the green spot

Yearend Giving

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Are you still thinking about where to do your yearend giving? Well, you should consider us! Camp Evergreen is a registered, not-for-profit organization.

2009 has been a great year at Evergreen -- we had 646 adorable, hilarious and totally rad campers this summer (interestingly, the exact same number we had in 2008). Our spring and fall were booked solidly with guest groups -- fun, friendly guest groups no less! We had great seasonal staff, and a sweet crew that's staying through the winter. We are looking forward to our first official foray into winter outdoor education with a guest group in early January. We received some fantastic gifts, including a van full of flour, new aluminum canoes, a scanner, snowshoes and a new gator.

The one sad spot? General donations! Donations have come in below what we budgetted for consistently this year. Can you help us change that, in these last two weeks of 2009?

We know that it has been a hard year for a lot of folks, with recession woes -- we saw it with the increased demand for Campership Aid in 2009. We praise God that we didn't have to say "no" to any of the applicants who requested help with their camp fees. Our Campership Aid program helped out 70 kids in 2009 - that's 24 more campers than in 2008. Not only that, we distributed $14,335 in Campership Aid in 2009 - almost twice as much as the $7,480 that we distributed in 2008. [Camp Evergreen's Campership Aid program is generously funded by your donations and by funding from the United Way of Central Alberta.]

So, if you're thinking about yearend giving ... we'd love to hear from you! You'll receive a very grateful thank-you note and a charitable donation receipt (and our undying appreciation!).

To donate, you can mail a cheque to Camp Evergreen, Box 492, Sundre, Alberta, T0M 1X0 or you can call the office for Visa or MasterCard transactions at 403-638-4230. We'll be open December 14-18 and December 28-31 from 8:30AM - 5PM.

Christmas Banquet

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:12:00 +0000

If you live in Alberta, you know that the weather was not the greatest last weekend. The Calgary Police apparently responded to 110 accidents within four hours on Friday. The highways were ... scary. As a result, we cancelled the Christmas Banquet, sort of.

Instead of our planned 60+ guests, we had a quieter night with 25 friends: of our neighbours, who all still came out, along with two Medicine Hat couples, one Red Deer family and a Coaldale couple. We salute you all for your bravery, and thank God you made it here and back safely!

Even with a much smaller group than initially planned, we had a great night: yummy food (thanks, Ken!), good visiting, happy carolling (thanks, Colleen, Sydney and Kiah!) and some of us played fun games after dinner.

Mmmm, dinner.

Left: Sydney and Colleen lead Christmas carols.
Right: Kiah joins the Reimer ladies to help with actions for "Away in a Manger"

Since we didn't get to say it to everyone we'd hoped to at the banquet: thank you again, to all the folks who support us during the year -- people who significantly impact our life as a Camp by donations of their time, finances or other resources. You know who you are, and we love you!

robin jones gunn! april 16-18!

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:14:00 +0000

I don't actually know if I have the words to explain how excited I am to announce that Robin Jones Gunn is going to be our speaker at Ladies' Retreat, from April 16-18, 2010. Indulge me while I tell you why I'm so excited, okay?

I grew up reading Robin Jones Gunn's Christy Miller series. The Sierra Jensen and Todd & Christy: The College Years series came out when I was done high school; I've read them all (Doug & Tracy got married on my birthday in the sixth Sierra Jensen, With this Ring, which I thought was pretty great). I've read the Glenbrooke series more than once and have recently been reading Sisterchicks books, even though they're about women quite a bit older than me. Even more recently, I've been reading the new Katie Weldon books as they come out. This summer, I had my mom express mail two copies of the third Katie Weldon book for Ashley and me the day they arrived in the bookstores.

Anyway, shortly after I finished my BA, I re-read Christy Miller, then Sierra Jensen, then T&C: the College Years, then Glenbrooke ... it was quite the undertaking, since the four series total 35 books. I had been feeling incredibly distant from God, from faith and from any sense of hope as I came out of university and I went back to the Christy Miller crew because they were comfortable books; they feel like home. I love books that feel like home. And somewhere along the way through the books, I remembered a whole bunch of things about why I had chosen to follow Jesus and why I wanted to be loved by God ... and it was life changing. Huzzah!

