Thursday Junior High 3: Refrigerator

The day started out beautiful as most days do here at camp. The campers said the pledge while the flag was being raised and then went to breakfast and enjoyed breakfast sandwitches. Once the cabins were clean the camp headed to ampichapel (Chapel outside in the ampitheatre). They had a blast singing songs like Be Bold, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, and Every Move. During the skits captain Wood in' Eye had a dream sequence where the Hairy Fairy came to visit and Nemsis, coming up out of the water, chased Wood in' Eye away. Personal devotions and then skill time filled the rest of the morning. Lunch of hotdogs and tuna salad was served, and then the kids went to have some k-bar time in their cabins. Halfway through k-bar it started raining. The game was moved to the gym, and we played some pin guard, and then, since it continued raining we had alternative free time options, since anything to do with water as well as the tower couldn't open. So, instead, we had the tower inside fireside, and options like charades, pictionary, and spoons available for the kids. Despite the fact that some of the normal free time options were closed, the kids still had a blast during free time. Dinner was lasanga, and during dinner the rain finally stopped. The mail call game for the night was Zooma, which the campers enjoyed because they got to test their knoweldge of camp activites. Skit prep time was after dinner and then chapel followed. Chapel was a blast tonight with fun songs, going through all of the verses that we've learned, and a wonderful staff testimony. After the offering song, which was One Tin Soldier (To the delight of many) the speaker came up. Since the theme for the day is removing the patch, he spoke the the campers about identity. He reminded them that we are Gods, we are his finest artwork, and he loves us so much. He then spoke of how when we were younger our parents would put all of our artwork on the refrigerator, because that is where all of the best artwork goes. So the campers made a refrigerator. Each one had a piece of paper that they could draw or write somehting on to symbolize their identity in christ, and then they put it up on the 'refrigerator' that was made. And what a sight it was, as each camper found worth in who they were and the fact that we are God's prized possession. Pirate patrol was the evening game followed by the drama. Which furthered their understanding of their identity in Christ through learning about God and his attributes (such as love) that contribute to who he made us to be.

Wednesday Junior High 3: Love

Awake and refreshed from the good night's sleep the campers headed to the flag pole for the pledge of alligance and flag raising. Breakfast burriots was served, and then the campers headed off to clean up their slighlty disorganized cabins. From there they headed to morning chapel to catch up with the skit caracters, and then spent some time alone with God in personal devotions. Cabin time was the final activity of the morning. The campers had a blast participating in different activities around camp with their cabins. Lunch was served at the beach with the life guard pirates running let in. This week there was a Captain, a deck hand, a crocidle, and a two headed lady aboard the life guard pirate ship. After eating hamburgers, chips and carrots the campers headed back to their cabins for K-Bar. At 2:00 the bell rang and the campers excitedly headed to the beach for the beach bash. After the introduction the camp was split in two and half went to the ball field to play beach bash style dodgeball, and the other half stayed at the beach and participated in activities such as tug o war in the water. After the beach bash all of the campers had been cooled down and they got to head out to whatever free time activity they wanted. When free time had ended the campers headed to the dinning hall where we had indoors let in so that the campers and staff wouldn't have to sit out in the hot sun. During mail call we had Egg Man come and visit again, and then the cabins had their first skit prep time. The campers got together and began to come up with ideas for the skit that they are going to perform for the camp at the end of the week. Fugitive was the evening game, which was just wonderful. The campers caught some very interesting characters this time, including Tinker Bell, an infomercial, and abandoned prom dates. Chapel was the final activity of the evening. Worship was hot again, but even more so, very powerful as the kids praised God with everything inside of them. After the verses and the staff testimony the speaker came up. He spoke of love and the unconditional love that God continually showers upon us. He also told us of the fact that God cannot force us to love him, which in itself can be seen as an act of love. The speaker ended with the fact that there is nothing we could do to make God love us any less, and that is why he shed his blood to save us. Then, he offered the opportunity for people to commit their lives to Christ, or to recommit. The chapel was silent, and the Holy Spirit moved around the room and touched hearts and changed lives.

Tuesday Junior High 3: Significance

Despite the continuing heat it was a beautiful day at camp. Breakfast gave the kids the energy they would need for the morning. Once their cabins were cleaned they went to chapel. Morning chapel, which is always high energy, included some fun action/jumping songs, the bible verse for the day, and then the skits, where there was danger on the high seas for more n' more, leg up and captn wood in eye. Skill time was after personal devotions, and the campers headed to many different activities, such as juggling and muscle building, for the rest of the afternoon. A chicken strip, french fries, and veggie lunch and then k-bar afterwards replenished their energy supply for the afternoon. The big game was Whip n' Strip. Despite the heat the campers had a blast, while staying hydrated with periodic water breaks. Free time took up the rest of the afternoon. The beach was busy for the first half, and once kids had cooled off they continued to the other fun activities that camp has to offer. Dinner was served and was followed by mail call, which tonight was ultimate team pictionary. Cabin time was next and continued the important cabin bonding that the cabins had been building for the past day. Chapel was next and after some fun singing of quality chapel songs and the review of the verses a staff member gave her testimony. She spoke of how all faith stories are significant, no matter how or when you came to be a Christian, that each person's faith is significant. The speaker spoke of significance as well, but in a very different light, he spoke of it in the significance of our little poor decisions that can tangle a web of sin, ending with the hope and promise that God can break that web down. The final activity of the evening was Sneekers, where the campers had to 'sneek' to different parts of camp to find the signer and then bring their signed free card back to home base without getting caught by a shiner. It was intense, but the kids enjoyed it as a good end to a blessed day.

