A Leap of Faith
By Lisa Porterfield Thompson
Haley Wood Pursues Her Faith This Summerat Brookhill’s High Point Leadership Camp
Social media, fashion, new cars, and current crushes consume most 16-year-old girls. Haley Wood is focused on goals with a more eternal value. She’s a junior at Texas High School, a swimmer, and Student Council treasurer for her class. She’s involved in Leadership, her youth group, and co-leads a small group for eighth grade girls at her church, Williams Memorial United Methodist Church.
This summer, she plans to attend High Point Leadership Camp, a program offered by Brookhill Summer Camp in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Brookhill Ranch Christian Summer Camp was established in 1964 with the purpose of reaching out to every young person with unconditional love, helping each one to realize his or her own intrinsic worth. The camp is for students who have completed third grade and through the completion of ninth grade.
Haley went for the first time the summer after her fourth grade year. “The camp itself really changed my life,” Haley said. “It’s where I was saved. It was a huge catalyst for helping me pursue my religion. It encouraged me to go deeper with my faith, and not to stay lukewarm, but to take a step further and take action.”
Haley’s experience was not unlike countless others. “Campers get to experience so many different activities and meet people different than themselves,” she explains. “It’s especially good for young girls who get a chance to express themselves emotionally and understand what it’s like to take a new step in their faith, based on the examples their counselors have set. For them, it’s a big deal because there’s not a whole lot of that going on in our everyday lives at a young age. The things I heard and learned at camp are in my mind all the time, and I’ve applied them to my life over and over again.”
After her ninth grade summer at camp, Haley applied to be a Junior Counselor. “I’d always wanted to be a counselor,” Haley said. “The camp really reinforces giving back, so I applied to be a JC. It’s not the most glamorous job. JC’s really do the grunt work. We cleaned and prepped, but we also got to interact with the campers, talk with them, develop relationships, and pray for them each night. It’s a really cool job because even though you’re worn out and tired, you still get to impact the kids, and they’re just so sweet and amazing.”
Haley seems to be wise beyond her years, realizing that putting in hard work is what is required to reap big rewards. This summer, Haley will focus on honing her leadership skills at Brookhill’s High Point Leadership Camp. “I want to gain, ultimately, a stronger sense of leadership,” Haley said. “I consider myself passionate about my faith, but I sometimes struggle with taking that extra step and being fearless and bold. I’m hoping this experience at High Point will help me know how to relate to different people and know how to navigate different situations. I don’t want to keep my faith to myself, but I want to really proclaim it. I want this aspect of my life to be the most memorable thing about me.” Nothing short of inspirational.
Haley goes on to dispel some of the common myths about summer camp. “You always think of summer camp as a place where kids get homesick, counselors are mean, and the kids are annoying, but Brookhill is nothing like that. I’ve never really seen a movie where summer camp was just great, but this camp is just different. We stay in cabins without air conditioning, and phones aren’t allowed, but I didn’t think once about being hot, and I never thought about getting on my phone at all. You’re never bored, and to top it all off, the food is amazing!”
Haley is the daughter of Marshall and Lori Wood. She has two brothers, Hudson, 13, and Heath, 11, who also go to camp.
