More Gulftreat Tributes...

“ Being a teenager was, for me, an empty experience. But God is about filling up what is empty, and I got filled up here. The things I have done right in my life so far come from the filling up I got here.” (Tim? First workcrew? 80’s)

“ I was a fat kid in leggings. You never put a fat kid in leggings. I knew my family loved me, but it was here that other people found beauty in me. Other people poured God’s love into me: Robert, Terry Newland, Jeanne Isaacs, Lee Lock. What I learned at Gulftreat is what has led me to want to spread God’s love to others. It will be a different place, but the love will be the same.” (Lake)

“ The paths my children choose have been good ones, and I am sure that is because of what they experienced at camp. We will always have camp.” (Stacy)

“ A lot of life is about being tested, and about what happens when you are tested. The Word of God is planted here through people’s actions. People receive tidbits of grace that stay with them long after they leave. We receive portraits of Christ that we carry in our hearts and pass on to others. And we receive the promise that the people here, the people in those circles, these are the folks we will see again.” (Tim Wolfe? 4 kids, wife in black dress)

“ Seeing the ‘hook’ get into a kid.” (Robert Hay, Associate Executive for Nurture, the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley)

“ When I first came to camp I was shorter, dorkier. I thought camp would be like home, where everyone picked on me. My youth director (Terry Tingle) made me come. And within five minutes, three of the hottest girls I had ever met introduced themselves. And it was like that all the time. People just wouldn’t let me withdraw; they kept snatching me up and putting me in the middle of things. Lake was my small group leader. Robert, I am one that you hooked.” (Michael)

“ At the end of camp we would always stand in a circle, and it was bittersweet, because you knew you’d never stand in that circle with those people again. But pieces of those circles and this place are out there right now making the world a better place… Robert, it’s not just that you have been seeing to it that kids get ‘hooked’ here; it’s more like you have been casting a big net.” (blue shirt, early ‘80’s, with Tim?)

“ I came back to camp after we moved away, and I was one of those kids who is a real pain in the neck to counselors. I made some smart aleck remark one time in small group about not believing in God or something, and my leader- I wish I could remember her name- patiently asked me to leave the group. After the small group was over, she came and found me, and, with tears in her eyes, she said ‘You can act however you want here, but I can’t let you leave without making sure you know that people care about you, God cares about you. She modeled God’s patience for me.” (Kevin)

“ I experienced God watching the ‘back pew boys.’ Tough kids who, after a week here, would finally start to get it.  My most cherished memories are of this place. I just started a new job and I told my boss I had to take two days off to be here for this because this camp holds the happiest days of my life. It makes me happy to think that other kids will go and do likewise.” (Sarah Jones? Orange dress)

“ It doesn’t take long to experience God at Gulftreat. In the kid who opens up, in the connections you make with campers. It doesn’t take any time at all to make an impact at Gulftreat. I can’t get Gulftreat out of my head.” (Kelly- green dress)

“ I didn’t want to come to camp and my parents made me. It had been my big sister’s place, and I didn’t think I would like it. But during the first energizers, another camper came and stood beside me and said ‘Let’s look stupid together,” and we did. And I learned at Gulftreat that God is a welcome place, a welcome force.” (Katie)

“ We can take this [experience] somewhere else.” (Ruth)

“ I was a camp director and I was in a funk all week. I wasn’t myself, wasn’t connecting. I cried all day on that Thursday of camp. But then in worship on Friday morning, I saw the kids’ faces, and I saw that they were getting it, they were connecting. Just because I wasn’t feeling it didn’t mean it wasn’t happening. That’s the power of this place. God works through us, God works in spite of us.” (Natalie)

“ It’s about what goes out from here. I feel sorry for people in the church who don’t get to see what we see at Gulftreat. These young people and what happens to them at camp are signs of great hope for the church.” (Dixie)