Summer's Best Two Weeks (aka SB2W)

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It took me a while to understand Summer's Best Two Weeks' name, although it is exactly what it says it is!  A Christian camp in rural PA (10 miles from where Flight 93 crashed), they have four 2-week sessions from which boys and girls can choose.  I've heard many local friends say nothing but positive things for years and while it took Andrew a while to warm up to the idea, he was finally ready to give it a try this summer (in part fueled by Becca---our former babysitter now missionary friend, who spent 10 summers there and told us all of the wonderful things last summer when staying with us).  We are SO very glad that he did and by all counts, he had an amazing experience.

A bit smaller than Greystone (what camp isn't anymore?), they have about 280 campers...14 cabins of boys and 14 of girls, separated by "camp" and only seeing each other during full-team events and meals.  

No "purpling" allowed at camp:-)   

The bath house "Salem"---cabins are literally for sleeping only.

SB2W's motto is that ALL Glory goes to God--without Him, we can do nothing.  That is evidenced in everything they say and is all over camp, too.  They have daily "Devos", Bible challenges and a booklet to complete, and one-on-one's with their counselors.  So Andrew was in his comfort zone with the constant focus on Faith...and proudly noted that they sang, "Come Thou Fount" at church---that and "To God Be the Glory" are just THE best camp hymns.   

The other focus at SB2W is achieving personal goals through daily team competitions and individual activities.  The "Galatians" and "Romans" compete in all sorts of challenges and it is revealed on closing day which team "won" the session.  

 

 

 

The overnight was one highlight for Andrew---a long hike culminating in a Sliding Rock.  So wishing there were pictures so we could see what it's like compared to Pisgah's sliding rock!  The track meet and swim meet were also a huge hit.  Not surprisingly, Andrew won 50-breast and came in 3rd in the 100-free only behind two kids that had gone to Junior Olympics.  Not bad!  

Closing Day is very different from Greystone, and has its pros and cons.  The parents are there for about 2 hours....first watching them do their post-meal ritual, which actually really great---nice to witness them doing their thing.   

 Spotted!  Through the dining hall screens!

"Closing Day - I just saw my mom" reaction.

Closing Day - Dining Hall

 "Amen" Song

 God's Banana and Papaya song, evidently a favorite as they repeated 5 times! 

Did not get the "Oldies" song that they sang in rounds with the boys and girls each taking their part:-)

A little John Denver never hurts the mood...

Then off to the flag pole for a nice message and revelation of the team winner, whose flag is wrapped up.  The two seniors captains of the Romans and Galatians are tossed a package that they have to rip to see if winning flag is navy or red.  Andrew, a Galatian for life, was only slightly excited to see the navy blue.

After that, we met at their cabins for personal tributes.  Their counselors spoke about each boy for about a minute and listed all of their accomplishments.  Their theme was the dining hall.  Andrew was deemed "the walls", for always being consistent in his faith, his friendship and fun.  Definitely a neat tradition, especially for the parents.

Final cabin prayer, lead by two solid young men from Messiah College and Grove City.

Next stop was their version of Council Fire---a chance to thank the kitchen crew all the way up to the Directors and recognize campers for a variety of achievements.  (Now this part I kind of like that Greystone does at Banquet in front of one's peers----in part because it's an hour:-)  

 Hard to see, but the focus is on the 3 crosses in the background, and the "3" on which our lives should focus....God first, others 2nd, yourself 3rd. 

Coming back from receiving his "Mini S", which means he passed at least the "small S" goal/benchmark for every activity at camp.  He passed the Big and Super levels in some activities, but the "Small S" included some very new things to Andrew, like wet exiting from a kayak, archery, and some consistency benchmarks such as tennis----getting 5 forehands, 5 backhands, and 5 serves in all in only 5 tries, with no room for error.  He was also excited to swim his first 500, topping it off with a no-breather for the final 25:-)

  

The ceremony was great, closing prayer touching, but our goodbyes quick....we had a 6.5 drive ahead of us to Smith Mountain Lake.  After leaving at 5:30am for the 4.5 hour drive up, I was ready to hit the road.  

Quick stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway after being re-routed to avoid multiple wrecks on 81.   

It was so wonderful to hear all of his positive, fun stories.  Andrew kept a great journal, not surprisingly, and wrote us several very detailed letters about how fun everything was.  One letter commented on his concern that they might not let him wear his Speedo for the swim meet---very confusing to him---but that we would be proud of him for all the new things that he had tried.  A few included:

• Blog, water trapeze, kayak wet exiting, canoe drills, high trust fall, longest zip line he'd done, knee boarding, paddle boarding, chin-ups and a 500 (for time, although he's swum a mile before).
• Oreo cheesecake and peach cobbler (at least the cobbler part)

The 2,750 miles driven the first three weeks of August to make camp happen for Andrew and Margaret was absolutely worth it given the Christ-centered, confidence boosting experiences they had and opportunity to try new things.  Camp simply offers opportunities for kids to learn and grow (in the 4-fold way) that other environments do not.  I am eternally grateful for the ability to make this happen.