Monday Junior High 3: Names

It was a hot start to Junior High 3. The campers arrived and enjoyed a sloppy joe lunch and some good first day conversation, including learning eachother's names, around the lunch table. Once they had headed back to their cabins and gotten settled in a bit the siren was pulled and they all ran up to fireside lawn for the camp picture, rules, and a reminder to stay very hydrated this week. The Orientation then began. The boys headed off to the Low Ropes Course and the girls began their orientation rotation. Once the girls had finished the hay ride, nurses' check and swim test, they switched with the boys. The Swim test was a cool refreshing time for the campers on this hot day. Mashed potatoes for dinner and then cabin time. The campers got to hang out with eachother and begin building bonds through encouragement, laughter and team work at whatever their cabin participated in. Chapel followed and it was a full night. Worship, staff song, (Which is sung to A Whole New World), skits, Staff testimony, offering and then the speaker. The Speaker gave his introduction and then spoke to us about how the names of God tell us of his attributes. For instance Jehovah Jireah, my provider, or Jehovah Shalom, God of Peace. Girls vs. Boys Capture the duck closed out the day and the campers headed off to bed to get some rest for the week that lays ahead.

Friday Trailblazers 2: Tube Mania

The campers started out the day with a greeting from their counselors and a yummy breakfast of breakfast sandwitches. Once they had gone and cleaned up their cabins they went to morning chapel for some joyful singing and to continue hearing the story of wood in' eye. He and his crew found the treasure today...and have to make a decision before tomorrow as to which treasure they want, the treasure of the king, or the treasure of the nemesis. The campers then went and explored the theme of today, exploring the island, in their personal devotions. The last activity for the morning was skill time, which the kids were very excited about. Lunch was followed by K-Bar, and then a very muddy game of tube mania! This is truly a game loved by many. Free time filled the next 2 hours as the campers were everywhere trying to get one last chance to participate in all of the fun activities of camp. Once the campers had enjoyed their free time and the dinner bell rung they headed to The Dinning hall for their final camp dinner. Most kids were very excited about this meal, Italian Dunkers...aka Cheesy bread with noodles and sauce. The entertainment for the night was the Staff Skit/Improv show. Laughter was heard by all as the staff performed whose line improve style games such as house party, and Movie Clips, and skits such as Movie Theatre and The Dating Game. All in good spirits and energized from the laughter they just experienced the campers headed to chapel and had a blast jumping and singing to the worship songs. After going through all the verses, taking offering and hearing a staff member give his testimony the campers listened to the speaker who told us about how we need to love our neighbour and that our neighbour doesn't only mean the person that we live next to...it means everyone that we come in contact with. The end of the week bonfire was the final event of the evening, and it was great to hear all of the things that the kids learned about this week as they grew in their friendships with eachother, their courage in doing things they didn't think they could do, and most importantly, their faith.

Thursday Trailblazers 2: Forever

The morning started out as a typical morning. The kids woke up pumped for the day and after raising the flag went to breakfast which consisted of breakfast dogs! A very popular breakfast among many. After cabin clean up was chapel which was held outside at the ampitheatre today. The singing was so much fun and heard through all of camp. Captain Wood in' Eye had a dream sequence during the skits today in which the Hairy Fairy came and helped Wood in Eye on his quest for the treasure of the Isla de Vida. After Personal devotions the cabins participated in the final cabin time of the week. Which was so different from the first cabin time of the week beause the cabins have come together now and know eachother, so they just have a blast hanging out with eachother and talking about things that have happened so far this week. After lunch and K-bar the big game was Pirate safari. The campers had to run around camp and catch animals/creatures such as mermaids, parrots, and Monkeys, while avoiding pirates. Free time was much welcomed after the game. The beach was busy since it was a warm day here at camp. Dinner, consisting of macaroni and hot dogs, was followed by mail call where the campers played a game called Zooma. Chapel was right after mail call. It was a fun chapel what with the singing, and the verses and the staff member giving their testimony. The speaker shared the three F's with us. Forgiven, Free, and Forever. If you put them together, through Christ we are forgiven and free forever. After the evening game which was pirate patrol, was the drama, comparing attributes of God to water. For instance, Water, like God, is essential to us.

