His Kids Camp - Week 4

Wednesday night the campers for the last week of His Kids Camp arrived. This week was the younger group of campers. I was paired up with a volunteer, Jessica, to be our campers' buddies. When the campers got there we took their things down to the cabin we were staying in and then went back to the main lodge to wait for supper. We then headed on a wagon ride to the campfire for smores and singing a few songs at the campfire. Since we had so many people we had to go in two different groups. When we got back to the main lodge we sung a few songs in our opening ceremony. Then we headed to bed to rest up for the first full day of camp.

Jessica, Dacia and I

Thursday and Friday are very similar to the past weeks. Thursday we did outside activities and our buddy was flying a kite for a little while. It was fun to see that happen because I haven't seen a kite be flown in quite a while and the past 2 weeks I have seen one flown a couple times. I finished the book I was reading during nap time and that was fun because now I can read the second book of the series. During swim time we went swimming. I swam to the dock a few times with my camper and it was fun seeing her make it there and back a few times. She also wanted to go down the waterslide so we did that a couple times. I have gotten better at finding the right angle that I need to go down so I can go faster. The dance was really fun and we had freestyle dance and it was fun to see what people would choose to dance if they chose to go to the middle of the circle. There were some really really good moves on the dance floor. Then we settled down by watching The Incredibles.

Friday was a very weather changing day. In the morning we had gotten halfway through our activities then it was raining pretty good so we stayed inside and hung out before lunch. Then when we headed down for a nap it had stopped raining so that made us happier for swim time. During swim time we mostly just stayed in the shallow end but did swim out to the dock a few times. Then all 3 of us went on a canoe and that was fun. We looked for turtles and saw one at the back of the lake. Friday night again was the talent show. It was fun like always to see what talents this group of campers had. Some of the talents were: playing the drums, singing, dancing, playing checkers, showing a drawing, comedy, rapping, football and a skit. It was very entertaining and we closed the night out with a freestyle dance again before a circle prayer. On the walk back to the cabin we saw a very beautiful sunset.

The beautiful sunset

This morning we had our closing ceremony for the final week of His Kids Camp 2012. We gave out awards and sung a few songs. Then we cleaned the main lodge and a little bit in the cabins. A few of us went to Columbus to hang out. For supper we went to the Brewery and I had a very good hamburger and fries.


Tomorrow another mini camp will begin around 4. I will have a cabin with a couple of girls. After the camp we will have a break for the 4th of July. Then when we come back we will be having camps the rest of July for typical students.

~ "The joy of the Lord is my strength." - Nehemiah 8:10

Firm Mattress (The name of my cabin this week...)

Sunday afternoon the kids for the mini camp showed up. I was teamed up with Kendra to have a cabin along with two JS, Kim and Lauren. I was really excited because this was my first cabin of typical children this summer. We had 7 girls in our cabin. When they got here on Sunday we had supper and then we played a game called Eagle's Eggs. It is similar to capture the flag, but a little different twist to it. There are two teams with a center line. On the back boundary line there is a hula-hoop which we call the eagle's nest and in the hula-hoop there are three swimming footballs that we call the eagle's eggs. The teams can cross the line, but if they get tagged they have to sit on the ground where they got tagged and wait to be saved. In order to be saved a person from their team must make it to them safely and tag them then the two must skip back across to their side of the field. The goal is to get the eggs from the opposing teams' nest into your nest. Then we had a campfire with a great message by Steven. Our theme is alive and he did his message on us being like a tree. Trees need wind in order to grow bigger and stronger and we need God to grow stronger in our faith. Then we went to our cabin and had candle power. We talked about the campfire and our days. It was pretty fun listening to the girls' thoughts.

Monday our girls woke up earlier than we had planned so we went on a nature walk before breakfast which ended up being really fun. We stopped by the lake and just watched it blow in the wind before we headed up the hill to breakfast. Then we had Chapel and Kade gave a message that was relating the Avengers working as a team to Christians working as a body of Christ. Then the kids got to go to a "you pick it" (YPI). Some of the staff are assigned to do one of their YPI ideas and the kids get to do what they choose at this time. After that the kids played some games with the JS. Then it was lunch time and after lunch time for a little nap. After the nap we got to go to Trading Post for a snack and then we went to waterfront. I had a good time at waterfront swimming with some of my girls. Then supper and a night game of Counselor Hunt. This is a game in the woods where the counselors hide in  the forest and the kids try to find them and get their signature. It wasn't really dark so it wasn't that bad for the kids to walk through the forest. I found a tree that I climbed up and it was actually pretty fun. I happen to be reading The Hunger Games right now and as I sat there I thought about the main character, Katniss, who sits in a tree during the games and uses a belt to keep her from falling while she slept. While I was there and waiting for kids to find me I was reading my book and thought that it would be a great reading nook. I will be going back there more often to climb the tree and just read while I am sitting there enjoying the forest. Then we had another campfire where LeAnn did the message. She did a very good job with designed a skit to go with the message she was teaching. Then we had the long trek back to our cabins and it was really neat because the fireflys were out and the moon was lighting our path. We did candle power again and then sang a few camp songs before going to bed.

