As a great theologian once said, “It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.” From time to time iGosians have been forced to say goodbye to a Base Camp location. DBU had an uneventful run. So did the LaQuinta next to Lake Pointe Church. However, our tenure at Camp Lake Lavon (AKA Lake Lavon Baptist Camp) has been our longest run yet. We finished up our last scheduled event there yesterday as this year’s Leader Retreat came to a close. That’s right, iGosians. We will not be at Camp Lake Lavon this summer. As you absorb this shocking news, we offer you this Farewell to Lavon .

So long Camp Lake Lavon. We will miss you. We will miss your unique ability to simulate third world country living conditions complete with dilapidated buildings, faulty plumbing, and the need for mosquito nets in the hotel rooms. We will miss the exclusive smell you possess. After being away for months at a time, there is nothing that can compare to walking in to the chapel and breathing in deeply. If only we could bottle this and sell it as Musk de Lavonia, we could give a whole new meaning to the words, “Eau de Toilette.”

Hasta la vista Conference Center, used for adults only and the occasional non-stop quincieanera for “obvious reasons.” What will we do without your perfect temperature in the foyer while the main auditorium maintains at 85 throughout the summer? So many lives were ruined and T-shirts were sold in this building despite the carpet, baseboard molding, and overflowing toilets.  And goodbye Cafe. Your foundation was meant to be a skate park, or at least an illustration for Ky’s sermon from Matthew 7. And we will of course miss the food. Your culture meals were perfectly iGosian. The rest of your meals were great too, and a constant clue that your favorite color was yellow.

The memories we made with you are never ending. Our very own Jay Roberts first caught the eye of his future wife Erin by building a bonfire down by the shore. Speaking of burning, iGosian hallways will always echo with the words of an iGosian girl, “Um….our dorm is on fire?!?” It turns out that was not on the official Base Camp agenda even though wannabe arsonist AC was in charge. And who could forget the attack by Fart Sherman on the defenseless air conditioner in The Cottage? The air conditioner, to it’s credit, attempted to soil itself during the attack to discourage the assailant. Well played for sure.

We will never forget our beloved golf carts or the reaction by the CLL director when Justin Cofield did a donut in Old Red in front of the CLL office. His laughter led us to drive those carts (Old Red, The Limo, and Greenie) as if they could not be broken. I’m pretty sure it was Old Red that caused Ky to throw up that one iGosian summer night. We would apologize for how Jimmy drove the carts over the years, but we know it doesn’t matter, so we won’t.

We will surely miss staff swim nights, spider crickets, the roar of the lions, the fox with the rat, wasps, weed beds, and the looks of exultation on the faces of shuttle bus drivers when they actually arrived at the camp for airport departures. We don’t know what we will do without the handle-less “new” refrigerator in Hunt, skating in the Cave, the never ending heat, Cephas and the rest of his RV-living family, paneled walls, and the omni-present Skip (who knew a good thing when he found it in 82 and never left).

So for now, we move on to greener pastures. Well, maybe not greener pastures but at least ones that use weed eaters. Farewell Camp Lake Lavon. We are thankful for the memories.

Please hit that comment button and share with us your favorite memories from Camp Lake Lavon. We know we forgot to mention a bunch.