Aug. 29, 2012 By Rachel Daly It comes with the territory that as a counselor at Camp Guggenheim, I have taken my share of general misunderstanding as to why I spend my summers the way I do. I have been criticized for not making enough money, for disappearing into the Adirondack cell service Bermuda triangle seven weeks a year, and for “falling behind” as my classmates at school get internships and do things that will advance their future careers. I’ve had friends knit their brow and look at me with bewilderment when I describe the sleep deprivation, the steady diet of camp food (you can draw your own conclusions about what that’s like), and the constant state of having a mysterious combination of sweat, sand, kitchen residue, sunscreen, and glitter all over me. I am perfectly comfortable with the fact that no one who has never been to Camp Guggenheim will ever understand what is so special about it. And so, these criticisms more or less roll off my back. It could be the most important thing anyone does with his or her life, and it’s only more magnified for me in the summertime because I have the chance to do it in such a condensed and intensive way, and that is to give of myself to others. This summer, I often prayed St. Ignatius of Loyola’s prayer for generosity, in which there is a line, “Teach me…to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest….” For some, this was just making that camper a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when he couldn’t eat the camp food, and doing it with love. For others it was being a shoulder to cry on. For most, it was, together with all the staff, providing an environment free from the pressures and negative influences of teenage life in which to just have FUN. And if I might say so, we at Camp Guggenheim know a thing or two about how to have fun! So as my summer draws to a close, I want to say thank you to each and every person who made it possible for a camper to come to Guggenheim. Your kids are fantastic, and I will vouch that every dollar spent and every ounce of energy it took to get your kids to camp bore fruit a hundredfold. And not only that, but every ounce of energy you give throughout the year to keep ministering to these incredible young people is equally important.
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