Pre-Teen 3 - Wednesday

What a beautiful start to a new day! Our early morning exercises were completed as the sun made its way into the sky. There was much planned for the day including a scavenger hunt around camp and many other surprises! Our speaker, Mr. Nate, continued his thoughts on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, and spent some time talking about 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy'. We thought a lot about what mercy is and how we have received mercy from the Lord, even though we didn't deserve it. As believers, we have received mercy and should now demonstrate that mercy to others. 

It is great to see groups of campers and counselors meeting at different points around camp to talk about the lessons and to just ask questions. Some very interesting discussions come from some of these informal times! But there is still plenty of time for activities and fun. The horses are always a great favorite, but the warm weather often takes people to the pool or lake as well! The craft cabin is a great place to cool down, make new friends and work on your projects at the same time!

There was a lot of time for activity until the rain came again and stopped the outdoor fun. We quickly moved inside and the fun and the rain continued!  Our evening consisted our a steady downpour outside but great fellowship and great teaching inside about the blessings that come to the pure of heart, who are promised they will see God. What a promise! We look forward to another great day of fun and ministry!

Pre-Teen 3 - Tuesday

Tuesday began shrouded in fog, but the mist soon lifted leaving us with a beautiful sunny day! The campers start with flag raising and breakfast and then straight to chapel to hear the next exciting installment with Uncle Nate, who had brought his special friend, Ricky the Red-Neck Rat to help him explain the lesson!

Counselors try to find time to meet with their cabins throughout the day as they work on projects set by our directors and speaker! They also try to re-inforce the thoughts and lessons from chapel. Today's lesson was on the mis-understood meaning of meekness. It doesn't mean weakness but restrained strength! 

Tonight we will continue our thoughts from the Beattitudes taught by the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. In the meantime, there is a lot to keep our campers busy across the campground. As the day heated up the pool was also opened to play a game of water volleyball, while others played soccer or basketball.

More to come tomorrow....!

Pre-Teen 3 - Monday

The week got off to a great start with a Sunday evening meeting that introduced our directors Gary Foster and his assistant Jorge Wong. We also met our speaker, Mr. Nate Thomas and his cast of puppet characters! The theme for the week is the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount so we are sure to see many bees! The campers were broken into sports teams and each had to make their own team flag.

Nate also began our early morning counselor meeting with some thoughts from Colossians 1, encouraging each of us to 'walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing God, fruitful in every good work." Later in the morning we were introduced to some of Nate's characters that will help understand our lessons for the week found in Matthew 5.

Many of our favorite activities including the waterfront and archery were opened for the campers.

Pre-Teen 2 - Friday

It is hard to be believe that we are already at the end of the week. As the weeks activities and lessons draw to a close it is a good time to reflect on the highlights of camp. Our campers have enjoyed the games and activities including horse riding, canoeing, archery, climbing tower ropes and riflery. Many have made crafts to take home and everyone has made friends they will stay in touch with for a long time. One of the highlights of Friday is Princess Pambo's Pizza Palace!

But at the heart of everything we do is the message of salvation offered to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our lessons in the life of Esther this week have very dramatically demonstrated our God directs the hearts of men and women who have a desire to serve Him. We have seen lives changed this week and our prayer is that we will each continue to allow God to lead us in the future as we seek to follow Him.

Pre-Teen 2 - Thursday

Our day began with polka music sounding across the valley and accompanied the morning exercises! There was some concern that the day would be rainy and most of the activities were planned for outside. But it turned out to be a beautiful day at camp and the hunt for golden potatoes started with great enthusiasm. This was a team event with extra points for the teams that were able to find and bring back a golden painted potato! Teams also participated in beach ball sports and got wet in the process! It was good for our campers to see some of the directors humbly serve in other positions during camp as well.

Children of staff members have been in bunny camp all week and have been kept busy throughout the day by watchful moms. They have collected crayfish and prawns in the creek and even went on a very slow hay ride around camp! The picture is a carefully staged photo op as we do not normally allow this many people on a golf cart!

One of the highlights of the day was the baptism of Matt Girdner by Keith Adler. It was a wonderful testimony to our campers and staff of the Lord's working in the life of a young man. Matt publicly declared his faith in the Lord to those who had gathered to watch the baptism and showed by his baptism that he wanted to identify with the Lord Jesus Christ, committing himself to faithfully serve our Savior!

Pre-Teen 2 - Wednesday

Blue Day! Campers were encouraged to dress in blue and were judged on the most creative use of the color. Some even dressed their team potatoes in blue! We have talked about judging on outward appearances so potatoes have been a theme through the week. Ugly on the outside but tasty in every other form! We also had potato races, but with a twist. Teams had to run to the of end of the field carrying a potato, but without using their hands! We had potatoes carried in mouths, under arms and even being balanced! Once they reached the end they were to carry handfuls of mashed potatoes back to their team! Messy but great fun!

