When I was in middle school I went to this camp called Camp Wo-Me-To (pronounced Woe-Me-Toe and people still argue about if it stands for Women and Men of Tomorrow or Women and Men Together). Every year my friend Nicole and I would go and stand outside the fellowship hall on Sunday afternoon waiting to hear who our counselor would be that year. Every year we would pray that this year we'd get Kim. Kim was the outgoing, nicest counselor ever (I'm not sure on what evidence we based these opinions, but that's what we thought!) that sang the Frankenstein song. But... Kim was never our counselor. One year Kim's little sister Sarah was in our cabin and we had fun but we didn't keep in touch after camp. Nevertheless, one year we snagged Kim's mailing address from some other camper (we didn't have e-mail back then) and I wrote this probably very cheesy letter professing my hero worship towards her. But... I never heard back from her. In 1996, Nicole and I were put in a cabin next to another one of Kim's sisters, Laura. Normally you didn't get a chance to meet girls in other cabins that well but we ended up sitting near each other during a particularly lengthy missionary talk from our good friend Rose. Rose was not the most engaging speaker and I decided to be a smart butt and make jokes... and for some reason Laura laughed and we all hung out the rest of the week. We left on Friday after I had bawled my eyes out thinking I would never get to see Laura again. Fortunately Laura and I have been able to stay in touch and remain the "best of friends."
The next summer I worked at camp and Kim stopped working at camp...but I inherited her Frankenstein song. Then Sarah was a camper and I had the privilege of having her in my cabin. Meanwhile... I got to know Kim better through my friendship with Laura. I spent my first weekend at a college with Kim (even though I puked the whole time - and not from alcohol!), she came to visit me in North Carolina, and we've shared many a phone conversations the last couple of years.
All of this rambling is the build up to try to explain how everything came full circle this weekend when I had the honor not just to see Kim get married, but to be a part of it. It was the first time in awhile that I had spent more than 24 consecutive hours w/ the family and they really treat me like one of their own. I am so thankful for Camp Wo-Me-To and the relationships that God builds there. I probably keep in touch with more friends from camp than I do from high school and college. I'm also thankful for the best wedding date ever that made me look really good this weekend. I couldn't ask for anything more! Even more so... I'm even more anxious for wedding weekend #2 in December to see Laura and Kenny tie the knot. There is always that bittersweet feeling that comes along with change... but it is so awesome to be a part of what God is doing in my friends' lives.
P.S. I think it's about time for a Wo-Me-To reunion? anyone
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