I am regularly reminded of how Sandy Cove shaped my childhood and my faith. One of my earliest memories is sitting at a table in the back of the Water’s Edge Dining Room with my parents and grandparents. We each had a small plate with strawberries, marshmallows, and Rice Krispie treats covered in chocolate. We sat and talked while waiting eagerly for the elephant to drop as the way to ring in the new year. This was my favorite Sandy Cove event to attend as a “staff kid.” 

Growing up, I attended many Sandy Cove events with my family over the years, including Family Camp, where I participated in the Club Cove and Crosswalk programs. I also attended The Marsh Day Camp and Camp Sandy Cove in elementary school.

My mom has worked at Sandy Cove for 24 years in various departments, but mainly as the sales manager; my dad and my uncle have worked for the ministry, too. Their jobs allowed me to connect with many of their coworkers over the years, and when I became an employee of SandyCove, God used those long friendships to strengthen my faith and prepare me for opportunities to minister to others.

Last summer, I saw the fruit of those friendships and experiences. I was a junior high camp counselor in Crosswalk during Family Camp, where I led and participated in games with the campers and facilitated small group discussions after each lesson. During these activities, I connected with many of my campers through similar hobbies, funny stories, or simply the fun of camp. Those moments opened the door for me to encourage campers to come to the late-night talk on Thursday night.

This was a time when the campers could ask the leaders questions about God, school, and growing up in general. Many of these conversations resulted in campers opening up about how they have seen God in their lives. This also gives the leaders an opportunity to share how God has worked in their lives as well. This was one of my favorite nights of camp because the conversation always came back to how God works things out according to His purpose.

I experienced the most spiritual growth during this past summer. Before each morning session, the Crosswalk leaders would pray together over our campers and the activities of the day. Being surrounded by coworkers who were invested in their relationship with God and showing his love to our campers made me realize how influential Sandy Cove is.

I did not realize how much of an impact it has had on my life until I saw how I was able to share Sandy Cove’s mission with my campers during the summer. The mission has helped me see how important it is for believers to spend time together, worship God together, and have a place where they can feel God’s presence.

I look forward to seeing how my Sandy Cove story continues.