Canyon Chronicles

“I HAVE TO GO FOR TWO WEEKS NEXT TIME!” declared Jack Cienski, an attendee with Laity Lodge Youth Camp’s Jam Session, a one-week camp that caps each summer.

In 2023, LLYC welcomed 363 first-time youth campers. One of those was 10-year-old Jack, who didn’t seem to have any problems saying bye to Mom and Dad as they dropped him off at Singing Hills.

“He was so excited. He could not get away from me fast enough,” joked Jack’s mom, Jordan Cienski. “There’s a point where that hurts a little, but at the same time it makes me so happy. I want him to want to be there, and to know that he’s safe and cared for.”

Jack is the oldest of her three children and was thrilled to spend so much time with kids his age. He also loved the group games and hanging out with his counselors.

Relationships with counselors are key to the LLYC experience. Last year, over 90% of campers reported feeling a deep connection with their counselor and feeling like their counselors liked them.

“I was really grateful for him to have good male role models,” Jordan said. “Most of his teachers are women, so it’s so nice for him to have these good, strong male influences in his life.”

Jordan’s long history with the Canyon started as a Singing Hills camper at the age of 12. As more summers went by, she joined work crew, became a counselor, and in 2007 became an intern.

Her entire family experienced camp firsthand through Laity Lodge Family Camp, which served 581 families in 2023. “My husband did not grow up going to camp,” said Jordan. “So, when I took him out there for the first time, he thought it was the coolest place ever.”

Jordan’s two youngest children, Ford and Ava, loved the games and camp food. For them, the pinnacle of camp was sleeping in bunk beds together. And Jack was able to show off his new insider knowledge of the Canyon to his younger siblings.

“He would tell us, ‘This is fun, but at youth camp we did it this way,’” Jordan laughed. “We had to let him have his moment. It was very cute.”

Jordan, a self-proclaimed crier, admitted to getting a bit emotional bringing her family into the Canyon, given the impact the Foundation and LLYC have had on her own faith journey.

“I went to church when I was a kid, but it was a very strict church. Everyone had to look a certain way, behave a certain way. I feel like, prior to being in the Canyon, faith for me was more a set of rules and making sure I appeased everyone around me,” said Jordan.

“I distinctly remember my first summer at camp learning that it’s OK to be silly and be myself. I didn’t need to fit a certain mold. It was the first time I understood God’s genuine love for who he created me to be.”

Jordan appreciates that she can now share that experience with the next generation. “Hopefully, there’s a deep faith instilled in my kids like I had. It’s amazing to see that legacy continue.” This is important to us too, so we were thrilled when 94% of campers said they grew in their faith or learned something about faith or God last year.

Jordan says she’s grateful to see that the Foundation knows “the impact that community can make.” As a San Antonio native, she has a special interest in learning about the Foundation’s programs outside of the Canyon as well—programs like Know Your Neighbor, which includes Shared Table events where people from different parts of town share their stories over a meal.

“I love the idea of getting to just sit down and hear people’s stories—to know who is around you and what they need,” Jordan said.

“This is what growing the Kingdom looks like. It’s such personal work, getting in people’s lives and learning who they are and spending time with them.”