Wednesday Trailblazers 2: Fire

Well the day started off in typical camp fashion. The bell rung and the campers filed out of their cabins and to the flag pole for flag raising and then proceeded to Oak Ridge for morning let in! Their bellies were filled and energized with waffles (strawberries optional) and a cereal of their choosing. The campers, after making their cabins spotless, headed to morning chapel. They sang some fun songs, learned a new verse and caught up with the goings on of the pirates in the skit. Skill time followed personal devotions. It was a perfect day of all of the ranges of skill classes from archery or tye dying, to sailing or frisbee golf. Lunch was served at the beach and let in was performed by the pirate lifeguards. All of the campers enjoyed eating their hamburgers picnic style with their cabins. K-Bar allowed the campers to rest up for the beach bash! Splitting up boys and girls between the beach and the ballfield, all of the campers got to enjoy activities such as tug of war and dodgeball with wet sponges instead of balls, it was the beach bash after all, we couldn't let them stay too dry. Free time followed, and again the beach was very busy because it was a hot day. Of course all of the other activites at camp were busy as well. Dinner was chicken and mashed potatoes whis was quite delicious and gobbled up by all. Find the Fire was the evening game and was played right after dinner. The campers had to run around camp to different fires and find out which fire was the 'real' fire to get beads and earn points for their cabin. Chapel was the final event of the evening, and the speaker shared salvation with the campers and gave them the option to accept Jesus Christ into their lives. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully in chapel last night. The campers then went off to do cabin devotions and then to sleep to replenish their energy for the next day.

Tuesday Trailblazers 2:

It was a beautiful day here a covenant pines, warm, but beautiful. The campers woke up and headed to the flag pole for flag raising and pldege of alligence. For breakfast they ate Cinnamon Swirl french toast. And then headed off to clean up their cabins so that they could hopefully earn some cabin points. Chapel was very energetic this morning with songs like Pharaoh Pharaoh and Your Love is Amazing. After the skits, where the characters really did experience danger on the high seas, the campers went to take some time alone with God. Skills class was the last event of the morning, and the campers enjoyed very much learning new things and discovering their talents and abilities that God gave them. Lunch was eat with your cabin pal! So all of the cabins got to know their cabin pal a little bit more over a yummy corn dog lunch. Once the campers had rested during K-Bar they were ready for the big game of the day: Whip n' Strip! The excitement was so fun as they got their paint on their faces and played their hardest. Free time was for the remainder of the afternoon. The beach was pretty busy the whole day, since it was a warm one. But of corse the craft hall and climbing wall was also very busy as well, with campers enjoying all of the different things they love to do. Dinner, of tater tot hot dish, was followed by cabin time...where the cabins got to participate in a fun activity and got to share stories of the day with eachother. Chapel was next and the heat inside the chapel didn't stop the kids from singing praise to God at the top of their lungs, what a beautiful sound. The final activity of the evening was Fugitive. It was one crazy game. With people like peter pan and windy floating around, as well as coco puffs, captain cruch, and oatmeal, and a surfer the kids had a blast capturing the fugitivies and using their imaginations to figure out who the character was as they brought them back to jail. Bed time was next and the day ended blessed by God.

Monday Trailblazers 2: Loud Voices

What an awesome first day, and what a great group of campers. Arriving at about 12:40 the campers were greeted on the staff members on the bus, and then they were greeted by the rest of the staff members on the playground where the introductions were held. The cmpers got split into their cabins and headed off for their sloppy jo lunch. At 2:10 the siren was pulled and all of the campers and staff ran to fireside lawn for some rules and a camp picture. Then the first day orientation rotation. The boys started out at the beach/hayride/nurses' check, and the girls started out at the ropes course then switch. Dinner followed, a mashed potato and gravy dinner, and then mail call where Egg Man's sister's visited, and had raw egg night. Only one egg was boiled...to the surprise of all. Cabin time followed, which provided an important opportunity for the cabins to grow closer together at the beginning of the week, and then chapel. Chapel was wonderful, for the first time the summer, the campers were heard above the sound system, and what an incredible thing, hearing the voices of these campers rising to GOd in praise. The speaker told the campers about some of the attributes of God to start off the week, and then challanged them to think about which one was their favorite. The last activity of the evening was capture the duck which the campers were estatic about! THe boys won the first round and nobody one the second round, but both rounds were enjoyed by all! Then off to cabins for devos and to bed for a good night's sleep.

Saturday Junior High 2: Pink Hair and Wet Staff

There was a lot going on this final day of Junior High 2. The campers woke up and went to a breakfast that was coffee cake, scrambled eggs, and cereal/oatmeal. After cabin clean up/pack up they went to chapel where the cream of the crop favorite camp songs were sung and the missionaries gave their final word, the skits were wrapped up and the pirates chose to not take nemesis' gold but to instead search for the king, and the speaker gave his final word. He told us about how God can use any of us to make a difference and to take heart and courage in that. Then it was throw staff members in the lake time. Three staff members were sceduled to go in, but an unexpected forth got thrown in as well, to the delight of all, including the unexpecting staff member. Once all of the cabins were checked out they headed to lunch where two of the staff members showed off their pink hair which they dyed because the campers raised over 1400 dollars for offering this week. After watching a video, the campers headed to fireside lounge. We prayed for safety and then wished the campers farewell, and they headed home.