Robin will be our Ladies' Retreat 2010 speaker, and I'm excited to hear what she'll have to share. For a bit more introduction, let's turn to my friend, youtube.

So first, Robin Jones Gunn in California, talking about her books and characters:

And, speaking to a women's conference in Alabama:

ice skating!

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:47:00 +0000

As you may know, Camp Evergreen is hosting its first ever Three-on-Three Pond Hockey Tournament on January 9. Huzzah! It's going to be very, very, very fun. And we still have space for a couple more teams, if you're interested (call me, Kerry, at 403-638-4230, if you want more information).

We're working on the three ice surfaces we'll be using for the Tournament. I was starting to worry that it would never get cold enough to make good ice, but God has provided us with wonderfully freezing weather and the ice is underway! Dave, Emily, Colter and Erin have been flooding the "upstairs" rink, and yesterday, some of us broke in the ice. Wanna pretend you were there?

cabin fever!, pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:32:00 +0000

I know! You're dying to know where we're at with building the first cabin!

The first layer of the roof is in place and the cabin has been wrapped in Tyvec. (I'm learning all sorts of things, like what Tyvec is.) The tin for the roof is on order and willing arriving late next week and the windows are awaiting pick up at Wild's Home Hardware. We won't be doing the final layer of siding (which will match the outdoor bathrooms) till the spring: we'll do all the cabins at once.

We're planning to get the tin on the roof next week, before the Christmas banquet. I'm excited about that step! The green tin is so pretty, I think. (If you've been here, it's on the lodge, Cabin 15, the outside of the Activity Centre and the roof of the Welcome Centre.)

Top Left: Kevin and Richard survey the cabin, before getting started for the day.
Top Right: Erin and Emily are wildly excited to spend the day with the building crew.
Bottom Right: Richard peeks out over the corner of the cabin.

Left: Emily and Kevin bring out the first truss.
Right: The first truss waits.
Bottom: Night falls, with trusses in place.

But trusses are not enough! The sheeting must go on!

And, another time lapse photo series:

cake is better than pie.

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:46:00 +0000

In October, a debate raged about the virtues of pie versus cake. Cake won.

On the left, Allison is pleased to be crowned winner while Chad sorrowfully contemplates his loss.
On the right, proof is in the pudding, by which I mean cake.

snow is falling! (christmas banquet is coming!)

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:32:00 +0000

We woke up to a light cover of snow today; I was so excited. As much as I appreciate the slippery-free roads, it just feels to wrong to be without snow in November. (Plus, I've been listening to Christmas music, on and off, since late October ...)

Anyway, the actual point of this post is to tell you that Julia and Colleen are prepping for our Christmas Banquet at this very minute! Colleen's office is turning into a miniature winter wonderland, sprinkled with gigantically oversized snowflakes.

Now that we're talking Christmas, my uncontestably favourite Christmas album of all time is A Christmas Album by Amy Grant. I love it. And I just found this gem on YouTube (apologies for the poor sound):

cabin fever!, pt. 2

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Cabin building is continuing -- the guys will be out tomorrow again to work on the sheeting. I thought I'd share a little "three days of progress" video with you.

the uprising - november 6-8, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Troy Taylor. BCBU. Simon Hoskyn. Dutch Blitz, trail rides, inductive Bible Study, cinnamon buns, new tee-shirts, new friends, old friends.

The Uprising is our College & Careers retreat -- we had about 40 retreaters and volunteerers and musicalplayers here for two nights and it was great fun!

Troy Taylor, our speaker, is the IVCF staff at the University of Lethbridge. He spoke about what it means to stand for Christ, using Paul's conversations with the people of Athens in Acts 17, as a model. We talked about providing an applicable and appropriate response to others' questions and situations; we talked about trustiworthiness (note to self - telling Courtney that rugby isn't a real sport is a quick way to lose her trust); we talked about what it means to be compelling by believing what we say and drawing people into the next step; and about giving honour to where people are at. Stand up!

"Find places where your great joy intersects with the world's great need."
- James Penner, talking about vocation, as quoted by Troy.

