Wandering With My Memories

I’ve been wandering with my memories; remembering my spiritual heritage at the site of the old Camp Ambassador. I got to spend time this week in a place I used to be very familiar with. I came to Word of Life Camp on the annual fall camp tour with CCI/Canada Ontario Region. The camp used to be run by Ambassadors for Christ Canada. It’s the first residential camp I attended as a 13 year. It’s where I heard that we needed to have a personal relationship with Christ and responded. Its where I learned to ride a horse, had my first job, my first kiss in the lounge between the guys and girl’s ends of the dorm, my first girlfriend. I learned to cook for groups here with Roman Kahoot. No I didn’t make that name up. My first job was as a stable hand and I mucked out a LOT of horse stalls, fed many horses, and drove the tractors. I was a cabin leader, horsemanship instructor (I even got to help with breaking in new horses) and finished as assistant director. I also helped cook, serve, do dishes and some maintenance.  

I remember some of the people like Ken Davis, who built a lot of the camp, grandpa and grandma Tuck (not sure their real names); living above the drive shed, the Fireside Lounge, the site if the old sugar shack with an old buck board seat; Smokey Hollow (where many camp outs happened), rock climbing at the cliffs on the back 40, the campfire pit-I can almost hear the songs, smell the smoke and see the cabin skits, the leaders, oh it’s like I’m 13 again and 18 all at the same time; reliving what was here and seeing what’s new.

My feet just seemed to find the road to the Gunge Hole (a dammed up spot in the river for swimming) the lower field and back up to the dining hall; the horses are long gone, the coral is all grown over, the barn isn’t empty, but it doesn’t feel the same either, the stalls are all gone and it’s full of storage now; the indoor riding arena now full of old stuff; the old roller rink, although there’s no skates anymore. I got to sit in the same hallway as I did when I accepted Christ as Saviour and show Nicole some of the places I used to go.

There are so many memories tied up in this place. These pictures are old ones from my past taken in the present day location. I started out as a camper for several years then was on summer staff from 16-19, spending 7 summers at Camp Ambassador.