All IN...

We had a first last week, we dropped Radley off at his first overnight camp and Carolina Creek.  (Which happened to fall on Emersyn's fifth birthday, because one milestone just wasn't enough for us.) Our nerves were eased immensely when his buddy, Davis, was able to sign up too and they were bunk mates! 

I would love to talk all about the drop off process and how sad he was to see us go, but it was basically this:

Counselor: Camper's name?

Us: Radley King

Counselor: WE'VE GOT RAD RADLEY KING in the MONKEY CABIN LEVEL 2!!

Us: Ok - so we just walk him in?

Counselor: Yep! Just walk him up and his cabin counselors will be in there.

And we walked him up, dropped him off, took a picture, said goodbye and walked away. 

And had a good ol cry on the way to drop off his mail. Y'all. This kid is my first born and I was leaving him at camp in a town that has a FEDERAL prison for people on DEATH ROW. When did that become a thing?!?

Yeah. Have I mentioned my tendency for drama?

Cindy and I were sad. But the kids were alright, which is clearly what matters most. 

The camp uploaded pictures every day so we got to peek into what was going on. Ryan and I found Radley by the color of his shoes and were not shocked to see that he was having fun, singing, dancing and making friends.

He also managed to to wear the right clothes that I had picked out for him each day - so I'll count that as a win! (Although he opted out of the $10 (TEN DOLLAR) sweatband I got him for "headband" day because he didn't like the way it made his hair lay.) SMH.

It did my heart so good to see that smile and know that he was in good hands and having fun. And in case you are wondering, this day's theme was plaid. 

Exactly. We got Rad some plaid swim shorts because it's Texas. In the summer. And y'all - PLAID? 

The theme for the camp was ALL IN - how can you be All In for God? I was eager to hear about what this meant for him and to him and couldn't wait to get him home!

We all met for an early breakfast in CS and caravanned back to Huntsville to pick up our crew. This session of camp is called "The Wild" and each cabin is a different wild animal. And yes, it was the most precious thing ever in existence of all things precious. Because clearly.

We 5 Kings reunited! (Shout out to Gigi for driving with us but managing to escape a picture - how did you do that?)

(Also, your eyes aren't crazy - Radley is wearing the same thing we dropped him off in. His clothes apparently got all wet because he "had" to put his towels and bathing suit back into his suitcase and he put them on top of his clothes. And well, next time I'll pack his wet bag.)

Each camper is given a cabin award that is a character trait in the Bible. The counselors connect this trait to scripture and as soon as they started handing these out, I just knew Radley would get the award for enthusiasm, but I wasn't sure how this would relate to the Word. 

Sure enough, our guy is the last one to go and they start talking all about how enthusiastic Radley was all week long - just like Peter was excited and enthusiastic for God. They spoke of his leadership and how committed he was to getting the group to buy-in to the activities of the day. 

His scripture was from 1 Peter 3:13

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

We ended pick up by moving into the gym to witness what their chapel looked like during camp.

And y'all - our kids hands were raised in worship, singing out loud for Jesus and having so much fun doing it. Talk about a milestone!

All 4 of these precious lights were ALL IN and taught us so much about being patient, being enthusiastic, putting yourself after God and others, and being helpful all in the name of Him.

And as we were making our way to leave, a hand reached out and tapped Cindy on the shoulder and asked her if Radley was hers. I'm pretty sure she said, "I claim him, but she's his mom." This woman came up to me and wanted to tell me about chapel the night before. It seems as if they were going to tell the story of the prodigal son when Radley raised his hand and said, "I know that story." The chapel leader then invited him up to share the story with everyone and Radley lead chapel in front of the entire camp. My seven year old son spoke to 200 people about Jesus. 

Y'all. I've never spoken to 20 people about Jesus. 

I had tears in my eyes as I listened to her tell me that she had chills while he spoke - that she hadn't witnessed something like this in all her years at camp. Radley explained to her, "it's because I've read my bible three times!" And he has - on his own, sat and read his bible. And I take no credit for this - but I do give thanks for this.

Isn't it crazy what kids can teach us?

To be patient in the Lord. 

To be enthusiastic for the Lord.

To be helpful in the name of the Lord.  

To be third behind the Lord and others. 

Funny how we sent them to camp to learn something and it turns out we were the ones being taught.