Why Skyline- A counselors point of view

Dear Future Skyline Counselor,

I can’t even begin to describe the blessing that Camp Skyline has been to me! I was a camper for five years (2015-2019), and in 2024 the Lord so graciously led me back to the mountain for my JC summer. There are some moments in life where I can so clearly see God’s hand in it and coming back to Skyline that summer is one of them. It’s through working at camp that I have met some of my best friends who call me higher everyday, have grown in my relationship with the Lord and have been instilled with a confidence in myself that I didn’t know I had. And now three years later I still keep finding myself coming back to the mountain.

I know the world wants to pull us in so many directions during the summer. Whether it’s a cool internship, a study abroad program, or living in a different city, I promise you nothing is as rewarding as working at camp. This past summer I thought I would be here for a month and then go live the out west summer of my dreams but three days into camp I knew this is where I needed to be all summer! It’s a front row seat to the joy and simplicity of the gospel! It’s days spent laughing with campers, singing songs and working alongside people who quickly become your best friends. It’s friendships that are formed through unclogging toilets together, turning showers into olympic games and hiding in counselor hunt. You will meet the type of friends who will turn weeks into lifelong friendships, will wipe your tears away for you and will show up in ways you couldn’t imagine in your life. I’ve seen so much of God’s character through the friends I’ve met while working- His compassion in Mary Spann and Emily Ingram, His strength in Bev Benedict and Mary Grace Antoseck, His joy in Jane Abbie Alford and Claire McCracken, His diligence in Caroline Casey and Laura Spann, His humility in Lilly Anne McClain and Julia McCracken, His humor in Sybil Lee and Lucy Beasely, His intentionality in Mary Whit Kemp and Lela Davidson and His kindness in Lilly Bowers and Elizabeth Reid. It’s the friends like these and so many others that I cry everytime I have to say bye to but what a gift it is to have friends worth missing!

So whether you are a past camper or counselor thinking of coming back or are brand new to skyline I say DO IT! APPLY! Because I promise it will be the best summer of your life and on closing day you’ll find yourself crying as you drive down the mountain, wishing you could relive another minute of it! Because what other job allows you to have endless dance parties in the Riverside lobby, dress up in the most ridiculous costume on a random Tuesday and most importantly allow you to give yourself away all for the sake of His kingdom!

One of my favorite quotes is “I serve a savior who came to be a servant. He lived bent low. And bent down is where I see His face. He lived, only to die. Could I? Die to self and just break open for love. This savior. His one purpose is to spend Himself on behalf of messy us. Will I spend myself on behalf of those in front of me? And people say “don’t you get tired?” And yes, I do . But I’m face to face with Jesus in the dirt, and the more I bend the harder but better, and fully this life gets. And sure, we are tired, but oh we are happy. Because bent down is where we find fullness of joy!” Working at Skyline is a picture of this. Come and experience the taste of eternity that Camp Skyline is!

So let this be your sign to work at camp! I promise it will change you in ways you can’t even imagine. And you’ll have people in your corner every step of the way!

With joy, Emmeline Land