Dancing Creation

The first ever Capernaum Beyond trip was an incredible success! Fourteen campers with varied special needs, ten adult leaders and chaperones, two guides and all the Beyond base camp staff were contributors to this historical week.

Rob Duyker, the camp manager for Beyond Malibu, and I have been tossing around the idea of a Capernaum Beyond trip for several years with some reservations. This past year Rob and a few others told me about the new bunkhouse structures being built at base camp. They were shelters not only for sleeping, but also for eating and hanging out. With these new accommodations, I felt Beyond had “a place” for our campers with disabilities. We were in. So we started signing up campers. Fourteen campers and ten adult chaperones later, we ventured off to BC together.

It was an immediate adventure. We spent our first night in Egmont with the Beyond sea kayak team, treating them to a blueberry pancake and sausage breakfast the next morning. They were so welcoming. We wanted to bring them along! Upon arriving at Beyond Malibu base camp, we were sung into shore for another great welcome where we met Sarah and Wade. They were our guides for the week. We needed to get to know each other—campers, leaders and guides. Wade and Sarah had a plan, and we played fun yet simple get-to-know-you games. We needed to test our abilities as a group and gauge our physical limits for the week ahead. Again Wade and Sarah had a plan, and we went on a short hike to a nearby waterfall to discover our campers were up for a challenge. Our guides had a plan for each aspect of the week. They were great leaders and thoughtful friends to our campers all the time. In the following days we hiked to Albert Falls, kayaked to Chatterbox Falls, swam in the frigid inlet waters, cooked out each meal and sang songs to Jesus around our campfire each evening. It was a full week at our pace.

A highlight for many of our campers was meeting their base camp “buddy.” Each base camp staff person was paired up one-on-one with one of our campers. They spent about an hour each afternoon together swimming, playing cards, decorating cookies and hanging out. These pairs became instant friends. A highlight for me was the evening that all base camp staff and guides came out to our campsite for worship around the fire. There were about 45 of us total. Base camp buddies sat next to their camper, sang, worshipped and danced together. What struck me was how much I appreciated and soaked in the majestic beauty of the mountains, inlet, trees, and sunset. But I noticed Beyond staff soaking in the beauty of God’s creation dancing and singing in front of them—our campers. For some, this was a side of God’s creation that they had yet to behold. For all of us, it was a beautiful week of adventure, deeper friendships, appreciating the simple things, stretching our limits, and seeing God in new and delightful ways.