Dec. 10, 2014

By Samantha Bashaw
Student, Seton Catholic Central, Plattsburgh

I have been going to Camp Guggenheim for seven years. Most people at our school may not even consider its original name of Guggenheim, but instead refer to it as “Jesus Camp,” a perfectly acceptable term in my opinion. However, there have been some common myths circulating about this place, and questions as to why, over decades, hundreds of people from all across the country travel to Saranac Lake to experience something they can’t get anywhere else.

Yes, you go to Mass every day. Yes, you have confession during the week. Yes, you sing songs out of canticles. Yes you have all these so called “boring” things of the Church, but at Guggenheim you see what they really mean. You aren’t in an echo filled, gray stone church, but at a place where it is acceptable to wear sweatpants to Mass.

You are surrounded by teenagers who love Jesus with a passion, which you may not have known existed.
On Wednesdays (you can even wear pink if you want to), the Reconciliation service is done with such power and emotion that you walk away from the priest a different person.

I have had a personal experience with confession at Guggenheim that left me wanting to be a part of God more than ever, realizing where in my life I was missing Him.

The songs at Guggenheim are unlike any standard “church” song you have heard before. We are encouraged to sing until we can literally sing no more, praising God with the harmony we make together, knowing that singing is really praying twice.

Now while Guggenheim is centered around God and Jesus (who is awesome, by the way), it’s not everything the camp ensures. Major mountain hikes, daily swims in the lake, canoeing to mini islands, “Olympics”, a bonfire, volleyball tournaments, and even a full blown, fist pounding dance are all incorporated in the real Guggenheim experience. I’ve made friends there that could easily last a lifetime. I’ve been more myself to complete strangers there than I have with some people I’ve known for years. It is my home, my safe haven, my ideal vacation spot, and I could not imagine a life without it.

Guggenheim has made me into the person I am today, and I don’t know if I could ever express in words to you how much this place means to me and how it is so much more than some strict Catholic camp where we listen to scripture readings all day, because it is nothing like that.

My faith has gone from somewhat there, to an indescribable love for God and for my faith that words can’t embody. It comes from within ourselves, where we humans can not physically or even emotionally reach, but where God can reach alone.

To some of you I might sound crazy. How could something that is so out of this world have such an effect on you? Do you even know He really exists? Does He even care about you? The answers are simple, but not so simple for the individual mind to discover on its own, and that is why a place like Guggenheim exists. Where “crazy” is the norm and Jesus isn’t a topic that is avoided.

Guggenheim has left its mark on my life, one of late nights eating Twizzlers and drinking soda, of scary stories that I still have to cover my ears to (even if I know what the ending will be), and especially of the love God has for me, and yes, even for you.

Samantha Bashaw of Plattsburgh, right, writes about her experiences at Camp Guggenheim in Saranac Lake. She is shown above with three friends during Leadership Weekend held at Guggenheim in October. From left are Maddy Slater of Colton,  Nathalie Munn, Saranac Lake; and Abigail St. Louis, Peru.