4th of July All Camp Fun Day!

Here are a few photos from our fun day! We played softball, swam, BBQ'd Carne' Asada, and watched a movie on the big screen in the chapel! What fun we all had! It was a much needed break after Angel Tree week, and a good time before heading into FV Junior High!

I have been completely remiss in my blogging duties the last two weeks! I seem to have a time like that each summer where my job and responsibilities here keep me away from the old blog. So sorry to have not kept you informed as you missed Angel Tree week entirely! In case you don't know, Angel Tree campers are those kids who have been scholar shipped to come to camp, and who have at least one parent in prison. They are a challenging group, and most of our counselors will tell you it is their favorite week of camp all summer! The kids are so open and because their life is not so easy, they really fall in love with camp! Here they are able to just be kids and have fun fun fun! Some don't get much of this in their lives and so we are glad to give them the opportunity! There were 16 decisions last week for The Lord! If you think of it, pray for them as they return to "life" and try to make sense of the decision they made at camp!

This week is Junior High camp. It is an odd thing to go from younger kids to junior highers! As you may know, they can be an interesting bunch. From what I gathered this morning, all is well and there are no major issues! PTL! As always, pray for Thursday night! I will be out there taking some photos for you today!

We are past the half way mark of summer. Here is the breakdown of what is left. Currently FV JH, next week Youth Camp in Main Camp. This means no western camp, but we will be doing the Gladiator theme! More info to come on that. Then back to FV for the last week there, and then back to Main Camp for Youth Camp #2. Three weeks after this one and we are done! I don't know about you but that seems so strange.....

If you haven't been able to send a note yet, there is still time. I will also change the staff names today so check the list as there will be a few new ones and some others deleted who have fulfilled their commitment and gone home. If I can name drop for suggestions..... Roxie and Mustang are a bit under the weather. John Wayne, Storm Breaker, Clint Eastwood and Starbelle could all use a note this week. All of our great counselors will benefit from your prayers and notes, so please don't send to just this list, but there ya go!

Toodles for now!

Activities~~

Greetins from Summer Camp! The first photo is taken inside our Nature Den. We have been putting the Den together for over a year, and are still adding new stuff in there! We have several stuffed animals, you know, the Used To Be Alive kind....there is a racoon peeking out from a tree, a fox, a couple birds, and so on. We also have a couple snakes (live) and water turtles for the kids to enjoy! They can hold the snake if they want to! The Den also gets used for our outdoor education program during the school year. This year it was added to the rotation for the FV kids to enjoy!

The second photo is actually in FV taken during an activity they do with the campers called the Slack Line. As you can see, they walk on the line aided by two staff members to balance them. Simple activity that the kids seem to enjoy a lot!

Happy Friday!

Sock Hop?

I snapped a couple pic's of the kids playing "sniper" on Monday to share with you! This game involves socks full of flower and a lot of being sneaky! Kids really enjoy it! For a full camp this week, things are going remarkably smooth. Here's looking toward Thursday!

Slide Show!!

Hungry Bear

Sometimes summer staff get to work with me in the Hungry Bear snack shop too! We tend to have a lot of fun in there, and they love working it! Gotta love those striped aprons huh! It is better than getting shake all over yourself!

Tonight is Thursday.....as always, pray for Thursdays!

Dinner Time~~

Here is a shot of inside the dining hall at dinner tonight. Kids eat with their teepee group and their counselors at the picnic type benches. I went down for dinner tonight and our cook was a little wigged out. It seems for the first time in three summers, he ran out of green vegetables! That never happens! I guess we have a group of healthy campers this week!

Here is Lily Ann waiting outside the nurses trailer with a camper who wasn't feeling to well. It is not always fun and games, sometimes kids need a little extra lovin' and carin' to get through the week. I think sometimes they get homesick and that feeling gets them transferred to Doc Mom who loves on them and sends them back to fun!

Close Staff!

This is Clint Eastwood and Annie Oakley! Clint has been here three summers now and it is Annie's first. Both are super neat kids! Clint always has a smile on his face and is so willing to help out. He is never down, always up and fun! Annie has been a sweet addition this year as well. She is a gentle and kind girl who really does great with the kids. Those big smiles you see are genuine, I see them a lot!

FV #3 starts today. This week we have about 50 campers, another small week. It is also the last week we have space in FV for campers! Yay God! I think there are a few spots for only boys here, or only girls there, but we are nicely full! We also do two youth camps up in Main Camp. This is the part of camp where there are no tee pee's, just cabins and stuff. No western theme there! In fact the theme in Main Camp is Gladiator! Lots of team sports and competitions there! Way fun for high schoolers and junior highers.

I wanted to tell you that your prayers have been helping so much! The staff this year is close. Now, our others staffs have been close, but each year brings its own challenges and drama. I am happy to report that there has been extremely minimal drama this summer! They all enjoy spending their off time together and going into town on the weekends to shop, eat out, hangout at the square and so on! They are neat kids! I am removing a couple names form the staff list this week as a couple kids have gone home. Service staff contract for 3-5 weeks, so those names will change or drop periodically through the summer. If you no longer see a name you did before, it just means their contract has ended! I think we may have new staff coming in in a few weeks as well. There is another set of training at the end of June for July staff members. I update the list so you don't send notes to those who are not longer here. Feel free to keep praying for them though! I have seen a few notes come in and I thank you! It is so awesome for the kids to get these notes, you guys rock! Take care~~~~