Update: Junior Week 2

We had our second group of junior campers last week, a full camp of 71 campers, almost half of them first time campers.  It's always exciting to have lots of new campers to introduce to the joy of camp and, for some of them, to the stories of Jesus for the first time.  Overall they were a very nice group of kids with very little homesickness or behavior problems.

There was a tragedy in the nearby city of Dryden last week.  The principal of the Catholic elementary school and his 17-year-old son were killed in a car accident.  It was quite a blow to the community, and several of our campers who attend St. Joseph's were camping with us last week. A couple of the parents let us know that it made things easier for them, knowing that their kids were being cared for by us during this hard time.  It is a blessing to us to be able to have these strong community ties, and we were glad to assist these families.

There was a round of sickness that struck several people including me.  I had a severe cold that laid me up for the entire day on Tuesday, and then I had to take it easy to get back to full strength by Friday.  It's a good thing to find out you're not irreplaceable.  Josh, one of the cabin leaders who had heard me tell the same story every Tuesday, stepped in to take the kids on their hike and tell the story of Peter following Jesus.  Other people stepped in to help with games, which was another of my responsibilities this past week.

Josh did a fine job with the story.

Since being a game leader was my job this week, let me share a couple of the games we play here with you.  Many games are regular camp fare that have been played at camp for years and years and might make you a little nostalgic.  One of those games is Steal the Bacon.  It is always a favorite of the campers here as they dash to collect items from the center and take them to their team for points.  They may even wrestle to steal things from other players which makes for quite a show.

On hot afternoons we try to stay cool by playing some water games.  A favorite is Sink the Canoe, which is just what you think:  splash enough water into the canoe to get it to sink.  This year we added another element, which was having the team captains sit in the canoe.  The kids loved splashing their captains, and it added to the fun. (Good idea, Isaac, Chester and Amy!)

Organized Mass Chaos (OMC) is another favorite game on a hot afternoon.  Each team has a bucket full of task cards, and the game is to see which team can complete the most tasks before the time is up.  The tasks involve things like shaving cream, silly string water, balloons and sponges.  A task might be something like, "Squirt shaving cream under your arms and say, 'I'm feeling foamy today.'" Lots of silliness produces lots of smiles in this game.

Finally, we play a game called Canadian Beaver each week.  It involves the people who are "it" (beavers) chasing down players, lifting them off the ground long enough to say "Canadian Beaver" and then, hopefully, putting them gently back on the ground.  It is a rough game, but most campers really love it.  We used to play it when I was a kid, and we called it American Eagle.

Prayer requests:  Pray for all of the staff to have enthusiasm and energy for this last group of kids.  It may be our fifth week of camp, but for the campers coming, it is their first week.

Pray for me that I can tell my stories for the fifth time with enthusiasm.  Also, that I can make good choices about which ones to include, as I have added different elements each week.

We are very thankful that my mom was able to get her radiation treatments moved to Chattanooga.  She begins on Tuesday, July 30.  My nephew Andy will be going with them on Tuesday, then we will see what her schedule will look like.