This is where we did our bible studies.

Today our girls weren't wanting to get out of bed so we didn't get to go on a walk or play any games before breakfast. We brought them up to sing some songs with the JS before breakfast. Then we had chapel where Marty did the message. It was about us being like a cup. We can have things fill us up but then it can just be poured out. And if we get broken we are just pieces and not one piece is better than the other because not one piece could do the job that the cup did. Then we had a bible study with the girls before we headed to lunch. The families that picked up the kids came for lunch and then they were off for home.

Tonight we have training for the last week of His Kids and tomorrow the campers will arrive to enjoy their time here at camp.

~ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. - Romans 6:13

His Kids Camp - Week 3

Wednesday evening we started our 3rd week of His Kids Camp. We had quite a volunteers for the week so I was assigned to be a cabin angel. This meant I was to help those in my cabin if they needed something and make sure everyone got in bed on time and all the things like that. One group had to leave a little early so I became a buddy Friday after lunch. On Wednesday night we had our opening and it was very enjoyable just like all the others.

Melissa and I

Thursday and Friday were quite a lot like the previous weeks since we do the same things each week with the campers. The weather was really hot so our campers really enjoyed being in the water at waterfront time. We watched the movie Up on Thursday night. I enjoyed that because it is a favorite movie of mine. Since we still had the campers here for horse camp those of us on staff without buddies were able to go to the last campfire that the horse campers would have before they left Friday after lunch. It was fun to hang out with the kids and see a great message by Josh.

Friday was a pretty fun day. I enjoyed watching the campers do their games. I enjoyed waterfront with my buddy. We went on a canoe and then went to the shelter because it was so hot and played 4 games of Sorry. She beat me 3 of the 4 times. This was a game that she loved and beat almost everyone every time. We had the talent show on Friday and it was probably the most entertaining I think. My buddy did her famous surprise talent of a play. Her play was in a way Pocahontas and I was playing the part of Pocahontas. She was directing us to go where she wants to go. It was pretty fun to act what she wanted us to do. I hadn't watched the movie in quite awhile so I didn't really know what to do. At the end I had a very dramatic slide to stop my father, which was my buddy, from killing John Smith. The crowd laughed a lot at it because how dramatically I slide onto the stage from stopping this from happening to end the play.

Today the campers left around 10 and we cleaned a little and then I headed to Omaha with Rachel B. to see her family and do a little shopping. It was fun to meet her family and shop. We went to different stores and I got a few things that I really really liked and wanted.

Tomorrow I will be helping with the mini camp that we have this weekend. We start tomorrow afternoon around 4 or 5 and then we finish Tuesday morning. I think it will be a fun experience because it is my first time working with typical kids at camp. The little time I had spent with the horse campers made me really excited for this experience.

~ "In this life / I know what I've been / But here in your arms / I know what I am" - "Forgiven" by Sanctus Real

Thrifting, fathers and horses

Saturday we got our first paycheck and decided a long time ago that we were going to go to thrift stores the day we got our first pay check. So this is what we did, well most of us anyway. We piled into 3 cars and headed to Columbus to do some shopping. There was a variety of things that were bought. I bought a game of Scattergories for $1. I had always wanted the game and since it was that cheap there was no doubt that I was going to pass up that offer. There were a few buttons/pins that I thought were really cool and were very cheap so I got 4 of them. Other things that were bought by some of the staff include: records, clothes, cds, computer games, nerf gun, books, recliners and many other things. It was a really fun time out.

Sunday was Father's Day and I asked my cousin, since he lives close, if he wanted to go to church with me and he said yes. After church we went out to eat at Jimmy John's. I wished I could have spent more time with him, but I needed to head back to camp so we could get ready for the campers that were coming that afternoon. We pretty much had the afternoon off so I decided I would read my book for my class. I ended up finishing the book that night before I went to bed and now only have the last big paper to complete this week. After I turn in the paper I will not be thinking about school until I go back this fall. The staff played a game of Eagle's Eggs with the campers and that was pretty fun. We also had an opening campfire with the campers. Zach had a good skit and opening message and we sang some songs.