Ben, Joe, Spencer and David (aka, the Bethany College Beat Unit / BCBU) drove all the way out from Hepburn, Saskatchewan to lead us in worship-through-music, and they were fantastic. (And of course, we miss Ben, so it was great to have him back for a weekend!)

Simon Hoskyn, a ridiculously amazing singer-songwriter from Edmonton, came out and did a show on Saturday night. To explain how great Simon is, I will tell you a little story. I (Kerry) primarily listen to music that would be categorized as folk, indie, indie rock, folk rock, Amy Grant and various other permuations of the folk/indie/rock genres; Erin prefers to listen primarily to genres opposing my favourites, all while making fun of me for my music tastes. So, when I said, "hey, this really great singer-songwriter named Simon is going to do a show at the Uprising", Erin's response was more than skeptical (something along the lines of, "ew, you're wrong; I hate folk music"). HOWEVER, defying the odds, even Erin was completely won over by Simon's songs and voice and guitar. He freely admitted to me that he was wrong and that Simon was great. I believe the cliche is "eating crow"? Anyway, it was great show. Listen to Simon, y'all.

And now, a photo essay.

It's Session Time!
Left: Troy Taylor, Right: Spencer, Joe and David getting ready to lead worship through music.

BCBU Bassist Joe leaps, just because he can.

It's the Challenge Course!

The barn was a popular locale for the paparazzi.
Top Left: Kim, Elishia, and Julia are ready to wrangle, Top Right: David, Spencer, Trenton and Joe are soooo excited to ride.
Centre: Spencer says "hi" to a horse.
Bottom Left: Trailriders are instructed for safety, Bottom Right: the line.

Simon.

posted by kerry.

cabin fever!, pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:16:00 +0000

Huzzah!* The building has commenced! Last Saturday, October 10, Kevin & Jen & kids, Andrew & Lisa & kids, Matt and Richard joined Dave in the RV sites to begin work on Cabin 1! Actually, it'll probably be Cabin 12-14 or 16, because those puppies will be the first to go.

Kevin, Andrew, Richard, Matt and Dave made a good start on the cabin. Lisa, Jen and I cooked ... deliciously pre-cooked food (thanks Ken!). Andrew managed to find time to take some photos as they built, so check it out!

Left: The build site, with just the skids on the ground.
Right: Skids.

Right: Hammer time.*
Left: Land of many drills.

Left: Kevin and Richard weren't cold at all (it was only -15 with the windchill, after all).
Right: Fortunately, to offset the cold, a coffee break!

Left: Richard and Jesse measuring.
Right: The first wall is up!

The second wall is up!

Left: Frame of the back wall.
Right: Our handsome building crew.

* "Huzzah!" is actually a play on words, because back in the day, Evergreen's Trail Blazer and Ignite (grades 5-6 and grades 7-9) camps were called Huzzah 1 and Huzzah 2.
** Reference to MC Hammer.

posted by kerry.

the rest of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:25:00 +0000

We had an anonymous comment on our Impact post that I'll paraphrase -- "the blog makes it look like the only important thing that happens at Evergreen is summer camps." It's not a question, but a question is implied, and it's a fair question and I'd like to address it!

Through July and August, summer and family camps aren't the only important thing that happens at Evergreen: they are quite simply the only thing that happens at Evergreen. As part of summer camp, we have an A/V crew that's on hand to capture the summer's progression: all the crazy games and cute kids and fun activities and chapel times and firesides and whatever else. In addition to taking sweet photos, they make weekly DVDs that campers can take home at the end of each week. Our campers' parents also sign a waiver that allows us to take their kids' pictures and use those pictures on our brochures, in newsletters and here on the blog.

From September 1 - June 30 (or there abouts), Camp Evergreen is open to guest group rentals. Guest groups include, but aren't limited to, schools (bands, leadership teams, class trips, outdoor education classes), boy scouts and girl guides, professional organizations, church youth groups, church college & career groups, ladies' groups, sports teams, clubs, and more. Guest groups come for anything from day trips to multiple night trips. They do all the same activities that our summer campers do and some additional ones ... trail rides and wagon rides, climbing wall, initiative tasks, the Upper Challenge Course and low ropes, canoeing (when the pond isn't frozen over!), archery, the Animal Game, and so on. You can find out more about the activities we run with guest groups on our main website.

