I was still wiping the sleep from my eyes as I walked into the cafeteria before breakfast, but I stopped dead in my tracks moments after entering the building. Rather than the enticing aroma of bacon, the frustrating scent of burned-out electronics filled my senses. I looked at the cafeteria staff who confirmed my suspicions that the warming oven had died—again. I wasn’t entirely surprised. The warming oven had quit working several times already this summer. Our facilities ma

When Tina and Rachel stepped onto the Wild Woosey activity last summer, no one expected them to succeed. They faced each other, each standing on one of the two logs arranged in a V formation on the ground. They joined hands with their palms together and held on tight, walking sideways from the point of the V to toward the open end. As they did so, the distance between them grew. They weren’t allowed to let go of each other’s hands, so they leaned toward each other. Each step

Have you ever looked at the figures in a nativity set and thought about the strange scene? You’ve got animals and angels, magi and a manger, shepherds and a Savior. These are some interesting characters for sure. It makes for a great story, but this is not just a story on display. This is Love on display. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” John 3:16. The nativity scene shows us rich and poor, young and old, natives and foreigners—everybody is in

Last month, blessings gave birth to more blessings, and it came in unexpected ways. Some dear friends of ours, Gary and Vesta Edmonds, donated a minivan to the camp. The only issue was that the Edmonds were in Texas, and the van was in Michigan. The Edmonds increased the blessing by purchasing an airline ticket for me so that I could fly to Michigan and drive the van back to North Carolina. The morning my flight left, it was overcast and dreary. As the jet climbed into the sk

The little electric golf cart rattled along the dusty, gravel roads of the camp, making more noise than you might expect. I raised my voice to compensate as I pointed out our disc golf course to my new friend Richard, making sure he could still hear me. Richard had never been to SMCC before, and he was full of questions about the camp, our programs, and our campers. When the tour was finished, Richard shook my hand, thanking me for my time. I saw Richard occasionally over the

Summer camp can change the entire course of person’s life. One encounter can make the difference. Let me show you what I mean by sharing with you the story of my friend Isaiah Gibson. As a young child, Isaiah’s family was torn apart. His parents divorced, and his father moved to West Virginia. Isaiah never saw him again. Shortly after this, Isaiah had the opportunity to attend South Mountain Christian Camp. He couldn’t afford the camp fees, but he was able to attend through o

I was sweaty and exhausted as I plopped down into a chair next to my wife. She looked almost as rough as me (don’t tell her I said that) as she sipped on a bottle of water. We had both just finished running a 5k race at Pleasant View Community Church to help raise funds for their youth group. With red faces and matted hair, we congratulated each other on a job well done. Just before we left that day, something caught my eye. A couple members of the youth group were moving the