Our chapel activities included discussion on the persecution of people who were not like us. Chuck Gianotti talked about the hatred that the Jews experienced during the time of Esther, and encouraged us to examine our own hearts. The evening chapel, led by Bill Wendlandt,  ended up around the campfire where a number of counselors shared their testimonies of how the Lord had changed their lives and continues to help them to grow today.

The archery range was open today and many got to experience a bow and arrow for the first time, under trained supervision. The lake and pool continued to be popular places for campers and staff!

Pre-Teen 2 - Tuesday

The climbing tower opened today and many were eager to make an attempt at the rock wall. Our trained staff are there to assist and ensure that everyone has a safe and happy climb! The craft cabin is always a hive of activity and the individual craft projects are coming together well, with some of them starting to resemble a finished product! The lake and pool continue to be some of the most popular activities at camp. There was even an organized pool volleyball game that was very competitive.

Our Bible lessons in the life of Esther focused on the unfairness of life and the fact that many evil people seem to prosper while others suffer. We can draw lessons from that even today and remember that God is love and it is man who has disobeyed. Our evening chapel led by Wes Gregory talked about the courage using the life of Esther. Courage is not a lack of fear, but doing the right thing in spite of your fears! There were many other examples in the Bible as well, including David facing Goliath, the three friends thrown into the furnace and Joseph who was sold into slavery but still committed himself to serving God.

Our greatest example is the Lord Jesus Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice and stood in our place so that we could be saved. We serve a great God who gives us courage!

Pre-Teen 2 Monday

Rain had fallen in the night and the air was cool as the campers began their day with morning exercises and flag raising. Their first activity of the day was face-painting their counselors! The day soon warmed up following breakfast with chapel and a valuable lesson from the life of Esther about making judgements on outward appearances.  

After team sports and lunch, some went horse-riding, while others canoed, swam or worked on their crafts. The evening chapel focused on the character of Esther and highlighted her humility, her teachable spirit and her inner beauty. Our speaker Chuck Gianotti made sme wonderful and practical applications for each of us to follow as we continue to become the people that God wants us to be!

Pre-teen 2 - Sunday

We were excited to see cars, vans and trucks filled with chattering children eagerly seeking out old friends. There were also many, many first time campers who arrived, some a little apprehensive but looking forward to the week ahead. Registration went smoothly and quickly throughout the afternoon, followed by swim tests and orientation for those riding horses this week.

After an early dinner and an introduction to our Achievement program, we went straight to chapel where our Camp Director, Duane Girdner talked about what to expect this week. He called on the campers and staff to respect and serve one another to make it a happy week for all. Our theme this week is Esther – the Beauty of God’s Timing. We are looking forward to hearing how God can work in our lives too!

Pre-Teen 1 - Tuesday

Tuesday started with the Polar swim, a camp tradition for many years where the bravest of campers volunteer to get swim in a pool packed with icebergs! They really did volunteer! Much of the rest of the day is spent at the lake and pool trying to keep cool!

The story of Esther continues… The former queen Vashti has been banished from the kingdom. King Ahasuerus is counseled by his wise men to hold a beauty contest to find the new queen. Although not convinced, the king issues a new proclamation and beauty and talent competition is launched to find the most beautiful girl in all the land. This gives our speaker a great opportunity to talk about inward beauty and being less concerned with what the outside looks like and more concerned with our heart. God looks on the heart! The evening ended with a wedding feast where the chosen queen Esther is a wonderful combination of a beautiful woman whose heart is right with God. What lies in store next?

Pre-Teen 1 Monday

The days start early with cabin clean up, followed by the morning exercises, the raising of the flags and breakfast! We continued with our lessons in the life of Esther and learned of the banishing of Queen Vashti. It was a bad decision but one that God was able to use for good. More exciting developments will follow.

The main camp program begins this week with the introduction of fishing, canoeing and riflery. The craft cabin is also open with opportunities to make a special project to take home on Saturday. During the day, the campers were able to enjoy using the zipline across the lake to the island. I saw more than a few counselors doing it too! Canoing and fishing were especially popular but I think our new soft-serve ice cream machine might be the popular attaction of all!

The horses began their trail rides today and the riders enjoyed the cool and refreshing trails through the woods. We briefly took shelter from the rain but soon returned to the afternoon activities before enjoying dinner and then chapel. Our speaker, Mr. Art continued his lessons on Esther by talking about sin and bad choices.

Pre-teen 1 Sunday evening

Registration is always a busy time, but this year we had some extra visitors. King Ahasuerus arrived by horse to wander the grounds of the ancient city of “Shusan”. Servants were on hand to provide cookies and smiles to all those who were registering!

Following camp registration, everyone was assigned to their cabins and met their counselors for the first time. New friends and great fun! After supper, we moved straight to our achievement programs for lessons in first aid, backpacking, archery, water safety, knot tying and many more. We then headed to chapel to find out about King Ahasuerus and our program for the week.

Our speaker, Art Manning, introduced us to the story of Esther, using a chalk and blacklight drawing to talk about Pride and Humility! He also introduced us to one of our verses of the week: 2 Chronicles 20:9. “If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.” More to follow tomorrow...