We have staff here who lead activities, cook food and provide maintenance and custodial services for guest groups. But, when our guests are under 18, our staff don't provide direct supervision those students: guest groups are required to bring their own chaperones, who stay with the students in their accommodations and accompany them to the activities that are led by Evergreen staff. That's probably one of the biggest differences between guest group season and summer camping season ... that and the fact that we don't run chapels with guest groups. Some guest groups run their own chapels, but that obviously depends on who the group is and what they're here for.

Under normal circumstances, you won't see pictures or stories about our guest groups in action on the blog. We don't ask their permission to use their faces or their stories for promotional means -- and "promotional means" includes the blog. But that doesn't mean we don't love our guest groups! We have several groups who have been coming to visit every fall or spring for years now, including groups I remember from when I worked as spring staff a full decade ago, and we look forward to seeing them again each year. We also have lots of fun getting know new groups! You just won't see them on the blog.

The other thing that happens here from September 1 - June 30 is retreats (for example, Rise Up, Rise 'n Shine, Ladies' Retreat and coming soon ... the Uprising and Fathers and Sons' Retreat). Retreats are Evergreen events -- and we post about them (hence the hyperlinks).

So, if you look at blog posts from July to August, there are lots and lots of posts and they're all about summer ... because that's what we do in July and August! The rest of the year, you'll see posts about stuff that's going on on site (stay tuned for posting about our first Cabin Fever! cabin build), about our staff, and such things. Anonymous, have I at least partially addressed your implied question?

(And, p.s., I'll try to be more faithful about blogging in the coming weeks and months, because my August/September showings were weak at best.)

posted by kerry.

rise up! - october 2-4, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:47:00 +0000

Rise Up!, our annual Senior High retreat, was this last weekend. We had a special visit from someone who's usually just present for Rise 'n Shine (our Junior High retreat) ... the snow!

On Sunday (the snow really arrived Sunday), there were snowball fights galore and I took a picture through the kitchen window of them. It was cold. I was a chicken. Ashley and Sandi interpreted the snowfall as an opportunity to take crazy pictures.

We played Bible Smugglers again on Saturday night. I was canoed our teams of smugglers, and on one of my return trips from the hidden dock, as I was approaching the main dock where the smugglers meet for their trips across the pond, I was met with a huge splash. My first thought was, "that's super mean, smugglers! It's cold out! I don't want to get wet!" But, as it turned out, the smugglers had not thrown rocks into the water to splash -- rather, there was an angry beaver swimming around my canoe. It was pretty exciting. The evening ended safely for all smugglers, paddlers and wildlife.

This is going to be our last game of Bible Smugglers for a while. We want it to remain an amazing experience, instead of letting it become old hat to our campers, staff and retreaters. Stay tuned for what will take its place ...

We had a 97 youth and sponsors at Rise Up!, which is awesome ... one the biggest Rise Up!s we've had a while! We like a full dining hall!

Top row, left: Bergen's very own Pam, Megan, Rebecca and Sydney
Top row, right: Staff and volunteers (Joel, Jyle, Olivia, Carey, Jasper, Ashley and Sandi)
Bottom row, left: Linden boys, led by Seth, so happily cooperating with my demand that they pose for a picture.
Bottom row, right: Heather, Kurt and some Dalhousie Dutch Blitz players (btw, did you know that Dutch Blitz has its own website?!)

And of course, chapel is a huge part of any Rise Up! weekend. Vicky, Eric, Krista, Mike, Joel and Andrew led our worship through music, which was great (see the picture below). We were blessed to have Sid Koop with us as our speaker. Sid challenged us to stand in our faith (see 2 Timothy 1:7). We can stand in our schools, we can stand by sharing Jesus with our classmates and teammates. And we need to remember that servants don't ask "can I serve?" -- we should know that we can! The question is, "how can I serve?"

