the green spot blog

This week was full of fun, Jesus, and thunder. Every day, it seemed, had storm clouds roll in and thunder. Fortunately for us, it seemed to only really rain when we were inside for meals or Chapel. Activities like Horsemanship, Zipline, Canoeing, archery, and more! These kids played our wide games with enthusiasm and gusto - you could often hear them playing halfway across camp. I hope all of the parents enjoy the singing today at Closing as much as we have all week. This week our speaker was from Dalhousie Church in Calgary, Brennan Dyck. It was so much fun to see the kids interact with Brennan in chapel and during the games. Last night we had our testimony "rocks"...rocks because for the third week in a row, we were rained out from our fire ring. The weather wasn't a downer though - as always - testimony nights are MY favourite. I absolute love hearing what kids are learning about God and what they're experiencing at camp. Here is a small sample of the testimo...

Our first week of summer has been awesome! We kick it off with one of the most fun ages - Jr. Explorers! These little ones are between the ages of Gr. 1-4 and are super keen to learn new skills, brave new heights (literally), and test their limits. These campers say the most ridiculous things and are hilarious. I've seen "Tigers" in skirts riding horses!! If that's not hilarious - I don't know what is! I absolutely love watching these kids look at an activity like canoing, identify that they are nervous about trying it and taking the brave steps towards conquering their fears. I think we could learn a lot from these little ones! Our Speaker this week was Carol from Cranbrook. Here we just called her Questing Carol. She taught us songs, had us competing for the Banana Cup each day, looking for stars, and had us laughing. She taught lots about God: He's an eternal God He's our eternal King We can have eternal life though His son, Jesus He offers u...

Today we received 10 camper registrations. That may not seem like a lot but when you're 89% full - 10 campers make a big difference. We only have 126 spots left in our summer camps. We truly are down to the last stretch. We're wanting to see every. single. spot. filled. We want 1041 campers and 43 families hear the Gospel this summer - we want to see Lives Transformed by the Power of Jesus . To do this, we need staff. We need volunteers. Each May and June, we bring in about 30 staff to work our Outdoor Education and Guest Group ministry. During this time - our discipleship programs and summer games are being written and designed - summer magic is being crated. At the end of June, 30 staff becomes 70 and we are joined by nearly 100 volunteers in the following two months. These are not youth, young adults, lesser young adults, and grandparents who are wasting their summer or finding something to do to fill their time...they're building the Kingdom of God. They are using...

Sometimes when people ask me if things have settled down at camp I want to chuckle. Not because it's a silly question - more because it can feel crazy how far in advance we are planning. Not only that, but a few short days after Impact ended we were training our Fall staff, jumped right into Summer's End Family Camp, and then started receiving Guest Groups on site. There really isn't a "settling" that happens here. Just transitions into the next season. Summer has been packed up in my office, it's true. I've rolled up the signs that read Lost and Found, Registration A-K, The Nurse and stored them for the winter. Summer planning takes a cat nap in September. By October, registration forms for 2018, speakers, and volunteers all start getting worked on. It's exciting to watch plans build and develop. Summer camp isn't the only thing we plan for right now. In fact, it's only one piece of what we do. Retreats and Fundraisers are being planned...