Today we had a work day because the campers were off to Horse Camp. It was very hot out, but we managed to get a lot done. We got some pews at a campfire fixed back in place, planted some bushes by one of the cabins, got barrels under the boat dock that needed to be put back where they belonged and a few other jobs. The campers came back so we went to snack time with them and then all of us had time to rest before supper. We had another campfire tonight with the kids and I was the one doing the message this time. I used a Rubix cube as part of my object lesson. The Scripture I talked about was 2 Corinthians 5:17-20. Tomorrow will probably be a day of work in the morning/afternoon and our next set of volunteers come in the evening for training before our 3rd week of His Kids Camp starts on Wednesday.

~ "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

His Kids Camp - Week 2

On Wednesday, we started our second week of His Kids Camp. We pretty much did the exact same thing as the week before. Except on Thursday it was raining on us, so for most of our activities we were inside just doing whatever to keep busy. And for swim time we had to cut it short because we heard thunder and we wanted to get out campers inside. Thursday we watched Madagascar 2. The talent show on Friday was really fun. We had a lot of different talents and they were so fun. I got to go swimming this week and I had a lot of fun swimming back and forth to the dock several times. It was good exercise that I needed.

My buddy this week was Sara. We had a good time together. At times she just wanted to sit there and not do anything, but we still enjoyed each other's presence. She enjoyed everything that we did at camp and is really excited to come back. I enjoyed being her buddy and doing the things she liked to do. I asked her what her favorite things were and she said everything so I think she had a great time. She enjoyed the dance and danced like the whole time having fun. For the talent show she sang Jesus Loves Me. She gave me a great big hug before she left.

Sara and I

I had a great time this week with all of the campers and volunteers. I am excited for the shopping that I will do today with the staff. We have a few little camps that will be happening starting tomorrow before our next week of His Kids! :)

~ "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:9-10

We are young, so we’ll set the beach on fire

I went home for the weekend and got back on Monday around noon. There was a camp going on at the time so I jumped right in with helping at activities. The kids were playing different games before lunch. Then the kids had a nap time after lunch and I was off with Dan, Zach, Kristin and Rachel B. to do some maintenance work. Our job for the day was to clear the beach of the grass that was growing on the beach. We were working for about 10-15 minutes using our hands of shovels. Dan comes up with the idea to try and just kill the grass by lighting it on fire. So we went and got supplies needed to set the beach on fire. We put down some gas and lit it on fire. The area that had the gas burned, but the rest of the area that we wanted to kill the grass at didn’t burn. The fire burned out, but it wasn’t on everything we planned to burn. So now there is a black line near the beach and we will continue to work on this at another time to hopefully get all the grass out of the beach.

Dan and the line of fire

Then we had waterfront time with the kids. They all wanted to be in the water today and had fun swimming, boating and going down the waterslide. We played an evening game in one of the woods. The counselors were the bad guys that the kids wanted to run away from and the Junior Servants (JS) were the good guys. They ran through the woods trying to get chips from the JS and ran away from the counselors because we could take them away. Campers were with a buddy and wanted to get 3 chips so that they could get a Bible. Then we went to Calvary for a campfire and sang songs and had smores after. :)

Tuesday we will do a few activities with the campers before lunch, and then they will head off. And we will get ready for training with the next groups of volunteers for the second week of His Kids Camp.

~ …his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. – 1 Corinthians 3:13

His Kids Camp - Week 1

Our first week of His Kids Camp started on Wednesday night. For those of you who don’t know what His Kids Camp is, I will explain. It is a camp for people with special needs. They have a staff member buddy and do many activities and we share the love of God. We met our buddies and had supper and a message time with them. Thursday and Friday were similar in schedule. We had Chapel on Thursday and Friday and heard great messages. We played a few different games in our groups and did crafts. After lunch we had nap time for a few hours then headed to get a snack at Trading Post. Then there was time for the campers to go swimming, boating, play games or just watch others both afternoons. We had a hayrack ride to the waterfront area and back. Campers seem to love this and I enjoy it myself. :) Thursday night we had a dance and watched Finding Nemo. At the dance we did square dancing, the chicken dance, the YMCA, the bunny hop, Hokey Pokey and a few other fun dances. Friday night we had a talent show. There was a variety of talents that were shown in this show. Some campers sang and others danced. A few did their own unique things. Including making meowing sounds and putt putt golfing. It was very entertaining and fun to watch.

