It was awesome.

The camp really kicked off the night before with a Saturday night evening reception with inspiring words from Rick Jacobs, Torie Osborn and the incredible Cleve Jones. Jones highlighted our need to build coalitions and the need to keep fighting. I hope I get to see him speak again.

I have to admit, I did not have the highest expectations for Camp Courage when I saw the word "training". I was pleasantly surprised throughout the day as we went through trainings that were not condescending or rigid. They split us up into random groups and met new people and taught us that our biggest weapon was our own stories (which is exactly what we were trying to emphasize in our pre-election rally emphasized).

We did ice breaking activities, told our stories, heard other people's stories, learned how to recruit others, and learned how to make baby steps with the opposition. I would usually hate these activities but the way in which they were run was surprisingly empowering even though they were sometimes tough.

The lessons learned from Camp Obama are too late for prop 8, but will be an incredible resource for 2010. We went away from the day's activities refreshed, excited, and confident for the tough road ahead. I highly suggest you check out the next Camp Courage whenever it is scheduled and check out their new equality hub.