Our Stories
First Time At Glen Mhor
I thought it would be the coolest thing in the world to go to camp, many of my friends from my sunday school had gone in the past summers so finally my parents agreed to take me! I was so excited, packing 2 months in advance! Soon before camp my doctor said that I had asthma and would be perfectly fine to go to camp and everything as long as I took my puffer whenever I needed it. So I was still excited after hearing I could still go! Though my parents didn't want me to go, they still let me! So it was the day and luckily my friends weren't there to see me when I started to get near the camp! I was hyper-ventolating! I was so scared of being away from my family for 5 days! haha! I was driving in the car taking one puff of my puffer every mile! So we got there, my mom and I and I saw alot of people hugging and alot of love from people from meeting summers before. I didn't understand them cause they weren't breathing hard or scared it felt "like home" to them. So I walked into the big dining room and it was very nervous with everyone looking at me but I was with my mom so I knew it was ok.....for then. So we got in line and checked in and the woman there asked if I had any medicine, we said yes and she told me to go to the next table with my mom. There was a nurse who went through everything with me about taking my puffer and if there was anything wrong with my asthma to come to her. I felt even more safe then. I didn't even have a nurse that close to me at home! haha. So we walked over to my 2 new counsellors "Fruz" and "Zilch". They made me feel soooo welcome and told me that everything would be alright. Of course, I didn't believe them and my mom told me she would wait until all the girls in my cabin were there until she'd leave. There was only 5 girls in my cabin, so sadly my mom didn't stay that long! Seriously, the scariest thing that ever happened in my life is watching my mom leaving me for 5 days! She walked out and I was about ot cry I was sooo scared. All the girls in my cabin were very shy so we finally met each other and all took a liking to each other! The 5 days past so fast with all the fun things we did! I couldn't beleive it happened so fast!!!!!!!!! By the end I saw why people felt it "like home" now I take it as my 2nd home! I was 11 then and now I'm 13! This summer will be my 4th time coming to Glen Mhor and I just can't wait to come back!!!!!!!!!
Rachel - 2005 [Teen Week 2004]
The Embrace of That BIG Hug
It was a long time ago, really hard to remember. I walked in holding my mom's hand, into the dining hall we went, the loud voices, the BIG people and me. I was 4, my mom got a job at Glen Mhor and I haven't left since. Thats right, I have been going to Glen Mhor for 9 summers, this one being my 10th. My mom, Topaz, is the director now and I am 13, turning 14 this summer. I love Glen Mhor, it is my favourite place to be, I have introduced it to so many people, the world of Glen Mhor Camp, and now my story is on the web. Glen Mhor is my home, I live there during the summer and parts of the winter, when I am not in school in Waterloo, of course. Anyways, my first summer was the introduction to the life I live now, if it wasn't for all of the staff of that summer, I wouldn't be the me everyone knows. I wouldn't be whacky and zainy, crazy and psycho, I wouldn't be... what is known to most as campy. My family is not only in various places in the world but most of my family is where I belong, at Glen Mhor Camp. I belong there, with the great counsellors, fun campers, and the wilderness of Baysville, Ontario.
Now, to the summer that just passed. As I always do, I step out of the car watching my mom and her staff members running around the site trying to get everything ready for opening day. My home, Glen Mhor Camp, greets me with a warm hug that to me says "welcome back, old friend". It is the one thing I cherish most about Glen Mhor, along with the fresh air, the campfires, campers, counsellors and FUN.
Most people, when that last school bell rings, say "alright summer vacation, time to kick back and have fun with my friends!" Well, I say "time for another memory filled summer at Glen Mhor, time to splash around in Echo Lake, time to have fun with the staff and campers". I have been through many changes in the life of Glen Mhor. My middle years at Glen Mhor were great, with Fruz, Magma, Turtle and all of the other people that looked after me over the years, but the one thing that I will take through the rest of my life, is what I have learned from and about the Lord over these past ten years.
When I think of Glen Mhor I think of that BIG hug I get every year, when I step out of my Dad's van and embrace my absolute FAVOURITE thing about camp. That hug that says, "welcome home old friend, let me, Glen Mhor Camp, guide you through your life as your parents and peers would. Let me be your home and let me be your Friend!"
Spencer Blake - 2004 [Adventure Camp & Teen Week '03]
Are We There Yet?
(an multi-award winning speech by Julia Bulfon)
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No!"
"Are..."
"Nooooooo!!" My dad said for the fifty-second time.
It was August 15, 2003 and I was on my way to Glen Mhor Camp for a whole week. As you can tell from my repeated questioning, I was a tad nervous. Well, wouldn't you be nervous on a two- hour drive to your first camping experience away from home? Oh, I think so.
