Featuring reflections from his mom, Jennifer, and Camper Jenner.
Jenner has been a camper at Camp Don Lee starting at 8 years old. This summer will be his 9th year, as he has completed the entire program through Mariners and now LIT! Jenner chose CDL off the website totally cold. His older brother was going to Woodward Camp in Pennsylvania that summer and I threw it out there for Jenner. He was a hard “NO.” However, he was watching from the table as I was browsing camps on the computer and when he saw Camp Don Lee, he proclaimed, “Fine. I will go to that one”. I signed him up on the spot and the rest is history. That ‘no to yes’ had to have come straight from Jesus Himself.
The first time we drove to camp, the excitement and nerves were off the chart. That was back when you had to get a spot in line early and then wait for what seemed like an eternity to check in and get to your bunk. Once we got to camp, the peace and presence of the Spirit were so strong that we all relaxed. It felt so right. There is just no explaining it.
The water is calming and it just feels very natural... like you can really breathe out there...
Jenner loved every single aspect of camp the first summer. His counselors clearly loved what they were doing. He loved the activities, the new friends, and even the worship services that we had absolutely not even mentioned would be happening! To be honest, we thought if we told him that it was a “church” camp, he would back out. But learning about God’s love while immersed in nature really resonated with Jenner.
Jenner spent 8 years in church before going to Don Lee, but he understood God at camp in a different way. He felt God there in a way that was not happening at church on Sunday. Every summer since that initial summer has been a reconnection with the Spirit that Jenner has looked forward to all year. It’s almost like Camp Don Lee undid whatever mess the world threw at Jenner all year in school. His counselors have been so much fun but more than that, they have been willing to sit on the porch and really talk to the kids about their faith, their friends, their struggles, and how Jesus sees them! It has been this deeply personal, fearless, connection with young adult males who understand and invest in him that has shaped Jenner’s view of himself.
Every single year, it seems that the Lord hand-picks Jenner’s group to be exactly what he needs. There have been years here and there that Jenner felt maybe a little left out due to being in a cabin full of a friend group from one town, but the counselors always worked some kind of magic and made sure he was accepted. This resilience carried over to school where Jenner is not easily shaken by a bad day or an ugly comment because he knows God is working something out for him in it if he hangs in there.
As Jenner got older, the talks got deeper and his personal connection to Christ grew stronger every summer. While he may not have even been aware of what was happening in his younger years, as a teenager Jenner has come to understand and crave Jesus calling him back every summer. He can see how as he struggled some years to figure out who he was and who his friends were, God used camp to show him what love looks like through nature; that our God, who loves us enough to surround us in pure beauty, is not going to let go of us.
Jenner had a place to really work out his faith with young men who shared their own struggles and testimonies and that seems to have made Jenner feel less alone in the world during the rest of the year.
Jenner says his favorite memory of Camp Don Lee is vespers while camping at Cape Lookout. “We were on the dock admiring the stars and saw a meteor stretch from one side of the sky to the other. It was an indescribable feeling.”
The most fun thing about camp overall is the friends I have made along the way, Jenner says. The counselors are the most special staff because they are young and understand us. We can really talk to them and they always want the best for us and plan the most fun things. Ms. Moe’s fried chicken is pretty special, too.
As a parent, I am so excited for Jenner to go through LITs this summer! He’s on the young side, but Jenner has always been a natural leader. Our Pastor, Rev. Owen Barrow, recognized this ability in him and pointed out that leadership can be used for good or bad; we are certain that the LIT program will result in the good kind! Learning to lead in the place Jenner has grown closest to Jesus is a life-changing opportunity for him to develop skills he will use daily for the rest of his life.
Jenner is excited about his LIT experience. “I am most looking forward to LITs for the life-long friendships that I already know will form. Camp Don Lee is the best place on earth. There is never a dull moment!”
As a parent looking back, I am so moved in my own faith by seeing what the Lord has done for my son at Camp Don Lee. Jenner is headstrong and stubborn and never would have gone to camp without a nudge from Jesus. Every bit of this has been very intentional. At first, I was just glad for Jenner to be away from electronics and out in the sun. As I have seen the mustard seeds planted by vespers and swimming and sailing and fun grow into roots of deep relationship with Jesus every summer that carry forward all year long, my own belief and trust in Jesus has grown right alongside Jenner’s. I have learned to let go and let His wind fill my sails too and I can’t wait to turn the corner and see the cross on the dock myself.