Question: What is a great way to spend a week?
Answer: CLC YOUTH CAMP!
Thursday dawned but the sun didn't really follow suit. It was a 'long pants and sweatshirt' kind of day, but even though morning calisthenics was in the gym, the rain let up enough for us to have our normal outdoor activities in the morning.
Breakfast this morning was a great egg and sausage/bacon dish, with coffee cake, cereal, fresh strawberries and oranges. Does it seem to any one besides me that our kids probably get more fresh fruit and veggies at camp than they typically do at home? Thanks to a generous donation by the Gamble family, the kids have numerous options at each meal. It is not surprising to see them loading their trays with a colorful variety. We have been going through about 16 pounds of fresh strawberries each breakfast! If you could see the beautiful colored peppers they scarf down at lunch and supper, you would all probably be jealous.
Anyway - the schedule followed the normal pattern this morning, which means the kids had a bit of free time to straighten their rooms and/or socialize between breakfast and chapel. After chapel they attended bible study class. Today's lesson centered around the relationship between Jonathon and David, with a focus on Jonathon serving David. The kids were encouraged to use the gifts and talents God has given them to let their lights shine by serving others.
In addition to the typical offerings, this morning's activities featured trophy making. Each year, on the last night of camp, we have an awards ceremony. During that time a variety of trophies are presented to campers. Besides the standard 1st, 2nd 3rd etc. places for the week long UTC's, there are a number of more 'creative' trophies. Campers got the chance to create trophies with the theme of their choice. Honors like best hair, rookie camper of the year, most random camper, best smile, soundest sleeper, best abs, friendliest, and Ninja award - are just a few. Staff then decide who to actually award the trophies to. Those who weren't working on trophies engaged in archery, Xtreme abs workout, Frisbee Golf or Yoga.
This morning's UTC included a lot of foot stamping, high stepping and evasive movement...it was the ever popular balloon tied around the ankle game. Campers competed against other teams to be the last with a balloon tied around their ankle. The key here is to keep it unpopped, while using your feet to pop the balloons tied to your competitor's ankles.
We smelled lunch long before it was ready, and we were drooling. Lasagna, bread sticks, fruit and salad really hit the spot on this cooler than average day.
When co-director Tom initially told the kids of the schedule for the day, he mentioned that even though it was pretty cold (low 60's), since it wasn't raining - we would be still be going swimming. Needless to say, many of the kids were less than excited about that idea. What he didn't tell them at that point, was that we were able to get a last minute group rate at a local indoor water park - the Metropolis. The kids were treated to 2 hours of water-sliding on 3 giant slides, lazy-rivering, hot-tubbing, water basketballing, and swimming. When he made the announcement shortly before lunch....there was pretty intense cheering. You gotta love a build-up.
After they had their fill of slipping and sliding, everyone had worked up quite an appetite. A supper of of pizza, salad, fruit and veggies awaited all. After filling their stomachs, they moved on to nightly discussion groups, followed by a sing-a-long. A mad rush to the canteen and gulping down a snack led into our Vesper service, conducted by Pastor Hanel. After the service, everyone changed into their camp shirts for our annual camp-wide photo. A crazy shirt-signing period followed the photo op. Since there were three staff birthdays, and one camper birthday today- we all gathered for some birthday cake before the kids headed to bed. Hopefully all the activity of the day balanced out the bedtime sugar. It just wouldn't be camp without some cake in the face....looks great Tom!
Dedication is spending your 21st birthday serving the Lord ....
Or your 19th birthday ...
We all get to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow - a welcome plan. If anyone is interested, our weekly fun night, including trophy distribution and the long awaited 'Minute to Win It' team competition, will take place on Friday, at 7:30 p.m., in the gym. This year we have decided to take a break from the standard skits so the kids have been practicing all week to determine who they want to serve as their team representative for each activity. It should be a blast! Parents are welcome to attend!
Random shots for your enjoyment...
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