Camp Tepeyac: My EPIC Adventure

       Hey ya'll!  So, a little over a week ago I came back home from my first ever summer camp, called Camp Tepeyac in Prescott, Arizona.  From my parish, only 4 of us were chosen to go, and tada, you guess it! (probably not) but I was the only girl.  So of course, that freaked me out a little bit.  What also freaked me out was that everybody who was going from my parish, and people who weren't chosen to go were genuinely excited about this trip, and to be honest, I know for a fact that I wasn't even half as excited as everybody else.  I guess part of that reason was because I didn't know what to expect - I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but I am so GLAD and thankful and grateful that I had this opportunity, and I am absolutely STOKED to go next year!

       The theme for camp this year was EPIC ADVENTURE, and the whole week truly was an epic adventure for me, and my goal is to make my whole life one epic adventure.  The Lord has given me this life, and we all have our own stories and our own epic adventures to fulfill.  For me, most of my experience at Camp Tepeyac is ineffable (unable to be put into words).  But what I can say, is that I know that the Lord is here for me.  He is here for ALL of us, and he will never let us fall.  The scripture that lifts me up and gives me the strength to go on with life even though it may be shaky is Psalm 62:3.

"God is my rock and my salvation, my secure height; I shall never fall."

Trust is very important in our lives, and what's most important is that we are able to trust ourselves.  Because when we can fully trust ourselves, we can trust in God.  And when we trust in God, we know that our actions are his actions, and our dreams are his plans for us, and we will continually live his word and carry out his will.  So many people have helped me to get where I am today in my faith, and I would like to do what they have done for me, for others.  My goal in this life was the goal of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat: To suffer oneself so that others do not need to suffer.

       Another thing that I discovered during my time at camp, is that Faith is not just a matter of right believing; it is also a matter of right living.  I know my character strengths and weaknesses, and I know that areas in my life that need a good working on, and also the areas in my faith.  It is one thing to be a religious person at retreats, camps and at church.  But being holy for that one hour on a Sunday is not enough, that is not having faith.  Choosing to live the life as a Christian is absolutely and significantly harder that choosing to blend in with the masses.  Choosing Christ means having to fight for everything that you believe in, having to stand up for yourself and defend your faith, to take the crap that people may give you, and to look past all of the judgements of the world and accept and love people no matter who they are or what they've done, even though it is absolutely hard.

       To be honest, I didn't have the strength and courage to defend my faith before.  I was very much caught up in what the world thinks of me - making sure that I portrayed the right person to the right people, and I got lost. I lost myself.  Losing yourself is like losing your map on your epic adventure.  But at camp, I did the soul-searching that I've been meaning to do for months now.  And what really helped me find myself again, was seeing myself in a new light - in Christ's eyes.  

       During one of our Women Session's at camp, we did a type of prayer, called Giving and Receiving the Touch of God.  We were all in a big circle, backs facing the middle, and our leader Trisha would call out "Touch 5 sisters who you think _____" and in the blank would be: athletic, follows the will of God, reconciles well with others, makes you laugh, is kind, someone you would give your life for.  And our sisters would come and touch our shoulders, but we couldn't turn around and see who it was, because it wasn't the touch of our sisters that we were receiving, it was the touch of God.  And every single character trait that we were touched for, that is how Christ himself sees us.  I was very much surprised when I got touched for everything except the first 2.  Knowing that someone would give their life for me, made me feel the most love of all.  Giving and Receiving the Touch of God made my reflection clear in the distorted circus mirror that I've been looking in to most of my life.

       For all of you girls at camp that made me feel welcome and took me into your arms, THANK YOU so much, and I love you all!  Going to Camp Tepeyac was an amazing experience, and I hope that one day, I'll be able to go back as a summer missionary!  

Until later,

-Alexis