Campout is...
...gathering in May and June and, given the proportions (or rather the awkward imbalances) among the three groups, telling ourselves a bit bewildered: "If nobody keeps watch, we'll never pull this off."
...deciding in July that despite everything, we can go—we must go. And so we go.
...discovering, within hours, that living together twenty-four hours a day is something utterly different from parties or meetings we've known before.
...understanding that this different experience brings its own joys, its calm and peaceful moments, but also some hard ones—tiredness, tension.
...feeling, during the Eucharist, that in that moment we truly become one, and so the difficulties, the tensions, the exhaustion all ease. Our moods settle. After the closing hymn, we start again with fresh spirit, with new energy.
Campout is...
...shouting at those still asleep at 9:30 in the morning because they stayed up late singing and talking around the campfire
...doing some physical exercises
...inventing games, skits, dances; making things with our hands, with the young people bringing skill, enthusiasm, and imagination
...swimming in the lake, even though the water is freezing
...finding accessible routes with the few cars we have
...challenging each other at card games from dawn to dusk
...cleaning rooms, bathrooms, corridors (some far too long for certain tastes!)
...cooking (surprising everyone with gnocchi, baked lasagna, rice salads, vegetable soups)
...setting the table and clearing it, washing and drying towers of dishes worthy of the Leaning Tower, with the precision of an assembly line
...singing, singing, and singing some more
Campout is...
...discovering that many young people—especially those from other groups we barely knew—have hidden qualities that emerge only in the dailiness of being together, in patient listening, in the naturalness of sharing our feelings with one another
...finding moments to pause and think about things that matter for each person's growth
...watching the clock for Pierangelo's unexpected arrivals in his packed van full of...young people, friends, visiting parents. And seeing friends come and go who steal days away from exam prep, or who leave the office Friday evening not to miss an hour of our weekends at Maderno
...perhaps having given, and certainly having received something from the young people, parents, and leaders of other groups outside Fede e Luce, whom we had the chance to know and spend time with
...not noticing how fast the days pass, and when a session ends, those who leave go with such longing, with the clear wish to return next year—and maybe a tear or two slips out (well, maybe more than one!)
Campout is...
...getting back together in September and thinking, "Someone up there really does love us!"