NBC (not to be confused with the television network)

You could say two of the most important events in my life took place at NBC camps. NBC is short for Northwest Basketball Camps and is the largest overnight basketball camp in the world. My husband first attended NBC at nine years old as camper and from camper to coach to site director, he has not missed one summer since. Roger runs the Auburn, Washington site and as of this week, camp is again in full swing. It's a Sunday-Thursday overnight camp for campers aged 9-18 and Rog runs four weeks at his site.

I went to my first NBC camp when I was 14 and obsessed with basketball. I went every summer through high school, at which point I got hired as a coach at you guessed it, the Auburn site, by you guessed who, Roger.

But before the boy-meets-girl story happened, another meeting took place.

All week, I couldn't help but notice something different in my coaches. I wouldn't have been able to verbalize what was different besides saying it was something I wanted that I didn't have. I had never seen such genuine joy, joy despite circumstances.

Driving to LaGrande, Oregon, I had no idea that NBC was a Christian basketball camp, or that the gospel would be shared with all the campers. I just wanted to play hoops. Like in this instance, so much of my testimony consists of God pursuing me, placing people and circumstances in my life to draw me to Him — definitely not the other way around! On that last night of camp, after a week of being loved and encouraged by my coaches, my heart was soft and ready to meet this Jesus. I accepted Him into my life, confessed that I was a sinner, and allowed Him to make me white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

Four years later, after graduation, I was hired to work as a coach at the newly-opened Auburn site. From the start, I had a gigantic, embarassing crush on this Roger guy (along with half the female coaches). Luckily, it turns out he had a crush on me as well! Next month, we will celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary:


So as much as we miss Daddy when he's at camp, I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else. NBC is a basketball camp, but injuries happen and kids get cut from the team. What lasts is a relationship with Jesus and learning to serve and love one another.