As a child, every single summer, I looked forward to going to Camp Thurman. The place where I could run around, make new friends, ride awesome ziplines and truly live out my childhood. The fact that I could meet strangers on Monday and be best friends with them by Friday was miraculous to me and showed me how God’s love works in people. Now working at Camp Thurman at the age of 16, I finally understand the meaning behind Camp.
I began working in the summer of 2025, starting as a counselor-in-training. It felt like a full circle moment to be employed there, especially because I attended 12 years as a camper myself and my dad was a counselor back in the 90s. Back then, Camp did not have all of the ziplines, refreshing pools, or even most of the buildings. It was just 14 acres of trees, grass and a little house with a small pool in the backyard. That’s it. My dad and other counselors entertained their campers by building forts, climbing trees and learning about the Lord. Seeing the 50-plus years it expanded and grew, I remained overjoyed with the chance to serve my community myself.
My first week of Camp Thurman seemed crazy. I had to learn all of the rules to be a counselor, what was allowed, what to do in an emergency situation and I even had to learn how to maneuver traffic with complex drop-off and pick-up lines. Only having little experience from babysitting, I could not imagine having to watch over 13 little girls under the scorching sun all day long. Trying to take in all of this information in one week overwhelmed me to the maximum, creating the impending doom and dread for my first week of actual work. Throughout the hustle and bustle of training week, all staff gathered under the main pavilion in the mornings for Bible studies and gave us a chance to take a break from information and focus on the Word. Hearing the wise words of guest speakers and past staff members led me to realize how blessed I was to receive the opportunity to work at Camp Thurman and what a privilege it was to serve so many different people in one summer. Knowing these words, I kept them close to my heart the entire summer and reminded myself of them often.
The very next week, my first day of work began. I sprang awake to my blaring alarm and butterflies immediately swarmed my stomach. Even after a whole week of training, I still felt unprepared for what I agreed to do. The anticipation of meeting my coworker and groups of girls of the week later that morning made my stomach churn and heart pound against my chest. I asked myself questions like, “What if I get a bad counselor?” Or maybe, “What do I do if something goes really wrong?” These questions spun in my head like a tornado as I got ready for the day, the butterflies increasing by every minute.
Arriving that morning, I jumped out of the car and anxiously walked through camp to get to the meeting place, the pavilion. The summer’s humid air stuck to my skin, but the slight morning breeze cooled my nerves. As mud from the past night’s thunderstorm stuck to my worn tennis shoes, the sun’s beams of light poked through the trees and greeted me. I imagined that I became a camper once again, feeling the excitement and nostalgia of my childhood. The calm rustle of wind through tree branches and the strum on an acoustic guitar eased any anxiety I felt and reminded me of why I was at
Camp Thurman in the first place.
After meeting my first counselor and group, everything immediately clicked. The girls were hilarious and my counselor remained extremely helpful and an amazing mentor to me. We made various memories that will last a lifetime and left me with the idea that I had truly made an impact on the girls. I will always remember each sweet girl and appreciate each bond that was formed, no matter who she was or what she was like. Even when we went through stressful times as a group, I stayed calm and did my best to serve each girl individually. Although I worked under the blazing Texas sun for more than 10 hours a day, saying goodbye to my group at the end of the week remained the most difficult task to complete. Not only did I form bonds with each group of girls, but I also met people who left their mark on me and who would become my best friends for life. These people showed me what fellowship, friendship and love truly are and act as role models for me to this day. I will always be thankful for Camp Thurman, its people and how it impacts me, whether it is from a camper’s perspective or a counselor’s perspective.
What an opportunity and what a privilege to serve at Camp Thurman. -Tinsel