It was a great weekend ... and we're looking forward to seeing you next year!

impact, august 17-22

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Well, I can't really say anything other than that I'm inexcusably behind in posting something for Impact. Impact (grades 9-12) was ridiculously fantastic. Our speaker, Mike Perschon, was challenging and great. It was just really, really, really fun. Bible Smugglers, chosen skill, Homemade Jam, Blue Cows, the Book of Esther, the story of Mary the girls' morning at the creek, dinner on the airplane, dinner in a pirates' ship, You are My child and I love you! (Psalm 91), the version of "Christ in My Vessel" with missiles and stuff, Mike's stories, moose, fireside, and on and on and on ...

Cabin 14 boys (Chad and Alex) ... I don't really know:

Cabin 3 girls (Denine and Emily) with their intense cabin decorations:

Homemade Jam, aboard the HMJ Revenge

There are mountaintops and there are valleys in our lives, in our faith, and when we hit the valleys, don't stop moving. God is still on your side. He is still with you. Don't give up.

ignite 2, august 10-15

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Ignite 2, our second junior high-aged camp for the summer, ran from August 10-15. (I write that and think, "I need to come up with snappier introductory sentences ... did I learn nothing in university?")

Travis Padgham, our speaker, was my youth pastor so I definitely had many flashbacks to grade ten. Good times. Travis talked about a bunch of stuff over the course of the week, including the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) and David and Goliath. To demonstrate just how gigantic Goliath probably was, our kind, hardworking Assistant Maintenance man Colter (he's 6'7" in his bare feet), bravely clomped around the Activity Centre on a pair of drywalling stilts ... which made him 9'1"! It was craziness!

Here are some of the sweet things that campers shared at fireside on Friday night:

"I learned that even at the times when I feel alone, I'm not because God is with me."
"So what I'm thinking is that I have some pieces of armour already and I want to have more, to be a better Christian and to just keep on learning."
"I learned you can tell God anything and no matter what he'll listen and he'll guide you through."
"I learned that no matter what people say about me and what I look like, I'm always loved by God and I'm not a mistake."
"My decision is to let him have full control of my life from now on."
"I learned that even if you made really big mistakes, God still loves you."
"I learned that God still works miracles."
"I have learned not to be afraid because God is in control."
"I learned that God is like a best friend, so basically, you can tell him anything."

Chapel

Games and Activities
(Jug ' n Jog, Leap of Faith, Costumes, etc.)

explorers&sparks 2, august 5-8

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:54:00 +0000

I am very much remiss in my blogging; I apologize. Explorers & Sparks 2 ran from August 5-8 and Jenny Chell spoke. Jenny talked about how God loves us in a never-ending, can't-escape-it, bigger-than-we-can-imagine way.

At the beginning of the week, the skies were bleak and gray and it looked like we were in for a coooold week. Thankfully, it didn't last: we saw sunshine; we got to wear our shorts and tee-shirts! There was even an enormous water fight at the end of the week!

There were just too many cute photos from Explorers & Sparks 2!

Fun at the Barn

And at the Climbing Wall ...

Playing Field Games
(Apparently shots of Alex at Jug 'n Jog are standards ...)

And so much more ...

trail blazers 2, part 2, july 27-august 1

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:52:00 +0000

I'm not going to lie (as Becca would say); this has been a RIDICULOUSLY fun week of camp.

We dressed like rainbows one night and hippies another, we wore our pajamas to breakfast with the most spectacular bed head possible, we lived an entire day in reverse, we brought back Customs Conflict, we heard great stories about Marty and Gerard, we played jug 'n jog and drip drip drop and the animal game and about a hundred other things. We ziplined and trail-rode and egg-dropped and paddled and so, so many other things. Here are a couple more photos so you can imagine you were here ...

trail blazers 2, part 1, july 27-august 1

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:56:00 +0000

it's trail blazers 2!

monday dinner was ninja night.
cabin eight represents (left), nicole is a red ninja (right)

also, we played jug 'n jog on monday night, because that's what we do.

bribing the designated medical personnel. (explorers&sparks 1, part 3, july 20-25)

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:39:00 +0000

So, one of the many roles filled by Camp Evergreen's Designated Medical Personnel (formerly known as the Camp Nurse) is that of cabin checker. Celeste, our DMP for the summer, regularly receives bribes from the cabins who really, really want to win cleanest cabin -- and it is an important contest, because the cleanest cabins get to go first in the food lines at meals and the cabin with the highest total score at the end of the week gets a prize.

