I was apart of the extreme team, which included being a High School leader to the 6-8th graders both in and out of small groups. I’ve been a small group leader before through programs at OLG, but something about this specific experience was so unique and unexplainable. I met incredible people and formed quick bonds that by the end of the week I seriously did not want to leave.
I was a leader for a parish other than OLG, which made me a little nervous at first because I didn’t know anything about the middle school girls I was going lead, but I ended up having a blast. It is crazy to me that at the beginning of the week I had no idea who these girls were, and by the end, we were hugging each other almost in tears wishing there was more time. I remember the first day so clearly because it is when I realized how easy it would be to relate and connect with each one of them. We had just been assigned into small groups, and needed a way to pass the time before the next activity, so we decided to play a game together. We played the “knot game”, where you all stand in a circle, and grab each others hands randomly, and then work as a group to untie the human knot. I instantly felt closer to everyone in my group seeing how well we all worked together, and how open everyone was to each other’s suggestions. It was the perfect sneak peek to what the rest of the week would be like.
We participated in typical camp activities like 9 square, gaga ball, volleyball, a ropes course and the last big group activity, messy olympics, where we all could let loose and have fun with each other. There was also small group activities and talks, and daily mass. These experiences were plenty enough to make for an incredible week with good people, but adoration and nightly worship were where I really learned a lot about myself. In these moments, I was surrounded by so many people, but I have never felt so alone with God. The energy in the room is truly unexplainable. My favorite line that I remember hearing during the song, Touch the Sky, is “I found my life when I laid it down” and even though everything didn’t make a ton of sense in the moment, I knew that no matter what would happen at home with my life, my friends lives, or the lives of the people I had just met that week, everything was going to be okay.
