Camp Wo-Me-To is one of my most favorite places on earth. If my memory serves me correctly, I first went to Camp in 1991. I spent seven summers as a camper and another four as a counselor. I celebrated a bunch of birthdays there and owe a ton of who I am to Camp. I've been talking about getting married at Camp for years. It may not be the easiest place, but I wouldn't change it for anything. The biggest reasons why I chose Camp Wo-Me-To for my wedding...
1. My faith
I became a Christian when I was eight years old, but it didn't become real to me until I was 12. Camp Wo-Me-To had a missionary speaker from Burkina Faso, a small country in Africa. It was more than 20 years ago but I can see her and hear her speaking vividly in my memory. That hot sticky night in the chapel I tried to ignore Barbara and her crazy Africa stories about God working in her life and my friend Nicole will tell you I was trying to distract myself with anything other than what I was feeling. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you're not a Christian, but at the end of the service they asked if anyone wanted to become a Christian or renew their commitment. I tried to fight it, but I felt this unbelievable urge to surrender. Nicole said when I stood up, it was like this huge weight was physically lifted from my shoulders. I felt like I had a renewed purpose.
Two years later I started working at camp. I'll never forget the first girl I prayed with as she made a decision to become a Christian. My faith continued to grow each summer at Wo-Me-To and I know that my faith journey would not have been the same without it.
2. A second family
Each year I tried to recruit a friend or two to go to Camp with me. After camp I'd exchange letters with the girls in my cabin and any counselors I wanted to stalk. The letters usually didn't last long once the school year started and everyone fell back into their normal routine post-summer camp.
During my last year as a camper, my friend Nicole and I met Laura. Nicole and I had been in a cabin with Laura's sister Sarah a couple of years prior and their older sister Kim was a counselor favorite, but we didn't really know Laura. We were in different cabins, but seated next to each other during a not so exciting missionary speaker. We may or may not have made a few jokes that opened the door to a camp friendship. (Sorry Rose!)
When Nicole and I had to say goodbye to Laura on the last day of camp, we were all in tears. Knowing camp friendships all too well, we really didn't know if we'd see each other again. We wrote letters and had to rely on our parents to let us make the occasional long distance phone call or make the hour and a half drive up and back to drop us off for a weekend. We eventually got e-mail and instant messenger and somehow we survived high school with our friendships intact. In college we all went our separate ways and it was harder to keep in touch even though (and maybe because) we had more independence and access. Somehow we were stronger than the distance. Over the years I became friends with Laura's entire family and was in both Laura and Kim's weddings in 2005 and then Sarah's in 2006. This summer marks 19 years since we met and I never take it for granted. Laura is one of my biggest cheerleaders and is always there to encourage me, but she's also the first one to let me have it when I'm being an idiot. There's a whole network of Camp friends that I know I could rely on even if I haven't seen them in years. There's something about the place that bonded all of us.
3. My fiancé
In 2006 I took a guy to Camp Wo-Me-To. I wasn't even officially dating him and he turned out to be a real dud, but I definitely jumped the gun on showing him my favorite spot. He wasn't impressed and I essentially wrote him off forever at the first moment he turned up his nose upon arrival.
Fast forward eight years and Steve was on his third or fourth visit to Maryland, but the first since we were seriously considering dating. We had Saturday morning free and I was debating what we should do. We settled on a hike to the King and Queen Seat in Rocks State Park. In the back of my head I knew the hike was 5-10 min from Camp and I was hoping I could take a side tour. Sarah said she knew then that it was big when I was willing to take a guy to Camp after the last debacle. I always knew that if I wanted to get married at Camp, I'd have to get my future husband on board. I wanted it to mean something to us and not just me. I knew we still had some work to do, but I was secretly hoping I was giving him a tour of our ceremony venue way back on July 26. I must have done something right because on July 30 he was writing a letter to John Harbaugh to start working on his proposal plan. That weekend was the real start of me and Steve and it will forever be etched in our memory.
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There's just something about this place. I think it's beautiful on the outside, but the memories it holds for me just make it incredible. I can't wait to make new memories at Camp Wo-Me-To this weekend. Let's get this party started!
