COME WITH ME.....UNDER THE SEA!!!!!
That is our summer camp theme, and we are already over half way through, having just finished week 4 out of 6. It's been hot, its been wet, and its been exhausting, but the Lord gives strength to endure the hot sun and patiently persevere through each day :) What's exciting about this time of year, is that we have many kids that come for the entire six weeks. At moments, they drive us crazy..... but.we love each one and it enables us to build relationships with campers therefore helping to lead them further into a relationship with Christ. This is my 3rd summer camp in Nassau, and for the first time since I've been here, we have reached our maximum numbers of children every single week with 80 plus 5 or 6 staff kids. Thanks to the committed summer camp staff, we have been able to maintain a good camper to staff ratio.
SUMMER STAFF TRAINING WEEK
So what does a typical day at summer camp look like? Well, it begins with summer STAFF! We rely heavily upon volunteers to make summer camp happen. As with any team coming together and forming, the need for bonding and building relationships is foundation for a well functioning team throughout the summer. This post will first give a short summary of our week of staff training followed by a picture tour through a typical day at Summer Camp, followed by more specific roles that I play.
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| For staff training week, we began each day with team building. Pictured here is a group being led blindfolded to the white object on the grass. Any group coming together must learn how to work with one another and rely upon each others strengths to overcome obstacles. |
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| We had some really good break throughs that week with individuals trusting and working through their fears. |
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| Each day after team building, we did some guidelines and procedures training (led by Dilan Van Ryn) which included some basic first aid training (led by Laura VanRyn) |
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| and some bus training to learn songs for singing with the kids when transporting them to and from the beach and field trips. |
SUMMER CAMP PICTURE TOUR
Each morning, campers begin the day with welcome and worship led by our college volunteers Paige, Dakota, and Andia. These ladies volunteered for a month prior to the start of summer camp designing, painting, and decorating the main media centre room with "Under the Sea" theme. So thank ful for them!
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| After welcome time, campers are divided into groups by age |
and rotate through 4 classes throughout the morning. The classes change from week to week with the exception of Bible. Laura Van Ryn has been our Bible teacher and every day has done a fantastic job of making Bible stories come to life through hands on and heart provoking exercises. Some of the other classes have been.........
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| Sports |
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| Crafts |
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Archery
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| Animal "Ventures" |
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| and Wilderness Adventures....... |
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......my favorite class! :)
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| as in......the next two weeks, other classes campers will experience are Art, dance, Go Green(taking care of environment), and film making. |
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After class time, is lunch, followed by a daily afternoon activity which varies depending upon the day. Monday afternoons we have done ALC activities like horse and train rides, petting farm tours, water games, popcorn and movie, planetarium experiences etc.....
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| Tuesday is beach day! |
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| Demetri, one of our returning campers from last summer! |
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| Wednesday is field trip day. Week 1 we went on the Sea World Explorer........... |
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| .....where the campers went "under the sea" to view the fish. |
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| Week 2 was Ardastra Gardens, the local zoo |
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| Week 3 was bowling. |
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| Week 4 was a trip out to the western edge of the island to Clifton Heritage National Park. We were given a tour of the area with history of the plantation and slave ruins that remain. |
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| Thursday is pool day at nearby South Beach public pools. |
Friday we spend the afternoon doing an awards ceremony to recognize each camper by name for a special character trait observed by their counselors throughout the week.
AS FOR MY ROLE AT SUMMER CAMP........
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| I have had mixed roles. Two out of the first four weeks I've been the sports teacher. Week 1 we played a lot of large group "Under the Sea" themed games and water relays. Thanks to the Lord for equipping me with many ideas and games that I've added to my "bag of tricks" over the years from teaching and camping experience. |
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Week 2 I taught my favorite class of all.....Wilderness Adventures! We went hiking...
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| camping....... |
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| more camping...... |
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cooking hot dogs......
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....on the trail;
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| and roasting marshmallows...... |
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| for making smores! :) For many of the children, it was their first time eating a smore. |
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Week 3 I stepped aside from summer camp to host teacher workshops. Between two days, we facilitated 30 teachers for their professional development day. It was an opportunity to highlight the programs that we currently offer.......
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and to promote the brand new planetarium programs grades 1-3 that I have spent the last year working on. This program Lord willing will launch this fall.
Week 4, I returned to my role as the sports teacher. SURVIVOR - man vs.wild! The activities were designed to be "kid friendly" extreme, by challenging them our of a comfort zone. Some of the other activities that I don't have pictures for were the water tug of war challenge and the dunk tank challenge.
There is so much going on this summer! And there is so much more to share with you! First the bad news, I will not be returning to Denver in August as I did last year. Due to some ALC related curriculum projects that need to be completed before the start of fall staff training, I will be working the month of August. Stay tuned for another update on the stolen/recovered/ and repaired car. At that time I will also share with you some really interesting ways that I see the Lord at work in my life. One last item of importance is change and transition within the ministry. Mark Wallace stepped down from director of the Adventure Learning Centre. He will continue serving as the planetarium director. In the meantime a team of us have been asked to serve together to lead the ministry until an executive director is put into place to oversee both the centre AND the camp.
Praise Reports:
- Successful 4 weeks of summer camp and for God's sustaining strength to endure hot summer
- Provision of finances, resources, and individuals to help with moving my car situation forward.
- Praise for an answer to a long time personal prayer request.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for energy and strength to finish last two weeks of summer camp strong.
- Pray for ALC related projects that must be completed in August prior to fall staff training
- Pray for myself and the other members of the leadership team (Tim, Mark, Dilan, Myself, Sean, and Eldora) as we meet together weekly and discuss ministry related business.
- Pray for the board as they work through these changes as well.
Blessings, and thanks again to you all for your prayerful and practical support! You are loved and missed!
Jen
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