I started doing cabin camps with my best friends from church every summer. It was always a blast being able to spend time with them while also meeting other amazing people, campers and counselors alike.
For me, 2018 was the most impactful year of camp I had. It was my first time in the Sojourners and I went in with just one of my friends from church. By the end of that week, each and every one of us, in both guys and girls cabins, became a family. The deep friendships we created with one another is something that I am truly grateful for. As for my counselor, he really encouraged me to step out and make my faith my own.
My last year as a camper was in 2019, which was an extremely bittersweet year for me, since it was such a good week and it was my last time ever being a camper. I then helped out as an SIT for the next two weeks afterwards, just to get a feel for what it’s like to work with an amazing group of people. From there, I had sort of put camp into the back of my mind, not really thinking too much of it afterwards.
The years went on, 2020 hit and that in itself was a crazy year for me, since I was a senior in highschool at the time. 2021 rolled in and I was off living in London while serving with YWAM for most of the year. As the beginning of 2022 came around, I was ready to begin my new life in the UK and go back as staff for my YWAM base. An extremely long story made short, when I landed in London Heathrow and went through immigration, I was refused entry to the country after 10 long hours of being in custody and interrogated. So I had to make my way back home to the states, unsure of what the next move was.
I did my best to look for jobs that I would enjoy doing while I get an idea of what I want to do next, but to no avail, I couldn’t find a place willing to hire me. It was around that time that Camp Hebron made a post on their socials that they were in desperate need of male counselors for the summer, from which I put that idea on the backburner. It was only when my pastor at my church encouraged me to send in an application after I told him all of my amazing experiences as a camper there. Within 24 hours, I received an email asking me when I was available to have an interview. It didn’t take long to hear back from camp saying that I was on the team for the summer, which made me extremely happy!
Summer 2022 rolled around and I got to meet and work with some of the best people I’ve come to meet here in the states. Not only that, but being a counselor was a pretty sweet gig. I got to hang out with super awesome kids, go on adventures with them and tell them more about Jesus. It was all fun, it was difficult, but it was so worth it. I’d relive almost every second I had this summer.
Throughout the summer, I was made aware of a potential new internship here at Camp Hebron that was based around adventure and discipleship. I really liked the idea, since I was starting to worry about what my next move in life was after camp. One evening camp around where I was at staff worship and I vividly heard the voice of God telling me that I was going to do this program, which we later named it Guide. The adventure has only just begun and will only keep getting better.
-Cole Connelly, Guide Program Participant
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