Earlier this week, Cabin 10 left the above note for Celeste, with some super tasty breathmints attached to it by masking tape. It's hard to see in the picture, but there was also a big wet splotch on Celeste's name, because the poster had been left on a pair of soaking wet socks. Yum!

explorers&sparks 1, part 2, july 20-25

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Trenton and Ben, our A/V technicians extraordinaire, have been taking sweet photos of all the ridiculously adorable Explorers (going into grades 3 and 4) and Sparkies (going into grades 1 and 2) who are at camp right now, and I have to share some of them with you now! When I was on the program team in 1999 and 2000, I would beg to be a cabin leader for Sparkie week because they are so very cute.

We're in the midst of a scorcher of a week; it's so hot here! We have a staffer driving around in the gator this afternoon delivering water to the thirsty souls at play and we've been bathing in sunscreen. But the heat doesn't stop the fun!

Heading to tuck

Selecting tuck is very serious business

Friends!

Wall climbing

And some canoeing racing relaxing splashing fun to combat the heat!

just prayed! (explorers&sparks 1, part 1, july 20-25)

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:11:00 +0000

This morning at Blue Cows*, one of our eight-year-old Explorer campers prayed the following prayer, which is amazing and funny and so very spot on ...

"God, please help us not to overdo it. We are littering too much and also help us not to wear down all the mountains or cut down all the trees or use up all the mountains for cement. But thank you that there were enough trees to make this camp and the activities so that we can do them and be here. And thank you that you made us to breathe. Help us to take care of your earth and help us not to overdo it. Amen."

* Blue Cows = morning chapel.

ignite 1, july 13-18

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Ignite is junior high camp, and this is a belated post about last week's Ignite camp.

Randy Carter was our speaker and he was full of great stories about breaking a water bed (and how the Bible is God's instruction manual for our lives), barnyard noise making (and how God made each of us intentionally and wonderfully ... regardless of whether we possess the golden coins of smarts, athleticism and beauty), and the right and wrong ways to use a medical glove (and how God wants to make our paths straight).

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Campers, do you have other memories to share? Send us a comment!

climbing wall

zip line (left), cargo net (right)

leap of faith

praying for dinner (left), nutty kids in engineering (right)

jug 'n jog and mustaches

trail blazers 1, july 6-11

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Summer camp is underway! We've just said good-bye to 82 grade 5-6 kids who were here all week -- and it was a great week! We had fairly significant amount of rain, but definitely not enough to prevent us from having tonnes of fun. (And really, who can complain about rain when there's also drought within our province? We are thankful for God's provision.)

Our speaker this week was J Janzen, which was pretty cool for me because waaay back when, when I was a cabin leader, J worked here as the Assistant Program Director. J's an amazing story teller, and he talked about how God created each one of us with a purpose.

Highlights this week include Collectors' Choice in the Activity Centre, the Animal Game, ziplining and sneak out nights. And, of course, Jug 'n Jog. I haven't seen Jug 'n Jog in a while and was surprised to discover that we know play with a safe zone in the middle instead just one middle line. It's good to let things evolve though.

This morning at breakfast, I had a conversation with one of the funniest campers we have here this week (or ever). This probably doesn't really capture what a

Kerry: So, how are you liking your cabin leaders? Are you having fun?
Camper: Yeah, they're great, but I can see that Ben has really changed since last year.
Kerry: What do you mean by that?
Camper: Well, his voice has changed.

We also had a pretty sweet moment in chapel last night: Jenny invited the kids to pray if they wanted to, and she said, "if you want to pray, just stand up on your bench and pray real loud!" And so one boy quickly jumped up on his bench and just hollered super loud. Everyone was startled and a little confused, so Jenny walked over to him, and gently asked, "what are you doing?" The camper replied, "You said to stand up and cheer real loud!" He was a really good sport about it ... in fact, I can imagine him being back as staff in six years or so.

