the green spot blog

In the last week I have been struck by something I want to call wild blessings of simple gifts. I'm calling them wild because they've just really encouraged me in what we do here at camp and in all honesty...it sounded good in my head. :) PC: Tammy Hanratty I'm going to tell about the two examples of these blessings and how regular people have decided to bless camp out of their own means. The first one was from a parent who called in to pay for their child's camp last week. As I wrapped up the details to do the payment - the parent stopped me and said that it wasn't just her child's camp that they wanted to submit payment for. The parent took a moment to explain that for the last couple of years they have had to apply for our Campership Aid Program so that their daughter could come to camp. They talked about how it was a Godsend that they were able to still send their child to camp even though the finances weren't available at the time. The parent s...

It's certainly easy for me or anybody that works at camp to tell you why it is so awesome and why it is so important for kids to experience. I started attending camps when I was five years old and kept attending straight through graduation, when I turned into a seasonal staff member - working during the summers between university semesters. I still couldn't keep away - I then became a full-time director. You can see why it's easy for me to talk about the life-changing role that camp plays in one's life. It played that role in mine. Many people agree with me. The activities, games, and the outdoors obviously make camp so amazing. When we ask kids what they love about their week the normal, expected answers pop up. But would you believe me if I told you that one of the things that campers talk about when asked what they love about camp is that it's a break from their devices? Camp is a place unlike any other. Freedom from devices and technology, outdoor advent...

This week is a little bit different of a blog post than our regular-scheduled ones. Today we want to take some time to say thanks to one of our Permanent Staff members who has moved on from camp this fall. Taylor Jenkins came to Evergreen five and a half years ago from Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. I picked her up at the end of April 2011. I don't think either of us really thought that season would turn into five and a half years. It was pitch black and even when it's light out - driving to camp can seem like you're driving into the middle of no where. It took some time to get Taylor settled at camp. The Foothills of Alberta is a very different landscape than the Georgia Strait and large ocean of BC. Probably the hardest thing for Taylor to get used to was our freezing temperatures...which weren't necessarily freezing all the time but I don't think her winter jackets ever got packed away. It was only recently when she saw me pull two rubbermaids out of my sh...

Connor (Tim Bit) in Northern Ireland We love to tell stories about how camp is continuing to impact the lives of our campers and staff outside of our Summer Camp season. In the fall, we shared about Felicity (Hulkin) working in Brazil. This week - we'd like to share about another staff member, Connor (Tim Bit) who travelled to Northern Ireland to do a program through YWAM. We're excited to welcome Connor back in just a few weeks as a Spring and Summer Staff member. Connor wrote this a couple months ago but because where his team was travelling to, we had to keep it under wraps until they got back to N. Ireland. We hope you enjoy his story: Lives are transformed at camp by the power of Jesus. I have seen lives transformed, and my own life has been transformed at camp. Three and a half years ago I did the PUSH Program (now Pit Crew) at camp and that was the first time I had ever lived in a community setting. I loved it and I knew I had to go back. I've been to camp ever...

Hey Folks! Sorry if it's taken a few extra days to get the Green Spot up this week. We like to post about things that are happening at camp or to share from our heart about what God has been teaching us. This week was a little different for me because I had to actually write about me! Last Friday - our Board of Directors and current Camp Staff surprised me with an undercover surprise party to celebrate my 10 years as a Director here at camp. I say 'undercover' because it was described as a Board/Staff social. But when the cake came out - it was obviously about me. What a blessing! People shared some very touching things about me and when I was asked to share - I found I was at a loss for words. Not because I didn't have anything to say but how do you fit a decade...TEN years of joy into a few sentences? My time here started more than 10 years ago. I worked for 5 spring and summer seasons before I started full time. Summer 2015 actually marked my 15th summer here a...

How far is Evergreen's reach? Well - there is now a Willsonball Pit in Fortaleza, Brazil. How - you might ask? If you keep reading - you'll find out. I like to share stories about our staff here. Not just our adventures of staff who work with us through the year but of staff who leave camp at the end of summer and have different kind of adventures. We have so many staff that return to university and college to pursue what God has set on their hearts. Some of our staff leave here and head to Bible schools all across Canada and the world. We have staff at Capernwrays or YWAMs in Belize, Austria, France and New Zealand right now. It's amazing to think of where in the world our Evergreeners are right now. With all that in mind, I'd like to take this moment to share the story of one of our past staff and where in the world she has found herself. Felicity, or better known as Hulkuin,  has been a camper, staff, and volunteer at Evergreen for many, many years. Felicity has ...

 Behind the serving of food, the cleaning of facilities, the facilitating of activities, the running of games, and everything else we do in the sight of our guest groups and campers, there is a rich tapestry of stories and sagas which populate the private lives of Camp Evergreen staff members. Our time off from camp comprises tales which run the gamut of emotion and expression—exhilaration, desperation, tribulation, celebration, and most everything in between. The tale I share here is perhaps one of the more tragic ones, but one that is necessary to understand the full spectrum of the camp staff experience. This is the story of Johnstone and Potts. The story starts—like most good stories do—on a table at the back of an open garage. Upon this table sits an array of trinkets and knickknacks, amongst which we find two wooden ducks. The day is May 17, 2014, and it’s a good day for hitting up garage sales—the weather looks to be sunny and pleasant, but not sweltering. Th...

“But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.” - John Piper As a child, my parents never sent me to summer camp. In grade 9, I went on a school trip to Frontier Lodge, we called it The Winter Survival Trip . These few days at camp sparked a desire in me to go back that summer. However, thinking back now, it was more than the fun activities we did that made me want to go back, it was the staff. I saved every penny that I could to go for summer camp. That one week at camp impacted me in ways that I never realized until this past year. Camp was full of adventure that included rock climbing, rappelling, mountain biking, white-water rafting, and overnight camp in the mountains. Regardless of my love for each activity, the highlight of camp by far was the staff, especially my cabin leader. She was...

Did you go to camp as a kid?  One of my favourite memories growing up as a child was attending Columbia Bible Camp, near Chilliwack, B.C.  Little did I know back then that I would end up working at Columbia in 1982 as a cabin leader and again from 1994 - 2004 as program director.  (Columbia Bible Camp has since become Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre). Because I was so young, (or maybe because I'm so old now), my memories of being a camper are fading with each passing year.  But here are some of the things I do remember:  - I remember one of my cabin mates being able to make this real cool noise with his mouth that sounded just like a goose honking.  As fellow campers we were duly impressed and asked him all day to make the "honk".  I'm sure by the end of the week he had no voice or honk left.  - I remember having watermelon and sloppy joes the last meal of camp outside each year.  It was lunch and there was definitely some scary...