Our
summer started off cold and rainy at Work Week. With only a handful of workers,
we had a lot of quality time together and some of my favorite memories were
from our “off time” at night, when we’d sit around and talk with the “old
guys”. Ron, Joe, ***, and Jim all had awesome stories and memories from the
early days of Camp and never failed to remind us of how good we have it with
the awesome new building. Andrea and I tried to expose *** to some of the
music we listen to, one day while painting the inside of the girls’ cabins, but
he complained the songs “all sound the same and have the same beat”.
Next,
we had our first week of Special Persons Camp, which I was, admittedly, nervous
about, never having done SPC before. Although it was a very difficult and
tiring week for me, I gained a whole new appreciation for the caretakers who
take care of the Special Persons every other week of the year. It’s impossible
to close your heart to any of the Special Persons. They’re, for lack of a
better word, intrusive and insist on knowing everything about your life. They rarely
hesitate to ask, say, or try anything and it was refreshing to be with people
so unimpressed by what most of the world considers credentials. They are the
least judgmental, most accepting people you could ever hope to be with.
Grove City, as always, was a blessing. Even
though I think I only actually got to sit through 2 sermons all week, this year
at Grove City
was still spiritually stimulating. I realized that sometimes, God will use you
to serve other people, which in turn, will better yourself in a way that a
sermon may not. Sometimes, it’s being a doormat for other people that will
further His Kingdom. I thoroughly enjoyed working in VBS and investing in the
youngest generation at the Conference. They are the ones that I expect to
invest in the lives of my children someday.
Week
four was Teen Camp and one of the most enjoyable for me. Sure, it’s probably
the easiest because they don’t need help showering and going to the bathroom,
but it was also a blessing because it was neat to see the campers interact with
each other. Danny commented that his favorite memory was “getting to know the
teen group even more on the inside”. Camp is such an awesome opportunity to get
to know other people your age on a deeper level; a level not possible
elsewhere.
Kids
Camp focused on the Fruit of the Spirit all week. In addition to learning about
the Fruit in the Bible, Becky and Melissa had bought a bunch of exotic fruits
for the kids to try, which was really fun for the kids. We sang a bunch of
goofy Fruit of the Spirit songs and the staff provided entertainment with some
skits. Joe remarked that the intern skits were his favorite part of Camp.
Having Clint from Vermont, Ryan from Florida, and the Cannon family all the way from Texas was really fun
because amongst the staff, all different ages and parts of the country were
represented. It was good to see that Camp is making an effort to bring in other
people.
Special
Persons Camp #2 was the last week of the summer. We had the opportunity to take
the campers to a small amusement park and bowling, which was very fun for the
campers. They enjoyed showing off their bowling talent to us. It was something,
that despite the varying levels of disabilities, they could all participate in
and many campers said it was their favorite part of the week. Director Sarah
said her favorite part of the week was “when Wayne played a donkey during Tuesday’s skit.
It was classic!” This last week ran very smoothly and was the perfect way to
end the summer.
Andrea’s Camp Blessing Blog 2009
Work Week:
When I was asked what my favorite week of the summer is, Work week was my
immediate response. I had a really great time getting to know the men who had
also volunteered to help out and it really made me feel good to give back to
the camp that had given me so many great memories. Eric was eager to get Autumn
and I involved in "Man's Work" which included using power tools!
Special Persons Camp 1
I had a lot of anxiety tied with the beginning of Special Persons camp 1. I was
unsure of what to expect and had no experience working with Mentally
Handicapped people in the past. However, once we got started the week just flew
by. We had an amazing group of campers that kept us laughing and kept us on our
toes. I also celebrated my 21st birthday this week and I couldn't have asked
for a better way to celebrate!
Grove City
I have been attending the Berean Christian Conference or the past 7 years of my
life and this was the first year that I have helped out with something such as
VBS. I had a great time getting to know the younger population of Grove City goers! Melissa
did a wonderful job of organizing the week and made it very easy for Autumn and
I to take over the 7-8 year old class. The kids were all eager to jump on the
Boomerang Express and had all kinds of fun at the gym during free time!
Teen Camp
Teen Camp
was a fun week full of all different kinds of activities both athletic and
academic and all that's in between. We planted some flowers that will hopefully
come up again in the spring and the campers enjoyed the serenading that
ritualistically happens on the last night of camp. Brian and Andy put a lot of
work into planning this week and we had a lot of great discussions about the
different types of prayer. Coffee house was a hit as always and many of the
campers showed some great talents and a good time was had by all!
Children’s Camp
We had staff from all over the country helping out at this camp! Melissa from Texas, Clint from Vermont
and Ryan came all the way up from Florida for
his first trip to Camp
Blessing. The fire
department came and the kids loved playing around in the water and the foam.
The theme of camp was Fruits of the Spirit and every day we tried a new and
unusual fruit. My favorite was the Rainer Cherry :)
Special Persons Camp 2
This year was the first year Camp Blessing
hosted 2 weeks of Special Persons Camp. This week we had 2 fun outings to Marathon Park
where we ate some yummy lunch and rode the train around the park and the
carousel. The next day we went bowling and the Campers LOVED it! All they would
talk about all week was how excited they were to go bowling. I think it was
very beneficial to have two weeks of SP camp because we had a very nice turn
out and the campers have a really enjoyable time together and taking a little
vacation from their everyday life.