I briefly mentioned that I was working at a camp in Florida last week. Today,  I thought I would share a handful of photo highlights and tell you a little more about the camp. I wrote a piece for GVL360 on the organization – you can read it HERE. 

Camp Joy Florida gathers for one week each spring at Lake Aurora Christian Camp and Retreat Center.

The landscape was breathtaking. Nestled in the middle of an orange grove, my favorite smell from the week was the citrus that filled the air when the wind blew. Needless to say, we drank a LOT of Florida’s Natural! Take me back! 

Camp Joy is a camp for teens and adults with mental and physical limitations.

Each camper is paired with a counselor who becomes their “special friend” for the week.

We’ll get into the counselor/camper relationship in another post. I have lots to say about these kids who give up their Spring Break vacations to form friendships with this special community of people. 

The campers attended drama class where they acted out the Bible story each day.

A highlight of the week for everyone is the camper talent show! We’ll talk about that more later, too. Just know that I cry through the whole thing. Every time. 

With aerobics and outside games, Camp Joy is one place these guys don’t have to worry about not being chosen for a team. They BELONG and their different abilities are celebrated.

As I mentioned, I have so much more to say, but for now, I’ll stop here. I would like to encourage you to hop on Instagram and follow their accounts – @campjoyflorida and @campjoycem

I’m spending this week catching up on work that accumulated while I was gone. I hope you guys are having a great week so far! HAPPY THURSDAY!