Winter @ Camp Calumet: ABBA, Holden Evening Prayer and WWF

Wow, it's been a pretty amazing last few days at Camp Calumet.  My first few days mostly involved relaxing by the fire, taking short walks by the lake and having some great conversations about how God is present in our everyday lives.  Last night we capped that quieter period off with a wonderful vespers singing Holden Evening Prayer.  My fiancee Molly was able to learn the whole piece in a day with the help of one young camper who played guitar.  Singing around the dining hall fireplace with lights dimmed was a particularly beautiful way to do vespers on a cold winter night.

As the snow finally began to fall and the lake finally began to freeze, Calumet's conference started filling up for New Year's weekend.  During the afternoon a number of folks went geo-caching while the rest of us gathered for an awesome game of girls vs. guys snow-kickball.  While the guys started off with a pretty big lead, the girls were able to tie it all up by the end.  After resting up for a bit (once again by the fire) after the game, we had a pretty epic dinner of braised pork and calzones as a vegetarian option.  The highlight of the evening though was a game of "How Well Do You Know Your Family" similar to the Newlywed Game.  The major change was a spontaneously added family dance contest to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" as a final bonus round.  We finished up the night with a large game of Taboo.

Oh, did I mention that most of the staff was constantly playing the internet game sensation Words With Friends during breaks throughout the weekend?  WWF is basically an online game of Scrabble and it's ridiculously addictive.  Last night alone we each sat around the fireplace for a couple hours playing each other and helping out in other games against our friends from all around the world.  I hadn't heard about WWF until this weekend, and boy, I am absolutely hooked.

In the end, my few days at Camp Calumet were exactly what I expected.  My faith was renewed through fun and fellowship with others living in Christian community.  What an amazing experience, and I'm already looking forward to coming back again soon.

God's peace,
Dustin