Hello friends! We are winding down on our summer, but that doesn’t mean we’re not having just as much fun as before! We spent the past week in North Carolina, at the Brethren United Adventure Camp (or the Brethren United Mountain Adventure Trip, BUMAT for short, as Camp Bethel calls it.) This camp is hosted by Camp Carmel, run by Camp Ithiel, and also attended this year by Camp Bethel, Camp Brethren Woods, Camp Inspiration Hills, and Camp Harmony!! Each of the six camps had campers and counselors that they sent and we all got to hang out and do adventure trip things together! We all had a blast, and here are some of our thoughts from the week! Thanks for reading!

Adventure camp was super exciting!  Campers and staff from six camps all got together for a giant week of excitement.  We had a new adventure every day.  On our first day we hiked to a natural waterslide. There we got to slide down a gentle waterfall along rock into a pool of water.  On the second day we hiked all the way up to the top of a mountain.  Once we got to the top we could see clouds moving in and they came right on top of us on the mountain.  It was so beautiful, we could see for miles (when the clouds were not in the way). The last day of camp was the busiest.  We went to a high ropes course, tubing on a river, and to a park.  It was so fantastic to spend all day hiking and exploring while getting to know campers. In addition to adventuring the Youth Peace Travel Team lead morning watch, a peace session in the middle of the day, and campfire every night.  A highlight for me was Faith in Action day where we did a session on John Kline and peaceful problem solving.  The horse prop named Nell that we use has now been to seven states!  I also really enjoyed hiking to the top of the mountain and playing Ultimate Frisbee in the park. – Annika

What a week! It was so busy and tiring, I found myself sleeping any chance I received, but I had so much fun! The views we saw while out hiking were breathtaking and so new to me-it was my first time seeing such a grand waterfall, and being on top of a mountain. The views and fresh, light air make me want to live the mountains, even if I’ll have to be walking up hills much of the time, and there were many steep hills. I’m just happy that being up so high didn’t scare me-I found it exhilarating…especially on the ropes course we went to on Thursday. I was expecting that I wouldn’t do well on it, since I have been doing poorly on other high ropes courses this summer, but most of Thursday’s course proved to be a test of courage and balance-not too much strength was needed, which I lack. I was so proud of myself for reaching the third and hardest level on the course, even if it was just because I wanted to propel down from the top. With all the new and exciting experiences, as well as the awesome and fun staff and campers who we accompanied, it truly was an adventure camp. – Brean

This week put the FUN in ADVENTURE(FUN)CAMP! J This was the first time that the YPTT had ever attended this camp and it was a blast. We played the role of resource people, so we led Morning Watch each day and led a quick peace session in the afternoons and then led Campfire/Vespers at night! In between all of that, we got to hang out with the campers and join them on the adventuring that the week was all about! One of my favorite parts of the week was that each morning and each night a different camp was in charge of leading songs for the group. This meant that all the campers and staff there got to experience a little bit of what the YPTT hears all summer, which is a bunch of new, different versions of the good ol’ camp songs! Another awesome thing was that each day brought new adventures, and with those came new spots for our sessions or campfire! Throughout the week we led sessions at a big rock on a hike to a natural rock water slide, on top of a mountain, and at a beautiful park! We also got to have a campfire on the side of a mountain one night. It was so beautiful every place we went, and it made the sessions that much better! This was our largest group of all senior high youth all summer, so it was a lot of fun to get to interact with them. The whole week was super excellent, from the sessions to the adventures, to the amazing food that Carmel had for us, to just being able to play games and have fun with the campers and staff! Whoooo! – Kerrick

We had an awesome time at adventure camp, and would like to send a major thank you to all the camps who helped make it happen, (Ithiel, Carmel, Bethel, Brethren Woods, Harmony, and Inspiration Hills) you all made the week great and are doing great things with your ministry!! This is our second to last week, so as we wind down with our journey, we’d also like to thank everyone that helped get us to this point, YOU ROCK!! And also, a huge ‘Thank You’ to YOU for reading our blog again, blessings to you in all that you do!

P.S.- Shout-out to Camp Bethel for helping shuttle us to and from BUMAT and throughout the week, you guys are AWESOME!!! (And a shout-out to “Gus Bus” our fantastic van that handled all types of terrain!)