A Picture Is Worth…
There were so many great things at RFK camp this year like worship songs, bible story readings and acting, nightly mail, camp shirts, character tokens, woodshop, zip line, mud pit, movie night, special Gram and Pops time, birthday party... but my favorite was the photobooks.
During the orientation I remember specifically liking that the kids get to take these memories home with them at the end of camp and how important those books are to them.
This was my first year volunteering so I was not sure what to expect. I ended up being assigned to help the photographer set up and help with nightly mail. It turned out God had me actually help the photographer take photos since he was in a boot with a fracture! He could not make it across the camp quick enough to capture all the activities that were going on at the same time. I was sooooooo excited! I felt a little overlooked since I wasn’t really assigned to any particular group of kids at this point, but I got to meet almost all the kids within the first two days since I was helping take their pictures! It was fun! It was perfect for me! I witnessed and captured beautiful moments. God filled my heart.
At the end of camp when we were debriefing back at the church most foster parents had already picked up their kids when a foster mom came back in. Through choking back tears she said to us all, “...these boys bring out their photo books throughout the year and spend a lot of time going through them and talking about what they did and how much fun they had. Thank you for what you do. You really are changing lives.” Now we are all trying to hold back tears!
When we arrived at the dinner after the debriefing the photographer came up to me and asked if I heard what the lady said about the photobooks. I said of course. He then said... “That was for YOU.” I was looking at him thinking about how everyone was involved but he stopped me and said “I don’t want YOU to miss that. YOU were a part of taking those pictures. Just take a moment to think about that.” It was overwhelming to sit in that moment and accept my role and contribution at camp.
After three days of taking photos I joined up with the other Aunties and spent more time with the kids. I experienced late night “artists” doodling, braiding hair, slide fears conquered, tough boys dancing to worship songs, beaming smiles on faces as they earned character tokens, nurse visits, silly volunteers, glowing tattoos and nail polish, cute notes between campers saying how much they liked camp, gentle horse hugs, seeing photos I took in their photobooks, but most of all LOVE. I didn’t want to leave not only because of the campers but because of the amazing men and women who were a part of this team- felt like family.
Can’t wait until next year!
- Kristin (Camp Photographer)
