the green spot blog

So exciting! We got a new sign for the end of the driveway. It features our new logo, which you probably recognize, since it's been the logo on our tee-shirts and hoodies since 2008. But this fall, we bought the logo outright and you'll be seeing a lot of it on our website*, registration materials, newsletters and all the rest! The sign is also on a reflective background, which means it's impossible to miss when you're pulling in at night, as many of our weekend guest groups do this time of year. Many thanks to the kind donors who made our new sign possible! *It's about time for a website redesign, don't you think? We're looking at the spring for a new online look.

UPDATED (January 5, 2011) information available here . We have a project for the remainder of this calendar year: we need to pull together $15,225 (including GST) for new furnaces plus $4919.25 (including GST) for a new water heater, to replace the furnaces and water heater in our lodge. The current units are aging and our objective is to replace them pro-actively, so we don't end up in a situation where we have to shut our doors for repairs while groups are supposed to be on site! Can you help us raise the $20,144.25 required for the new furnaces and water heater, by December 15, 2010? We've done our research and will be choose high efficiency units to replace the furnaces -- units that will not only pay for themselves in gas savings, but will be transplantable when we reach the point where we can replace our lodge*. As for the water heater, we will again be purchasing a high efficiency unit from the same line as is used in our outdoor bathrooms. Again, we anticipate that t...

Last Friday (October 22), Highland Church generously loaned us their youth group and their fellowship hall, so we could have a funny and fun night raising funds for Camp Evergreen's capital projects (of which there are many ... you can take a peek at our Wish List if you don't believe me!). It was a huge blessing to spend the evening with friends and supporters of our ministry here at Evergreen. We thank God often for all of you, including those of you who couldn't make it out on Friday, of course! Step One for the evening was a wildly tasty dinner, featuring a CRAZY salad dressing that Ken spent over an hour perfecting, along with time to visit at the tables and to check out the sweet Silent Auction opportunities! Thanks to the Highland youth for serving, washing dishes and helping with both set up and take down! Step Two involved general silliness, zany costumes, headstands and a visit from the Three Tenors. Our host for the evening was Austin Powers (sometimes k...

Every summer at Camp Evergreen I learn new lessons from God. This past summer was no different for me. While I was leading a cabin I encountered a camper who came from a particularly difficult living situation. Being from a group home and having little contact with family, the camper had a difficult time accepting that God loved him because he had so few experiences of love in his life. While he was enjoying the week, it was clear that the camper had set up a wall between him and God. One night, the camper uncharacteristically refused to go to chapel. He was visibly upset, so I followed him through the woods, listened to his story, thoughts and feelings, and eventually calmed him down enough to sit outside of the chapel. It seemed like the walls he had built would never come down! After my encounter with this camper, I was quite exhausted but for some reason, I was compelled to walk. I didn't know why but leaving my co-cabin leader with our campers, I had to keep walking. Befor...

It's been a while since I've blogged here at the green spot. To the few of you who check regularly (for example, Reilly, Alyssa ...): I'm sorry! I'm sorry to the rest of you too. So, get back into the swing of things, I'm going to give you a bit of a preview of what's coming up on the blogging front (although posts may not appear in exactly the order listed): Rise Up! , aka Senior High Retreat, was the first weekend in October. Our speaker was Seth Franco and we had the biggest Rise Up! crowd we've had several years -- 126 youth and sponsors! Huzzah! There are teaser photos below (props to the Ben in Benton). Summer stories! I've been calling out for tales of summer to share with you all and have a nice little stack of great stories from campers and staff that I'll start posting shortly. Fundraising Fun! Tonight, we're hosting a Spy-tastic Dinner & Auction in Calgary and next Friday, we're hosting a Dessert Night & Silent Auction...

Impact (teen camp) was great. It was fantastic. It was legit. It was epic. It was ... a really long time ago already! We played a great, week-long game of Settlers of Alethia. We had surprisingly fantastic weather. Homemade Jam, which took place during Hockey Night in Alethia, was totally legit. Mike talked all about the life of Jesus, which was a completely epic life. Like I said, our speaker Mike Perschon focused on the life of Jesus in his talks during Impact. It's a little bit revolutionary ... of course, we talk about Jesus all the time, but it's usually in the context of some specific aspect of the Bible, like Micah 6:8 or Colossians 1:17 or 2 Timothy 1:7. We spent a whole week just talking about what Jesus did during his life and why it matters to us and why it matters in general. It was great! [The whole Jesus of Nazareth movie is available on YouTube, kids! That's the one with the Jesus actor who came across as a little on the ... intense (scary) side...

Our Ignite 2 speaker was Travis Padgham, from Edmonton. Travis talked about what is truth? How do we know what's truth? And how do we know what's true? He talked about how what we choose matters and how placing the emphasis differently gives a person a different perspective on Micah 6:8. Remember this, campers? Walk humbly with your God Walk humbly with your God Walk humbly with your God Walk humbly with your God I think it was a week when a lot of people learned a lot of big things, and thought about a lot of big things. Who is Jesus? Why does He matter? What do I believe about Him? One of the biggest questions I was asked was, "what does it mean when the Bible says that God is a jealous God?" I love that all you all (campers) are asking big questions! May you find the answers, and the community who will walk with you as you learn to walk with God! As for the photo essay, Mountain biking is one of our chosen skills; Jyle and Emily (not pictured) hav...