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The warm summer breeze rustled through the trees as the sun crept over the horizon. I brushed away the hair blowing in front of my eyes and gazed across the countryside. A hundred yards away 10 guys were doing push-ups on a driveway. I took one final minute to soak in the peaceful, still morning before I stretched my legs, stood up and slowly walked inside. I smiled as I saw several sleeping bodies, curled up in their sleeping bags like caterpillars in a cocoon, still recovering from the previous day. I knelt down on my blanket and thanked God that I was once again at Philadelphia Youth Camp.
This was a rare moment of reflection as I had awakened earlier than normal and most were still asleep. But as I meditated, I was overwhelmed by how much of an affect PYC has had on my life. This was my fifth time at camp, yet it was the first time I truly began to grasp the crucial part it played in my life.
My first PYC was in 2005. I was a quiet 13-year-old, not quite sure what to expect. I had heard stories of PYC from older teens who had been before, yet it didn’t seem completely real to me. Of course, I had seen pictures in the Church publications, but it almost seemed too good to be true. Nevertheless, I submitted my application and waited.
Several weeks passed and then, it came. A letter from Edmond, Oklahoma, addressed to Sharalee Fraser. I was so excited. Then I took a closer look at the envelope. This is awfully small for an acceptance letter, I thought.
Tearing open the snow-white envelope, I read the letter: “Dear applicant, Thank you for your application. Unfortunately ….” I don’t remember the rest except the words waiting list. I was absolutely devastated. I had been looking forward to PYC for months, and now I wasn’t going.
Thankfully my dad helped bring me back to Earth. He reminded me that being on the waiting list meant it wasn’t a definite no and that maybe it was more important for someone else to go that year. I am forever grateful that God did give me the opportunity to attend PYC that year.
Looking back, I am in fact tremendously grateful for being on the waiting list my first year. I appreciate every year that I have been blessed to attend more than I would have if I had been accepted right off the bat. I treat every chance to attend PYC as my last because I realize it’s not inevitable that I’ll be accepted every year.
That first year of PYC was a completely life-changing experience. It gave me the desire to make the Church “my church” rather than my parents’. Not only did I learn so much in the Bible, speech and womanhood classes, but out on the sports field. I learned a way of life that develops the whole individual. On the last day, as I was hugging my friends goodbye, I thought about how this had been the most utopian experience of my life.
Then came PYC 2006, then a PYC in Australia and two more in Oklahoma. Each one was a tremendous opportunity for me to pursue life changes.
True, summer camp isn’t perfect. If you walk into PYC and expect the Millennium, you’re sure to be disappointed. We’re all still human! But you can walk into camp and expect it to change you. It is three weeks out of the year where teens are given a special environment to live in that is protected from Satan and society. It’s not the World Tomorrow, but it’s a glimpse of what it will be like.
In my few years of experience, if a teen eagerly soaks in every part of what PYC has to offer—and embraces it by taking all he or she has learned back home and applying it—and then comes back the next year ready to do it all over again, then that teen will discover that each year will get increasingly better.
At PYC in 2006, I was leaving behind a difficult situation at home that I was looking forward to forgetting for the summer. But I learned a valuable lesson that year that I have carried with me ever since. You can’t run away from your life or the problems in it, no matter how hard you try. Camp is not an escape, but it can help you learn how to better handle your trials by trusting in God. He helped me remain positive through the support of uplifting dormmates, other friends and an encouraging counselor.
Looking back, though, I didn’t completely throw myself into camp that year because I let myself be distracted by my own worried thoughts. PYC 2006 was still great, but if in my head I had been there 100 percent, I know it would have been better. As campers, we can hold ourselves back and limit the benefits we glean from the PYC experience. That much I regret. Even so, as I sat, gazing out the window of the airplane on my journey home, I felt refreshed and renewed. More importantly, I learned the all-important lesson that there is no need to fear trials because I can always rely on God.
PYC 2007 was a more amazing year for me because of the miracles that made my attendance possible. After some devastating family difficulties, I applied knowing there was no way for either my dad or me to pay. But Dad reminded me that if it was God’s will for me to attend, then He would provide a way. And provide a way He did—miraculously. That year was so phenomenal for me because I went there having applied the lessons I had learned at previous camps in my life. I had made some hard decisions that year, and I walked into camp determined not to run from my trials, but not to let them weigh me down and limit camp for me either. I fixed firmly in mind to pursue that life change. Camp that year was better than the year before. I left a much happier and more relaxed person. Camp that year taught me that you can rejoice in your trials.
My most recent PYC was last year, and it was by far the best camp I had been to. Since it was my fifth PYC, I headed into camp with the thought that it could be my last. Thinking back to 2005 when the older campers looked after and encouraged me, I decided that it was my turn to give back to camp. In the end, I left camp having my best PYC because this year it was all about giving a great camp experience to others. By throwing myself into PYC with this mindset, I learned that it truly is more blessed to give than receive.
Without PYC, I would not be the same person that I am today. PYC is a unique experience for the youth of God’s Church, unlike anything else on this Earth. It is an opportunity for teens to receive instruction directed specifically to them, and, coupled with parental instruction and guidance back home, it helps teens develop into well-rounded individuals. I hope that those who have the opportunity to attend PYC this year or in the future grab onto it firmly with both hands, and have a PYC mindset—ready and committed to pursue your life change. I’ve lived it more than once. Trust me: PYC can be truly life-changing for you too.
True Education May-June 2009