Jug 'n Jog

Alex is saying, "seriously, Kerry? do you have to take pictures right now? I'm trying to concentrate on this sweet game of Jug 'n Jog. I'm even wearing a special Jug 'n Jog jersey."
Bradley is saying, "Yes! I'm going to be blogged! Yes! I love Camp Evergreen! I love my life! I love Jug 'n Jog! I love it I love it I love it!"

Collectors' Choice - Hula Hooping Challenge

Chapel - Everybody Jump, Now!

Some Archery Action

Engineering
Every time I've seen the Engineering kids this week, they've been so excited about the projects Katie has for them. They were tossing eggs of the balcony of the lodge today -- the boys' egg survived its fall; the girls' egg did not.

Canoeing Fun
Even when the weather's less than hot, you still have to get some good splashing in! Traffic jams are also a critical part of the canoeing experience at Camp Evergreen.

family camp, july 3-5

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:16:00 +0000

I'm so behind in posting! We had our first family camp from July 3-5, and it was a good weekend! Our speaker was Russell Sanche, who works with YWAM Calgary. We had decent weather (or as several of our staff might say, "it was dece, the weather was dece." And everyone had a sweet time! We canoed and ziplined, we trail rode and coloured, we arched and ate. We also had a very special visit from Ethel and Lucy, who led a riotous and lengthy round of The Very Wed Game. That and Yodel 'n Hum are the only parts of the weekend I have pictures of (sorry!). See below!

Yodel 'n Hum

Erin, Jesse and Jasper leading Yodel 'n Hum at the Fire Ring 'of Fun.
Sawyer being his usual, adorable self.

The Very Wed Game
Lucy (left) and Ethel (right), posing in preparation for The Very Wed Game.
Our very good-humoured The Very Wed Game contestants (with special congratulations to Team Too Cool).

PS. If you want to join us for more of the same kind of fun, check out our August 28-30 Family Gathering.

flour fairies, QUAD buffs

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:04:00 +0000

Recently, we've received some really sweet donations. One of our Medicine Hat friends, John (who will be speaking at the August 28-30 Family Camp), has been sending loads and loads of whole wheat flour our way, delivered with love by Peter and Elfrieda. Thank you, all! Peter and Elfrieda's minivan was weighed down with about 1400lbs of flour in the delivery pictured below (plus many, many boxes of Triscuits, which the staff have been snacking on for the last several weeks).

We also had a multiple room trailer donated to us at the beginning of May -- our male spring staff lived in it during May and June and male support staff will be living in it throughout the summer. We've been so thankful for the extra beds it has afforded us! I have a couple pictures of the moving in process to post below. My favourite is the one of Dave, Rolf, Cody, Jyle and Vince discussing their next move while gesturing all at once. I love it. The trailer -- which Courtney has taken to calling the QUAD -- is now nestled in the trees between the lovely RV sites and the basketball/hockey pad.

introducing ... ashley

noreply@blogger.com (Camp Evergreen) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Ashley is amazing. She's a super hard worker, she's full of passion and life and she's just lots of fun to have around. She's our Support Staff Team Leader this summer, and she'll be working really closely with our SURGE campers. 2009 is going to be a banner year for general amazing-ness, fun-ness and productive-ness on the support staff team. I am confident of this. As for Ashley's picture, she spent several months in Australia and New Zealand at the start of 2009.

hometown | Coaldale, Alberta

favourite band | Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

favourite books | The O'Malley Series

favourite movie/tv show | Glory Road

best camp memory | "Making Calvin and Hobbes snowmen with [Jenni B.] in the wee hours of the morning."

favourite thing(s) to do at camp evergreen | "THE KILLER BEAM."

favourite skill to teach (and why) | "Challenge Course because it means I get to dangle from high places!"

i can't make it through the day without ... | Coffee

favourite bible verse/chapert/book/writer | Mark

how many years i've been coming to Evergreen | "This is my fourth year as staff."

something i love to do when i'm not working is ... | "Sleep!"