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The Pixel Punk Diaries |
Back from Summer Camp
In a world that is so infatuated with technology and entertainment, I forgot how much fun it is to spend time with friends in the woods. I just got back from a week at Covecrest, LIFE TEEN's camp in the mountains of North Georgia. Teenagers from came in from all over the country: Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Michigan. I don't think any of us knew what we were getting into.
First of all, nobody missed their cell phone or computer. Staying "connected" through technology is a neat idea, but nothing can take the place of chatting with friends while sitting on the porch. Video games are cool, but throwing each other in the mud pit at camp is a lot cooler. And what's better than playing in a waterfall?
One of the highlights from my week at camp was the things of adventure. Conquering the high-ropes course was pretty darn cool. First you shimmy up a telephone pole until you are fifty feet above the ground. Then you climb around like Spiderman through a dozen obstacles. Once I was back on the ground, one teenager explained to me, "I feel awesome--I cheated death." The biggest adventure was crashing through the white water rapids of the Chattooga River. Awesome!
"Video games are cool, but throwing each other in the mud pit at camp is a lot cooler." I was in high school in the 1990s when extreme sports first took off. It was an exciting time to be young and full of energy, because everywhere you looked, people were conquering their fears. Folks bungee jumped off bridges, mountain bikers explored the wild, and snowboarders soared down mountains. A life of adventure was the only life worth living. This was a unique time to be a young Christian, because your faith became the greatest source of adventure. But things have changed, and it seems like we've lost our desire for adventure and have settled for the cheap thrills of lust and materialism. But that's a topic for another day.
Without a doubt, my favorite part about camp was leaving the dramas of my daily life and stepping into nature to see God's glory. During one afternoon Mass, the sky thundered during the consecration of the bread and the wine. How awesome is that? At an evening Mass later in the week, Matt Maher strummed his guitar, and we all sang along--teenagers, birds, frogs, and bugs. I didn't know anything could sound so wonderful. To top it all off, the fields behind the altar were ignited by lighting bugs. The whole experience was so beautiful that my eyes welled up with tears. It was absolutely magical.
Now I am back here in Phoenix, trapped in the dramas of my daily life. I was on my way to the LIFE TEEN Training Conference this morning when I made a detour to buy a new battery for my dead cell phone. The store wasn't open yet (frustration!) but this little coffee shop with free Internet (cool!) has helped me pass the time. Even though the stresses of life are about to start all over again, spending the last half hour writing about camp has given me peace. I can't wait until next year.
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Matt Smith is the Director of Internet Ministries for Life Teen, an international Catholic youth ministry based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the creative force behind Life Teen's cluster of websites that receive nearly 2 million visits a year. Since staring on MTV's "Real World" and MTV's "Road Rules Challenge", Matt has traveled the country speaking at colleges, universities, schools, and Catholic parishes.
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