My buddy’s name was Lori. She was really fun to hang out with and be around. I would tell her people’s names and the schedule and many other random things and she had a pretty good memory about almost all of the things I told her. She liked to color and participated in many activities. At the talent show she sang Jesus Loves Me. There were many memorable moments with Lori, but too many to tell. So I will just tell of my favorite moments. She woke up early the last day and was ready by about 6 am. She was packing things up for about an hour because the rest of us were still sleeping. We got out of bed at around 7 to start getting ready and she kept telling us to hurry and that we were being slow pokes. I had a great time with her and can’t wait until the next camp.

Lori and I

~ I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:3-6

Waterslide Complete

Today was a full day of work. We had many people working on the waterslide before lunch so that we could get as much done before camp starts. Then after lunch I went to help Dan and Matt finish the slide. Janelle also helped us for a little while. I could have choose to rest like everyone else, but I had worked on it from the very beginning and wanted to see it through. There wasn't a whole lot left to do, but it did take some time with only having a few people working. Kristin had joined us to help do the last few pieces. It was getting close to suppertime and we were so close to being done. We decided that if we finished we would have enough time to go change into our suits and each of us could go down. After it was completed we were finally ready to test the slide and see if it was going to hold up like we thought it should. We each went down a few times and it was pretty fun. Very satisfying that it worked after all the hard work that we had put into it. There will be a picture or two of the final outcome at some point once I remember to take my camera down to get a picture of it.

We had our first set of volunteers come to camp tonight. So we went through some camp training tonight and will finish that in the morning with them before camp starts tomorrow night! The staff has done a great job getting everything ready for camp. I am so ready for camp to start!! :) The buddy that I had for the weekend I helped during the summer will be here and I can't wait to see her again. I may not post much the next few days, but when I get a chance this weekend I will wright about the first week of camp.

~ "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." - Romans 8:28

Challenge Accepted

Well I said last night that we were going to work today, but that didn't happen. We had Pastor B.J. from Deshler, NE come and talk with us. He has worked at camp before himself and he gave us some advice on how to lead our bible studies with the campers. He also went over the bible studies that we will be doing this summer. We have gone over them as a group, but he gave us a different side of the scripture and gave us more examples that related to the passages. There were 2 really good demonstrations that he did that I hope to do either with my campers and/or at other events that I help out with.

Then as a staff we went to the challenge course on camp and did the different challenges. The first was a balance beam where we went in groups of 2 and we had to go from one end to the other end without touching the ground. Those who weren't going were spotters and we could have them help us a little along the way. We also couldn't use a strategy that someone had already used. The next challenge was on a teeter-totter that was close to the ground and could hold all of us on staff. We had it set up as a rescue challenge and we all had to get onto the boards and keep it balanced. Then once everyone was on the teeter-totter we had to save a pet from each side of the teeter-totter.

Next, our challenge involved a very tall pole that we couldn't reach the top by standing on top of the tallest person's shoulders and a tire. We were told to lift the tire up, get it around the pole and the tire back to the ground. Nothing could hit the pole. There were long sticks lying around that we were trying to get the tire up high enough to get the tire around the pole and back to the ground. This attempt didn't work. We tried having Rachel B. stand on Kade's shoulders, but she still couldn't reach the top. She was close to the top so we tried to give her a stick, but it just didn't work out. It took some time before Josh stepped in to tell us how to do it. He simply picked up the tire, walked around the pole and set it back on the ground. He taught us a lesson on this and none of us had asked any questions to see what the limits were.

Then we went to another teeter-totter type challenge. There were 3 4x4 planks of wood that were in a triangle. They had 1 side on top of the next and 1 side under the next. They were about 1 foot of the ground in the middle. Our challenge was to have 3 people at a time get on and balance the beams. We all did this fairly quickly. The group that I was in took the longest because we had such a varying weight different between us. I was the first one standing on the beams waiting for them to get on and I was flailing at times, but we managed to get it. Our final challenge was the trust fall. We didn't have to fall if we didn't want to, but we were all there to catch those who wanted to fall. The first height we fell from was about 4 feet off the ground. I was scared to go, but I wanted to face my fears so I ended up doing it. Then a few people wanted to go from the highest platform we had so we all moved to catch them from the tallest. This one was about 6 feet tall. I decided that I would go from this height as well and I loved the adrenaline rush that I got even those I was scared before I went. Josh recorded a video of it so at some point I may upload it for you to enjoy.

