two voices by Grace Hamilton and Noah Proctor Connecting Beyond Camp Grace
“I have also found that my community wants to help support me
and pray for me in the work that I do.”
—Grace Hamilton
Throughout my years working at camp, I have been so thankful for the community I have among staff members. The long hours, the hard work and the shared bond of being brothers and sisters in Christ have quickly turned teams that I have worked on into family. But during the beautiful and crazy moments that make up working at camp, I have realized that it is also crucial to me to have moments to step away, to do activities that bring me joy and, most importantly, to have commu- nity outside of the people I work with on a daily basis.
When working at camp, especially in the
busiest summer months, I have found it easy to get so caught up in all that is going on around me, that I can almost forget that life is still going on outside of camp. Taking moments to step away from the chaos helps me to stay balanced in my work and my life. For me, that looks like going for runs or
hikes in the mountains. Sometimes, I like to go with friends to talk, laugh and share life as we go on our adventures, and sometimes I like to go by myself, to have time to think and have uninterrupted time to talk to God. Even though it can be hard to pull away from camp, taking those moments leaves me feeling refreshed and helps me to be more effective in my ministry when I return. I also have relied heavily on my friends and
local community as a way to help me stay bal- anced. It has been crucial to get plugged into my church and Bible study group to be fed per- sonally and spiritually. I have also found that my community wants to help support me and pray for me in the work that I do. When a prob- lem at camp feels big, spending time with other believers makes those problems feel not as big. Not only am I encouraged by my community,
but also by listening and being an encourage- ment to those around me, it helps me keep everything in perspective. Scripture is clear about the importance of being in community with other believers, and for me, that really has been the most important thing to maintain a healthy work and life balance.
Grace Hamilton is the fellowship manager at Sky Ranch Horn Creek (Westcliffe, Colorado). Te Fellowship is Sky Ranch’s yearlong work and discipleship program for recent college graduates. Hamilton grew up as a camp kid at Springhill Camps (Evart, Michigan) and attended Cornerstone University. Aſter working many summers at Springhill, she moved to Westcliffe in 2018 to take part in the Fellowship program and ended up sticking around, working several different roles at Sky Ranch ever since.
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www.ccca.org September/October 2024
Photo courtesy of Grace Hamilton
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