Justin didn't know ANYONE going except his friend Mason that invited him and Mason's brother Bowen. There were about 250 kids (3rd-5th grade) that went and they had 5 charter busses that took them down and back. The camp was in High Springs, FL.
He had a blast at camp, as I knew he would. He enjoyed telling us all about it when we picked him up tonight. I think we all want to go next year!!
We missed him and the house was much quieter around here without him. Jennifer enjoyed watching "girly shows" without Justin complaining about them, but I think she even missed him too. And, she was so sweet to give him $5 of her hard-earned money to use however he wanted at camp. I thought that was very thoughtful of her!!
They were not allowed to bring any electronic devices or cell phones, so there was really no way to get in touch with him once he left. Of course, we had an emergency number for the camp just in case, but just to know what he was doing...nothing. This was a big change for us. Technology has always allowed us to be in contact with our kids no matter where they or we are at. So, Dale wondered how we were going to know how he was doing, and I replied "I guess we will do what my parents did when I went to camp, nothing!"
However, JFBC was so super sweet and took care of all our concerns. They posted a blog once a day, and had Facebook updates throughout the day every day, and tweeted every couple of hours the whole time. I joined Twitter just to be able to keep up with their activities, and it was GREAT!!!! I so looked forward to knowing what fun stuff they were doing and being able to pray for them during certain times and seeing pictures of my boy smiling and having fun!! I missed him, of course, but all the updates made it so much easier.
Here are the blogs so that we can remember some of the details better and there is an awesome video at the end with the highlights:
Day before leaving -We are getting ready and very excited about having your kids at camp with us for a whole week! I hope that all the suitcases are packed and ready to go, because Tuesday is coming up fast! I hope that your kids are ready to go to Hollywood and learn about being a part of God’s big story.
Day 1 - We have already had a GREAT time at camp so far, even though yesterday did not quite go as we had planned. The day started off great (with much thanks due to you, the parents at home, for that!) when we left the church on time and the drive went smoothly. Our early crew, however, was not having as much luck. Usually the early crew of Rec and Children’s Ministry staff arrive the day before your kids do, setting up things behind the scenes so that arrival at camp is very smooth. Unfortunately due to the schedule of the camp, we were not able to get into any of the buildings at camp until Tuesday afternoon. But then the group that was leaving camp yesterday morning had bus troubles and couldn’t leave on time. So their luggage, media equipment, and all their kids (did I mention it was a group of several hundred kids?) were in all our spaces even when your kids showed up for camp.
This story has a GREAT ending though. Right about the time the buses pulled into Camp Kulaqua, it also started raining. So we let the kids hang out on the bus for a little bit longer while we waited for the other group to clear out of the space we wanted to use. Your kids were SO patient as they hung out on the bus, even after they had been riding on the bus for so many hours. We were so impressed. Long story short – we had to rearrange our schedule and ended up going with Plan F or G (instead of plan A or B…) but the kids made the best of every step along the way.
So far everybody is settled in their cabins and we had a great time hanging out at the pool last night and getting to know our Spirit Teams. For those of you who are new to Children’s Camp, a Spirit Team is the group that your child spends most of their time with during the day. They go to Bible Study and Recreation as a Spirit Team, they’ll sit together in Worship, and there are Spirit Sticks that we give out each day to the Spirit Team that cheers and has fun throughout the day for their team. This year our teams are named after movie studios like Pixar, MGM, and Columbia. I’m excited to hear what kind of cheers the counselors and kids come up with.
We are getting ready to head to breakfast, then all the kids will go to Cabin Clean-up and have their Quiet Times. I hope you’ll participate with us by using your Parent Information Book. You’ll find a section for each day where you can read about what your kids are learning here at camp about God and His Word. We’re excited about the conversations you’ll get to have with your kids as you dig into the Bible together.
Well, I’m off to grab some breakfast. Have a great morning and follow us on Twitter (@johnsonferrykid) to keep up with what we’re doing throughout the day. I should update the blog again tonight after our Fellowship. See you then!
