With my trash bag full of bedding in hand, I walked into stuffy old Cabin 1 and my summers officially changed forever. Every summer since I was seven years old, I have gone to a small all-girls Christian summer camp called NeKaMo. The name stands for Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. I learned about this camp through my piano teacher at the time, who was a cook there. Right off the highway, across from the road to Truman Lake, is a campground with seven small cabins placed in a semi-circle. In that small campground lies childhood memories that I will never forget.

Flash forward 9 years and I am finally in Cabin 12. I am now the top-dog at camp, but I soon learned that it requires more responsibility. Being reminded that younger campers look up to me, I had to be conscious of how acted. Next year is my last year as a camper. I am doing a program called CILT, which stands for Camper in Leadership Training that NeKaMo provides. It is a two-year program that I will work throughout the year to complete. Once I am finished with CILT, I will become a counselor at camp. For example, a minor requirement I have to do is make and write out directions for crafts to do with nine to eleven-year-olds. Then, I put those crafts in a reference box which I will use throughout my years of counseling. Once I complete all of the requirements for CILT, I graduate. The ceremony takes place every year at the end of the second week. Graduating CILT is considered a big accomplishment because it requires work during camp but also throughout the school year.

A very important aspect of camp is the Christian faith. There are daily Bible studies, campfire testimonies, and worship services. When I was younger, I would dread sitting down, reading and interpreting the Bible, but now I have grown to really enjoy it. Through these Bible studies and many other activities, my relationship with Jesus has strengthened. Additionally, being away from all distractions and spending time in nature has benefited my spirituality in ways I cannot even describe.

Since I was young, I have developed strong friendships with two older girls at camp. At the time, I met them when they were both in Cabin 12 and I was in Cabin 3. I watched with admiration as they graduated CILT and became counselors. Watching them become counselors really motivated me to enroll in the CILT program. They are my biggest role models and camp would not be the same without them. They are both in college now but have never failed to give me advice, help me with a CILT assignment or just hang out with me.

I tend to stray away from trying to describe NeKaMo to friends. Most of the time, they don’t understand how I can endure two weeks of “Jesus camp” where I have Bible studies daily and no contact with boys.

This camp is anything but flashy, but it is my own. It is somewhere to escape to for two weeks every summer and get away from reality. The same people that come back every year have watched me grow up and it feels like home. At first glance, NeKaMo camp doesn’t look like much, but every year I continue to fall more in love with it.