It was the evening of the first full day of camp Session One. It had been 94 degrees throughout the day and the choice was made for an all-camp evening swim. At the start of the time together, campers mostly stuck to the groups of their cabinmates. Seniors started playing beach volleyball, many junior high campers swam out to the green dock in the deep end, lots of middlers headed for the canoes and kayaks. Three 3rd graders found a ball and started silently throwing it back and forth in the shallow end. While focused on the game, you could see that they were also watching everything happening all around them, almost as if they were just hanging onto the game of catch as a familiar and known life raft in the vast sea of new activities and unknown people.

A cabin of junior high campers swam in from the deep end, "Hey! Can we play with you?" A group of three suddenly turned into a group of ten. The passing picked up speed, the chatting between players increased, and giant smiles and peals of laughter started to break out. It wasn't long before even more people started joining this game with no rules, no goals, just tossing a ball around the lake and hanging out with new friends. That night during evening devos, both "generations" of campers said the time together tossing the ball and meeting each other was the highlight of their day.

As we celebrate 50 summers at Bear Creek Camp, the idea of camp generations has come up a lot. Generations at camp happen quickly - a gap of four or five years across campers or summer staff might seem the same as decades in the real world. Time at camp is often felt differently because of living so closely together and engaging in elevated experiences --friendships form faster and growth moments that happen can be even more impactful.

As stories have been shared during our anniversary celebrations, it is evident that each one of the previous 49 years of BCC has been the most important year for someone. From the first summer through every summer to today, the power of the time shared together in this place continues to resonate in the lives of former campers and staff. BCC Summer #50 will have positive impacts on the trajectory of a camper's or summer staff's life that we can't yet even imagine. And it's only possible because of the support of our community across the generations. Thank you for being part of the Bear Creek Camp family.

Women's Retreat

Friday, October 4th

through Sunday, October 6th

This retreat is designed to provide women with an opportunity to enjoy time both individually and collectively, participate in creative activities, explore outdoors, have time for rest and renewal, and be in the beauty of God’s creation in a peaceful setting. Learn more at bearcreekcamp.org/womens-retreat. Registration is open now!