the green spot blog

In the last few weeks, we've started to prepare for our seven weeks of summer camp coming up in just over a month! The program team (Courtney, Ashley, Bradley, and Reilly) have been brainstorming new ideas for chapel, games, and other programming this summer. Other staff members have started putting together plans for chosen skills like climbing, canoeing, marksmanship, and adventure programming. Summer will be here very soon, and we want to be ready to welcome the hundreds of campers who will participate in camps on- and off-site! We've also been making sure all of our buildings and facilities are set up and in good condition for the summer season. The teepees (used for our Roughin' It camps) come down every year in the fall, and just yesterday we finally had a chance to put them back up again! Rolf (our site manager), Colter, Liz, Sarah, and Taylor went down to the Roughin' It site to set up the two teepees. It's hard work, even for five people! In the...

Spring has really begun here at Camp Evergreen. It’s wonderful to see things growing again! The snow is gone, and things are greening up. It's a beautiful time to be out in God's creation! The real indication that spring has arrived at Camp Evergreen, however, is the arrival of the seventeen new members of our staff team! We’ve assembled a fantastic Spring Staff team, and they've been working hard for a month now. Each person represents a different set of God-given gifts and talents, and a different point of view. We meet regularly for devotions, led by a different staff member every morning. We pray for each other and keep each other accountable. The community that develops among the spring staff is like no other!  The spring staff are mostly responsible for hosting the guest groups that come through Camp Evergreen during May and June. This involves leading activities and games, preparing meals, and making sure that camp stays clean and beautiful. As well, the me...

Our first annual general meeting was a success! Here's a post from me, spring staffer Sarah, about how things went down: It’s a warm, sunny morning in May at Camp Evergreen in Bergen, Alberta; one of the first beautiful days we’ve had this year. Leaves are silently unfurling, horses munch new grass, and the waters of Fallen Timber Creek bubble gaily between its banks. Suddenly the peace is broken by a child’s terrified-but-excited shriek and the whirring of trolley wheels against a steel cable. With this, the morning’s first zipline ride, Camp Evergreen Mennonite Brethren Ministries’ first annual general meeting has begun! Like us, you’ve probably been to other annual general meetings (known affectionately as AGM’s by Evergreen staff, who use abbreviations constantly). Sitting uncomfortably, we try to sift through the piles of information presented to us. We drink way too much coffee, doze off once or twice, and sleepily raise our hands when it comes time to vote. Hours...

Our annual Ladies’ Retreat was held on April 20-22. As far as anyone currently at camp can remember, it’s been going since at least 1998! The 22 ladies enjoyed worship with Amanda Falk , and speaking by Heather Boersma , who based her messages around this summer’s theme verse, which is 1 John 4:10-12. Our activities were open, and as usual, Ken’s cooking class was a hit! It was wonderful to see this intimate group of ladies bonding and enjoying some time away from the daily routine. We were glad to welcome Heather Boersma and Amanda Falk for our Ladies' Retreat . On March 30-April 1, we held our first ever Mother and Daughter Retreat, and it was a definite success! Colleen and Sydney Reimer (Colleen is a member of our management team) led worship, and we were happy to have mother/daughter pair Lorinda and Kayla Block with us from SunWest Christian Fellowship in Calgary to share their stories and wisdom with the 11 mother/daughter teams. During one session, the mothers ...