Day 2 - Yesterday we had a GREAT time at our first full day of camp. We are working on a way to share videos, pictures, and audio of what we are doing, seeing, and learning here at camp, but while we’re working on that, trust me, your kids are doing awesome. Here are a few cool things I saw happen yesterday:
Some third grade campers were clearing off the tables in the cafeteria, taking other peoples’ plates and trash, and wiping them down. When I asked them why they were doing it (thinking a counselor had put them up to it) they said, “Because we want to!” Such sweet kiddos!
Yesterday during free time a few girls were a bit hesitant to go off the blob… but all the other kids that were waiting were so patient and encouraging! Almost all of them got up the courage to actually jump!
It rained yesterday for a little bit at the beginning of free time. Instead of whining or complaining that they couldn’t swim, the kids that I saw quickly changed their plans and were flexible and excited about the chance to do something else.
All in all, we are having a great time at camp and learning a lot. Look for more updates and keep following us on Twitter for quick pictures and updates
Day 3 - We are having a blast down here (even though it has been raining on and off pretty much all week) and I hope you can tell from this photo album on Facebook.
Camp Kulaqua Photos
We have been so impressed with your kids and how well they have adapted to this week at camp. It’s hard to believe that today is our last full day here and we’ll be headed back your way tomorrow! We have a full day planned for today and hopefully rain won’t interfere too badly. (You know, the rain messes with the staff more than it bothers the kids!)
This morning in Bible Study, your kids will learn all about THEIR role in God’s big story. Afterwards, we will have one of the craziest rec times ever. The rec staff has kept the game a big secret except for telling us all to wear clothes we won’t mind just throwing away after the game. We’re excited to get messy this morning and I know your kids feel the same way!
This afternoon our kids will be busy trying to visit everything during free time! The blob is a big hit, but so are the go carts and horseback riding and there are generally a ton of kids at the water park. We love free time for a lot of reasons, but as a staff member, free time is great because I get to hang out with your kids without having to run a program at the same time. It’s always fun to sit around and laugh while people go off the blob or do a lap around the lazy river on floats just talking about anything.
Tonight is an important night at camp – decision night. Your kids will be given a chance to put their trust in the Lord. Please begin to pray right now for the kiddos that have never made this decision. Pray that Lee will be clear in his message of salvation.
After worship, we hope to be able to have a campfire where kids can share about what God is doing in their lives this week and what they’ve learned about following Him and being a part of God’s story. We do have a rain plan in place, but that means no fire… and it’s a lot easier to share around a campfire than it is inside a brightly lit building for some reason.
Finally, we’ll close the night with our Tiny Oscar Fellowship. We’ll be giving away Tiny Oscars while kids get to show-off what they’ve done this week. We’ll see a few of our performance track times and announce our Spirit stick winners, Cabin Clean-up winners, and more. All in all, it will be a great day today… and it all starts right now with breakfast!
Day 4 - It’s hard to believe but our week at Camp Kulaqua is already over! The buses are loaded and all the kids are already on the road headed back to you. They can’t wait to see you and tell you all about camp! Remember to ask your kids about what they learned each day (see your Parent Information Guide for help… it doesn’t have to be hard to start a spiritual conversation with your kid!).
Also – I would encourage each and every one of you to sign up for the weekly devotional e-mail at www.d6family.com/splink for easy and simply ideas on starting spiritual conversations with your kids every week. They give you 3 ideas each week, so you don’t feel guilty for skipping or missing a day, plus the ideas are practical and fun. Many times they will fit right in with an activity you already do with your kids (like standing in line at the grocery store) and just apply a spiritual principle (like God wants us to be patient).
We’ve had a great week at Camp Kulaqua and the kids have been talking about wanting to continue to have a Quiet Time when they come home. Help your kids out by setting a great example for them and getting them the supplies that they need to succeed. Check out the back of your Parent Information Book for more information about Quiet Time Resources.
Finally, here is our highlight video of the week. Enjoy!
Children's Camp 2011 Highlight Video from Johnson Ferry on Vimeo.
Justin's track was soccer and him and Mason won the soccer tournament. Way to go boys!! There was also putt-putt and a zoo there that the boys enjoyed as well during free time.
Thank you Lord for letting Justin go on this trip and thank you for returning him safely to us!!
1 comment:
Glad he had fun!
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