After my junior year of high school, I went to Young Life’s camp at Crooked Creek in Colorado. We had 100 people going from Louisiana to make the 27 hour bus ride to camp.
There were these 5 girls that everyone called “The Five.” They spent all of their time together. They were pretty and fun and seemed almost exclusive. It seemed like a challenge to get in and be their friends. However, one of them, Becca, interested me a little more and I had her number and we texted and played “20 Questions” until our phones died on the way to camp.
When we made it to camp, all the guys played this game called “Fumble”. When playing Fumble whenever 1 guy was standing and talking with 3 girls in a group, the guy got tackled. If there were 2 guys, it was okay…but if one of them stepped away the guy left with the girls would get a dog pile on top of him. (Framing guys to be the only one there happened a lot.)
The Five included Becca, so I had to get through and be all of their friends in order to get to talk to her. I got the courage to go talk to their apparent leader. I was honest, explaining how they looked intimidating and too cool for everyone else. They thought this ridiculous and then began the fun and trouble. I had one main friend, Dustin, who came along with me in my befriending the Five and Becca. However, when Dustin wasn’t there, that led to more than a few “FUMBLES” on top of me.
Camp was awesome. From climbing a 13,000 foot mountain, frisbee golf, mountain biking, horseback riding, off-roading go-carts and the 70-person hot tub, all the activities were incredible. What’s more is that I heard the clearest portrait of the gospel I ever have. After first hearing about Jesus on the cross, I remember being sent out for 15 minutes under the stars and thinking about how unworthy I am…but realizing that’s exactly why Jesus lived... to love me and die on my behalf. Love had never been explained so vividly to me, and my life was changed. My life was not about me anymore but rather about loving Jesus and making him known.
Becca and The Five were my other favorite part of camp. On the last night, I told Becca that she and The Five had really made my week. She didn’t believe me, thinking I was being mushy. I meant it though. The rest of the summer, Becca and I began talking more and The Five started to hang out with lots of our friends together. We started dating the first week back at school…and now many years later, we’re married.
Best week ever!
Story by: Andrew Smith