After supper we had a free night so I decided to take the time to get some homework done since we will beginning camp soon. I got everything finished for this week. So only 2 weeks left! :) The volunteers will be coming tomorrow evening and we will be doing training to get ready for the first week of His Kids Camp! So ready for camp!! :) I am pretty sure that my buddy that I had during the weekend that I helped with will be here.

~ "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." - Psalm 28:7

Camp Luther Sunday

Today was the 45th anniversary of Camp Luther. It was a very early morning with waking up at 6:20 to be at the church in Columbus by 7:30 so we could get ready to sing at the church services. We sung "How He Loves Us" and it sounded good. There were 2 guitars, 2 ukuleles and a cello as our instrumental crew. Then we hurried back to get ready to do our jobs for the day. There were games, face painting, families touring the camp, food, a silent auction and a quilt auction. We also had a little praise service with the staff singing songs and some of the crowd singing along and a good message by President Russ Sommerfeld. Many beautiful quilts were sold and I bought one myself. There were many different church groups that made the quilts and donated them to the camp for us to sell. We also rededicated the main building, Henry Gerwick Lodge. A short dedication service was held by the sign in honor of the dedication. There was laughter and fellowship throughout the day.

It was a long day for us and after we finished and cleaned the Lodge most of the staff went to Pizza Ranch in Columbus. This was the first time I had been to Pizza Ranch. I probably ate more than I should have, but it was good. We learned some various things about each other that were random, but that isn't new with us. We always seem to be random about our conversations, but it is so much fun! :) Now we are back and some are already in bed and others are hanging out in the lounge. Tomorrow is another day of work. Still some jobs to get done before the campers show up on Wednesday. So excited! :) 

~ "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:15-16

A relaxing day, but not so relaxing

Today was our first day off and we got to sleep in for the first time since we have been here. It was nice to lay in bed until close to 10 since we have been waking up at 8 everyday and working really hard. I got some homework done. It feels good to know that I am halfway done with the course! :)

I haven't been out to see the whole camp yet, so Kendra, Rachel B. and I went to explore. It was a good thing Rachel was with us because she has been here before and was familiar with the trails. We went on almost every trail except for a few that I had went on yesterday. It was fairly hot and we were wearing jeans so it was quite the workout. We were out for about 2 hours and I enjoyed taking pictures of the places we went.

Kendra, Rachel B. and I

Many people went into Columbus for the day and when they got back a few of us decided to go swimming. It was the first time that I had gone swimming in the lake. The water felt pretty good, but had a few cold spots. Rachel B. and I swam out to Calvary and it was quite the swim with how much walking we had done before we went swimming.

This is Calvary from the back side. You can see in the distance
the beach that we swam from. Then we swam back.

The whole group practiced the song that we are going to be singing tomorrow at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Columbus. They have two services and we are singing at both then coming back to have our Camp Luther Sunday.

~ "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come." - Genesis 24:42

Tricycles, Basketball & Huntsman

Today we did just a little bit of cleaning of some of the buildings to get ready for the festivities this weekend. We walked paths to try and clear some trees that had fallen on the path. There wasn't much work done on the slide today, but we did get a little work done. That is all we did which was really nice because we got a break from working.

Then a few of us went to play basketball. Rachel B. and I were the first to get down to the courts and we saw the tricycles sitting there. We wanted to ride them so we figured out what the lock code was and started riding them on the court. Then we got the basketballs out and started shooting layups on our bikes. They were really fun to ride, but kind of scary because having 3 wheels the balance seemed to be different. Then we played eliminator once the others came down. It was really fun and at times hard to shoot because we were laughing so hard.

Rachel and I shooting hoops on the tricycle

About half of the staff was gone for the afternoon/evening and those of us still here decided to go to a movie. We decided to watch Snow White and the Huntsman. It was a little interesting, but a pretty good movie. Rachel B. wore her footie pajamas to the movie. After the movie she didn't want to walk back to the car because the ground was a little wet so I carried her to the car and basically dropped her in the door. On the way back Rachel B. said she wanted to go swimming and we were telling her we didn't want to go because it was cold. Josh, my boss, said that if she went in her footie pajamas that he would go with her. She was super excited and so all of of went to the lake and they ran in together. The water was really cold, but they both managed to swim to the dock and back. 

Rachel back in the cabin after she got out of the lake.

The VBS team is now back and so those of us here are just sitting in the lounge talking about random things and ready for the day off tomorrow. :) 

~ "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." - Proverbs 27:17