This past week we
had some pretty smart people around, the type of smart that makes you feel very
much like an inferior human being. This was a group of 23 Phd students from
University of Glasgow who had come to Camas for a little getaway.
These people are the
kind of people who are literally changing the world. One woman is working on
using lasers on spaceships to deflect asteroids away from Earth, (there is one heading in our direction now and could
even have the potential to enter our orbit in the next 15-20 years and if it
would hit earth we will probably all perish just like the dinosaurs… so her
work is kinda important. And also sounds crazy cool.) another is working
on a cure for malaria and another on 'sleeping sickness,' and there are a
couple using photosynthesis as a model to develop more efficient solar energy
devices. So that just gives you a small glimpse into the sort of people I was
around.
However brilliant
and important these people may be and however inadequate and foolish I felt
around them- everything changed the moment we got them in wetsuits and sent
them out into the ocean in Kayaks.
They were to
fantastically horrible and it made me feel much better about myself. Watching smart
people awkwardly fall into the ocean for no reason other than their own lack of
balance or try SO hard to paddle in one direction but instead end up heading
full speed into the exact opposite direction was one of the most hilarious
things I've experienced in awhile.
My favourite moment
of the week though occurred on the group's last evening at Camas. On the last
day of a group's stay, we do what we call the "Camas Challenge",
which essentially just means that we give the group the opportunity to do the
jobs that we as staff organize; cook dinner, set up/decorate the dining room,
put together some sort of evening entertainment and do our evening reflection.
Reflections are the
Camas version of devotions. We have them twice in the day (morning and evening)
and they are a time where we come together and basically reflect on what is
going on around us. Reflections can take on many forms from reading out a poem
to playing group games to crafty things.
Because our groups and staff come from various backgrounds, to make everyone
feel welcome and comfortable these reflections aren’t overtly religious(although in my opinion God is still at the heart of it all despite not
being specifically mentioned!)
So, for this Camas
Challenge it was the final reflection that just left me in awe. (The whole evening was actually fantastic, but the
reflection was by far the best!) It was led primarily by a group of guys
from Pakistan, who, naturally, were Muslim.
As we all sat in a
large circle in a candlelit room (the room of
nets to be exact, but I'll explain more about that room in detail on a later
date)one of the guys, Omar, began to explain how in his religion they
often use meditation. From the beginning he was sure that everyone no matter their
beliefs could be included by stating that one could think of a family member or
friend instead of God. And he repeated this a number of times just to make sure everyone understood that!
He then began to
lead us into a meditation exercise. First focusing simply on God (or a loved
one) sitting beside you and then following that focusing on how much God (or a
loved one) loves you and then lastly to "open your heartbook" to Him.
(I love that phrase now! So good!)
It was an absolutely
beautiful moment.
A room filled with
all types of people with a vast difference in backgrounds, interests and
beliefs all graciously participating. And that's what Camas is all about. New
experiences, welcoming new ideas and perspectives, about sharing a part of
yourself with the people around you.
And to me, it was
just another confirmation that the God I serve is not limited to one culture or
even one religion. I serve a God who is bigger than any human restrictions or
constructions. It was a wonderful reminder.
We've rented a car and seen quite a bit of northern Scotland and the Highlands. (The Mom drove; stick shift, left-aka "wrong"-side of the road, crazy curvy and narrow roads. Good job Mom.)
We've certainly seen (and most defiantly heard) our fair share of bagpipers and their bagpipes. 
