For years, Kristin was a full-time mom and part-time nurse at the hospital. She had spent every summer with her family on vacations to the beach. Her focus and energy went towards being a mom and raising her family. All she wanted to do was be a mom. Inevitably, as time went by her children grew up and left home and she was left feeling like an “empty nester”. Suddenly, with things shifted at home, she decided to start looking for something to make her empty nest a little fuller again. Kristin found a newspaper advertisement for the camp nurse position back in 2019, and her husband encouraged her to reach out. She knew Camp Asbury’s assistant director at the time through her daughter, so Kristin reached out and started talking about what would go into being a camp nurse.
With everything sounding well within her wheelhouse Kristin decided to take the job. When she started working at camp, she not only assumed the role of camp nurse off the bat but “mom” to every staff member and camper as well, “these kids help me more than I help them, I always loved being a mom and this job is more like being a mom than a nurse.” Campers and staff members all look at Kristin like a motherly figure, everyone talks to her and asks her for advice. Kristin was even given the “Camp Mom” award this year because of how much she encourages all campers and staff members, helping everyone through the weeks of camp.
Through working at camp, Kristin found friendships and made connections that she had not expected, “I have made connections with the ladies in the kitchen, they have taught me so much and shown me what it’s like to have faith.” Her friendships here have led her to being a part of a weekly Bible study with these ladies, and a solid support system as she has navigated this life change now that her children have grown up.
For Kristin the people are what makes camp a special place, “they are all so welcoming, open and loving, even when we are not the same age, and of course the campers, they’re the greatest.” She recognizes that camp has its ups and downs, as does any job “but even after everything that happens, it is all still so positive.” Kristin loves the community built at Camp Asbury because she knows that everyone is welcome and has a place here to make connections with God, others and themselves.
Returning to Camp Asbury every summer is a given for Kristin. Every summer season represents a series of opportunities for her, “camp grows every year in me. I see different things and feel different things, like making new connections with the staff and campers every year.” One of Kristin’s favorite things to see is the campers who continue to return year after year, but she also loves meeting all the new campers. She feels like camp is ever changing with new people and feels that she would be at Camp Asbury full-time, all the time if she could.
