Sean Gray Remembers...

Trying to sum up what Horton Center means to you is like tryin to explain God with science. It can only truly be understood by feeling what it's like to be at Horton Center just as you can only try to understand God by letting go of your science.

I started going to Horton Center when I was 11 years old. They didn't have camp for us until we were going into fifth grade. So while my older friends in the church had gone for a couple years before I did, I had heard all sorts of stories about what to expect when I got there. So, built up with expectations and hope, my parents drove me up to the top of a mountain and dropped me off. If there is anything in life that has been better than my expectations, it would have to be Horton Center. . . and I don't say this lightly, because my expectations were quite high before I went. . .

Horton Center provides kids and adults with a feeling of self-worth. It is a safe community. People care for one another. People love one another. It doesn't matter if your hair is brown, your pants are purple, your skin is all covered with pimples. . . everybody on the mountain is accepted for who and what they are. And this is not to say that people become fake. Anger still exists on the mountain. . . feelings still get hurt. . . but in the end, people work out their differences and focus on the community in which they live as an expression of God's love. So people who spend a week on the mountain find themselves energized. . . ready to take on the world.

So I've been returning to Horton Center since that first week on the mountain. I lost touch for a while in high school, but managed to find my way back during college when I worked on the mountain. I spent 3 full summers up there with many other weeks over the years and I can't wait to return again next summer. Even if it's only for a day, I will make it back to that special place every year for the rest of my life.

Sean...

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