UnADULTerated JOY

If there’s one Ligaya event that I wouldn’t miss for the world, Junior Young Adult (JYA) summer camp it is.  Being with Ligaya kids—10-12 years old—for four straight days entails a lot of fatigue, test of patience and nosebleed (which one figuratively gets in trying to keep up with the English-speaking wards). It is not a joke to handle kids who have different upbringings and levels of kakulitan but still, I find it quite addicting. They always find their way into my heart.

I have joined the camp for four years (and counting) not as a happy camper but as a happy team leader. I don’t see myself petering out in the service soon, well, not until my body tells me to call it quits. Of course, I don’t want my team to run around with a lola in slow motion instead of an ate who’s as gung-ho as them. I am making the most out of it while I still can.

It got me thinking—what draws me in? I could write a novel of the kids’ hilarious adventures and misadventures in the camp. But I might run out of space here. Let me just give you a good grasp of the top three reasons why I don’t want to pass up the chance to bond with the JYAs in the summer camp.

Being ‘trans-gen’ in the truest sense

You say forming significant relationships with the kids after becoming their Ate’s and Kuya’s in camp is enough to be thankful for. It will surely secure you a place in their memory banks and lives in general. Chances are you will be BFF’s as in best friends forever. Now here’s the equation: if you are friends with the kid, you will most likely be friends with the parents and the whole family, even with the yaya, because of a common denominator—love and concern for your BFF. Isn’t that what ‘trans-gen’ is all about, building relationships that cut across all age groups?

Touching base with the nurturing side

Sometimes when we are so caught up with a multitude of concerns as single people we forget to exercise our maternal/paternal instinct, whatever you may want to call it. Yes we have that side which ought to be used should we or should we not plan raise our own kids. Handling a team of five to six kids with varying needs is a good practice. In one camp, a team member came up to me and said, “Ate, you are like my mom.” Then I asked, “Is that a compliment?” Innocently, she replied to me with a smile, “Of course! My mom is so caring and I love her very much!” I melted and could only utter, “Awwwww…” It was sweet.

The de-stressing factor

The camp is usually action-packed and the activities designed for the kids’ energy level can often send you puffed and wanting to hit your sleeping bag before nightfall. Honestly, it is quite stressful because the demand is not only physical but emotional and spiritual especially when you are lucky to have a problem kid in your team. But then a hug, kiss or some silly jokes from the kids can easily ease the stress away. In those down moments in the camp when exhaustion set in, only a funny story or joke from my comic relief Josh Rivas can perk me up (it makes me sad realizing that he wont be in JYA camp this year as he is stepping up to YA). At the end of the day, the best ever rewards are the tight hugs and simple “thank you’s” from the kids, enough to convince you that roughing it up with them in the activities is indeed worth your while.

The joy of serving the kids is so unadulterated that it leaves you hankering for more. I wish I could share my bagful of JYA camp experiences but I’d rather that you carve your own.

After all, Jesus said “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this is my name receives me.” (Matthew 18: 3-5)

- Mae Chatto, North E

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