Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

What most people—campers, parents, visitors—see in Sonlight is what brings people back to 120 acres of near-wilderness north of Pagosa Springs every year. They see great worship, teaching, hospitality, fun (and messy) games, fresh air, great food three times a day. And that is the primary ministry we are called to enable.

But there is another ministry of Sonlight, one which goes unsung and lesser known. Every summer Sonlight hires about 25 college-age staff members who arrive in May, drink from the gushing firehose of child care techniques, teams course leadership, state food service regulations, fire safety, communication, cabin cleaning, and so much more. Then, when their souls are about to burst with important information, they face the onslinging tide of campers, brimming with smiles, welcoming with love, and deftly carrying the struggles and adventures of sixty adolescents from all walks of life. And they get (maybe) a whole day to recover before they do it again. And again. And again, for nine exhausting weeks.

These 25 or so come from different states, different cultures, different faith traditions. Some like coffee, some like sweet tea. Some like crispy bacon, some like it floppy. But they come to the same table, and the same work. And in this crucible of ministry they find a strange and wonderful sort of community, a camp staff community, not quite like any other they’ve known, which simultaneously thrills, challenges, and anchors their walk with Christ.

The staff of the 2017 season was phenomenal. Granted, this was my first year supervising a summer at Sonlight, so I have a limited sampling size. But I know human character. I know the potential for conflict, drama, and bitterness. Sin abounds, even in camp staff. And this year’s staff brought to Sonlight a rare mixture of joy, patience, humor, and grace. I have been bragging to friend and acquaintance about them since we parted ways on August 12^th. (And I have been praying for next summer.)

So if you, dear reader, appreciate Sonlight enough to pay attention to what happens “behind the scenes,” to the real people-work required to make a camp work, and even to be reading this blog, I offer you this brief meditation. There is a profound current of grace that flows through the hearts of those who give themselves over to the frenetic, exhausting, energizing, world-changing work of camp staff. I have the privilege to see God working in the lives of these young adults whose colors are just beginning to open in full adult flower. And I am so grateful to God for it.

I asked one of our staff members, after staff training was over (albeit early in the season) to compose a piece about the experience of coming on staff. Below is her composition. Yes, it is the perspective of only one of us. And yet, I know that her spirit is attuned to how the Spirit works in those around her. And think it speaks well of how broadly eleven weeks at Sonlight can impact a life.