During the car ride many thoughts went through my mind . Will anybody like me? Will a bear get into our cabin? Will there be any cute boys? And who invented the wheel anyway?
Finally we arrived! My first reaction was to say cool. But really I was
a nervous wreck. My parents could sense that I was nervous too as we headed towards my cabin.
As I was unpacking and saying hi to my new bunkmates I thought to myself, this is pretty cool. Goodbye butterflies and hopefully goodbye parents! I was ready for Glen Mhor Camp.
I turned to my parents and told them they could go anytime now, PLEASE. It wasn t that easy getting rid of them. It took me at least twenty- five
minutes to convince them that they could leave me on my own because I'm a big kid now.
I started checking out my new bunkmates. In bunk number one was Heidi who would turn out to be the funniest member of the group.
In bunk number two was Nadia. She was cool. And I did eventually forgive her for leaving her shoe imprint on my face during our dance routine.
Bunk number three was Nicole. She actually brought more make -up than any of us had in total at home. She was also the best story- teller of all of us.
Number four was Jhona. She was a little bit shy.
And then there was Sam. She was calm, cool and crazy! It was a riot watching her victory dance on the dock after she completed a dive with a back flip.
Last, but not least was Krissy. I got to know her the best of all my bunk mates. We did a lot together.
I had gotten rid of my parents, gotten to know my great bunkmates and now it was time for the most important reason for coming to camp. No, not the water. No, not the food. DA BOYS!
There was da cute one, and da hot one, and da sweet one, and da nice one and da one I got his MSN address. Da tall ones and da short ones and da big ones and da small ones. That's da boys of Glen Mohr Camp. Cha, cha, cha. And now the second most important reason for coming to camp Da Fun!
Kayaking was a blast! I learned how to flip in my kayak under the water without getting out. The Zipline was amazing! It s a metal wire stretched across the length of a football field about the height of a telephone pole. You are attached to a wire that zips across for a 15 second ride that takes 30 minutes to prepare for. Dancing was awesome! In dance we learned Hip Hop, Jazz, Swing and Break dancing. That s when I got the shoeprint on my face from Nadia.
The End of the Week skit was hilarious! Our skit was a Breakfast
Television Fashion Show. That was how I got my nickname. My part involved dressing up like a circus performer but CRAZIER! I began my walk on the catwalk very gracefully, then I stopped halfway and looked at the audience. I jumped about two feet off the ground screaming, I LIKE SUGAR! DO YOU LIKE SUGAR? SUGAR IS GOOD! SUGAR!!!! . And then gracefully walked off the cat walk ending with one last scream of SUGAR POWER! I bet you can guess what my nickname was SUGAR!
When the time came for us to leave camp I said goodbye and hugged all my new friends. As our car drove off I watched as my second home and second family became a little dot in the distance...
Julia Bulfon - 2004 [Int. Camp '03]
Everything I Need to Know...
Glen Mhor Camp is home to 50 enthusiastic and dedicated staff for two months out of every year. Although the group has a few changes with each new summer, the new are welcomed with open arms, and the old are return with anticipation of what the 2 months ahead will hold. They come together in late June. All ages, social classes, personalities, and backgrounds unite being connected by one thing alone: their love and excitement for Christ. Sure, it’s only one sixth of the year, but those two months are the most real and truthful months, when everyone shines and can be themselves. No make up, perfect hair, manicured hands, and fake personalities just to fit in. The best and worst of everyone is seen and accepted. The good and bad days are shared with all.
I have been a part of the Glen Mhor Staff for two years now. Going back is like visiting home for the holidays and seeing family I haven’t seen for months while sharing good old memories around the campfire. Memories that have the power to make us laugh so hard we cry just from remembering them. It has shaped me in ways I would have never imagined. I have found patience, understanding, belief in myself to try new things with confidence and succeed, the ability to go into a bad situation and focus only on the positive side of things. I can’t put into words how much these people mean to me. How they have blessed me, just by knowing them.
Not only do I miss the people, but I miss the environment too. At night I’d go out onto the docks, lay down, and look up at the sky for hours at a time. It’s not out of the ordinary to spot four or five shooting stars. Sometimes I’d take an instrument out with me, there is nothing more beautiful than the echo on a still lake at night.
I grew up going to camp. It has shaped who I am today. Without camp, I wouldn’t have the same love for drama, music, the outdoors, and most importantly God. Everything I need to know, I learned at summer camp.
Hannah “Gawa” Carter [Staff]
