Family Camp 2011

I've already made several mentions of camp, and gotten a bit behind (overall) and ahead of myself (out of order) in posting.  Now I'm going to attempt to start at the beginning and (maybe) do the rest of the camp "series" (I use that word very loosely!) in some semblance of order.  We'll see how that goes. :)

Heads Up!!  That was this year's camp theme.  The camp theme and t-shirt design are always a closely guarded secret until we arrive at camp...only those who truly "need to know" for preparation purposes are let in on the info, and they are charged with utmost secrecy.  So the announcement of the theme and unveiling of the camp t-shirt are always a Monday afternoon highlight.  The Heads Up!! theme was taken from the Colossians 3:1-17 passage that we studied in-depth this week, particularly the 2nd verse:

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

We dug, deeply, into Colossians 3:1-17 this week.  The first four verses were our main focus, and what Andy preached on in evening chapel, one verse per night.  However, the children and youth studied all 17 verses in our class times, and Bro. Kent's adult class actually made it through the entire book of Colossians in 8 class sessions (and for those who are familiar with how long it took us to get through the book of John, that is quite impressive!!)

I love the fact that our camp is truly a family camp.  There is something for everyone from the oldest to the youngest, and there is wonderful fellowship among the entire group.  We had children in all three groups this year...2 in the youth (how did THAT happen??), 1 in children's, and 1 in the TIMOTHYs (the youngest group, 2nd grade and below.  That is an acrostic for something I can't remember at the moment, and was adopted several years ago to solve the problem of the overlap between the preschool and younger children in that group)...and I love the fact that *all* of us were learning the same truths during the week, on different levels, and then coming together for morning and evening chapel sessions where we studied them even more.

I also love the fact that our camp is "meaty".   This is not a few games, a few crafts, a few songs around a campfire with a devotional or two thrown in.  We dig into the Word, hard, the whole time we are there.  There were times I found my head swimming with all the things I was learning and trying to assimilate...I'm spending this week going back through my notes slowly and soaking in all that we learned....or began to learn...last week.  It was such a treat this week to watch our children and young people rise to the challenge that was put before them.  They dug deep!  Much was expected of them...and they rose to the challenge.  I love that.  (And there's a lesson there, I think, for those who would "water things down" for children and youth...)

However, don't misunderstand...there is much meaty study at camp, but there is also much fun to be had!  Every year, Bro. Lyndel says that NO ONE will have as much fun as he has at camp...and then we all spend the week proving him wrong. :)  It was a bit harder this year, though, to have more fun than Bro. Lyndel, as the TIMOTHYs presented him with a pair of their very special glow-in-the-dark glasses.  He had lots of fun with those!

We're all used to Bro. Lyndel having lots of fun at camp...but Bro. Kent is usually a bit of a different story.  We're not quite sure what happened this year, but Bro. Kent may have actually outdone Bro. Lyndel on the fun scale.  Watching Bro. Kent's fun this year was one of the highlights of camp for many of us.   More about that later in a later post...don't miss it! :)

There is much more to tell, but I am out of time for now.  Much more to come soon!