And all it took was an 8-week “sabbatical” from my Optimist Club duties, a Boy Scout Camp, and – most importantly – a need for someone to promote the 12th point of the Scout Law, “A Scout is reverent”.Camp Baldwin is in the Mt Hood National Forest, about 40 miles south of The Dalles or Hood River. It has three very unique features: [1] boys cook their own meals in troop and patrol campsites; [2] a herd of 40 horses (one of the very few Scout camps with horses); and [3] its own rock-climbing site. Scouts also go windsurfing on the Columbia, and white-water-rafting on the Deschutes River. There is a staff of 50.
150-to-300 boys arrive each Sunday, for a one-week stay. That first evening, they attend an all-camp interfaith chapel service, produced by the chaplain and camp staff. The focus here is on reverence for God and others, emphasizing tolerance and cooperation as we all live together for a week.
About half the boys filled out a survey form, requesting bibles, literature, information, contact or prayers. My main job the rest of the week is personally delivering the requested materials, and discussing religious award requirements with boys and leaders. I met with young men interested in earning the Camp Chaplain Award, and encouraged them to plan and present a two-minute segment in one of the camper-led chapel services later in the week.
We had two Camper-run chapels each week, with 9 or 10 boys doing readings, testimonies or songs at each one. Boys came up with amazing testimonies about “What Scouting has done in my Life”, the need for friendship, overcoming bullies, and finding God through tragedies in their lives.
Scouts and staff come from a great variety of religious traditions, and I learned a lot from and about Wiccans; Eastern, Polish and Roman Catholics; Jewish; LDS (Mormon); Christian Science; Buddhist; and many brands of Protestant. The staff, primarily age 16-to-24, had special group and personal needs, especially during some stressful events, like the 16-year-old staffer who rescued a drowning victim at camp, and the climbing instructor and medic who rescued a boy who collapsed at the bottom of the cliff (with only one way out: straight up!).
By the end of the season, I had given away 288 pocket bibles, hundreds of other literature items, and awarded 87 Camp Chaplain Awards. But beyond the numbers, I saw young men striving to know and serve God in their own religious traditions, and showing remarkable courage and bravery by stepping up to the pulpit to present their story or talent for the benefit of others. And all around me were male and female staff and troop leaders, doing their best each day to bring out the best in each other and the kids in camp. This was a wonder-filled, fun and Optimist-ic summer adventure. I'm ready to go back and do it again.
Thanks to my Optimist Club family for filling in for me all summer, and enjoying my absence!
