I'm a final year student. Next year's harsh reality of the 'real world' seems alarmingly imminent. It's time to make decisions about my future. It's time to find 'direction'. Having been inspired by the tales of various mission workers visiting my church; I had begun to entertain the idea of travelling to distant lands, proclaiming the gospel. I idealistically saw myself saving souls and saving lives, enjoying the fellowship of my friendly Christian colleagues after graduation - a cosy image, something I felt safe with. Yet as the possibility of fulfilling this dream began to draw closer I was forced to consider the actual practicalities and I realised that I had never actually done anything to prepare myself for serving the Lord in this way. Moreover I also started to realise how naive my images of mission work must be. I had no idea what to expect, or even if this was really what God wanted me to do with my life. At this point I decided that my final summer must be used to discover if I was really cut out for following God's calling or even if this really was the calling I was receiving.

I began by looking at various websites for summer opportunities and came across the Camp America website. I had heard other people's stories and experiences with Camp America but had never really considered it myself. Camp America is probably an experience most students have heard about but it isn't usually seen as an opportunity to work in a Christian environment. Yet although Camp America isn't actually a Christian organisation, it does work as the agent for a huge number of Christian American Summer camps, who desperately need students who have dedicated their lives to Christ and enjoy working with children. Before interview, applicants are required to fill out a detailed application form detailing their skills and abilities. A section of the form is dedicated to religious beliefs and experiences and if you are comfortable leading bible studies and are a committed Christian, your form will be made available to Camps looking for people like you on their team. Working on a summer camp in America is obviously a far cry from working with children in a third world country but it does involve sacrifice, dedication, team work and above all, a huge amount of dependence on God. Previously America had never been somewhere which appealed to me. The mere sight of the star spangled banner conjured up images of overweight, badly dressed, loud mouthed tourists and endless fast food restaurants. This summer I had the chance to see how mistaken my preconceptions actually were (admittedly the fast food bit is true!!) Camp America gave me the chance to spend a summer in idyllic unfamiliar surroundings with a fantastic team of young Christians, mostly students, from all over the globe. I made friends from Burma, South Africa, Indonesia, Tanzania and remarkably enough, even America!!

The most rewarding part of the summer for me was the chance to really experience what it means to serve the Lord, 24 hours a day, seven days a week!! It was an exhausting few months but I felt that I had a huge amount of support from the other members of staff on the camp, especially the Camp leaders. American children are very different to English children. They are much more extrovert, but they are extremely affectionate, honest and rewarding to spend time with. My responsibilities were basically to be a full time mother for the children in my cabin for the week that I was with them. I also led bible studies every morning and prayed with them in the evenings. I also had plenty of opportunities to get involved in the various activities on offer. I was a canoeing instructor and we canoed down the Saco river, pitching tents on the river bank at night. In the evenings we sat and chatted around a fire, eating 'smores' - digestive biscuit sandwiches with toasted marshmallow and chocolate inside. I leant a lot from those children. Although many of them had been brought up going to church most of them had not had adults who were willing to hear their ideas and concerns about a relationship with God, and I just hope the experience remains as fond a memory for them as it does for me.

The summer passed by all too quickly and in no time at all I found myself bidding farewell to the hopefully lifelong friends I had made amongst the other councillors. I was then able to travel for a month before returning to England, stronger in my relationship with God, more focused on his plan for me and with a huge network of Christian friends. Working on Camp was probably the most exhausting time of my life but definitely one of the most rewarding too. I learnt far more about myself than I could have imagined and would highly recommend this experience to any young Christian who has a few months free over the summer, is willing to work hard and who would like a chance to experience serving God Although I arrived home to rainy old England poor and tired I have no regrets about this summer and now I'm doing all I can to try and return to America next year.

I left my application quite late and I would advise anyone considering going on Camp America to think about going along to some of the fairs that they hold during the autumn. For further information contact Camp America, Dept. N.A, 37a Queens Gate, London, SW7 5HR, United Kingdom or www.campamerica.co.uk.

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