July 30, 2015 David Rains

A Day In The Life of Camp Jamaica, by David Rains
Thursday

As I awoke on that Thursday morning it seemed hard to believe that my time in Jamaica was quickly coming to an end. All the people that I had come to know through the week were going to go their separate ways and continue on with their lives, and as a result I found this last day to pass by slowly as I tried to make every moment last as long as possible. The day started off the same as all the other days, we had breakfast and then followed that up with a very encouraging Christian Living class. Earlier in the week the campers had participated in some interview training in which the campers were subjected to a mock interview. This was instituted to help them gain the skills they need to be successful farther on down the road when they have to interview for jobs themselves. So on this Thursday morning the first activity of the day was for the campers to review their interviews and talk about the good aspects about them and also the areas that they still needed improvement in. We then spent the rest of the morning playing team-building games as a camp, such as tug of war and group juggling. Needless to say the guys really got into the tug of war and began an early winning streak against the girls, but this early success was short lived as girls eventually found their strategy and began to beat the guys handily as the activity wore on. After the team building games we enjoyed yet another wonderful meal, and spent the remainder of the afternoon swimming in the pool and socializing with each other.

There still remained one big activity in the day and that was the talent or less show. The show itself was just as it sounds, a collection of campers and staff providing entertainment in the form of skits and singing. It was amazing to see everyone working and performing together, but I couldn’t help thinking to myself how as of four days ago most off these people didn’t really know each other and yet here they are laughing and working together as if they had been together for a lifetime. The show was filled with a little something for everyone from comedy skits, singing and dance routines. After the show they gathered us all together to view the camp video that was made to commemorate our week together, and as I watched I felt a wave of sadness rush over me, as I knew that my time here was almost over.
 
     We finished up the day with our compass check and we all got an opportunity to express to each other how much this experience meant to us, and we encouraged each other to stay the course no matter the hardships that may await us in the world. Because this was the last day Mr. Smith allowed all the campers and staff to stay up and participate in a midnight swim in the pool, which allowed us to fellowship one more time as one camp family. As the midnight swim came to an end and we began to say our goodbyes memories of the week that had been began to fill my mind, memories of joy and excitement of laughter and fellowship. I left camp Jamaica a better person then I was coming in, I learned more from the campers then they learned from me. I will forever remember my time in Jamaica and the wonderful people I met and I sincerely hope that I will get to see them all again.