Joyful Craziness

The first week of camp has come and gone. Campers left on Sunday with smiles on their faces, gooey crafts in hand, and lots of great memories. Here are some of the week highlights.

We love campfires at camp and they are always filled with laughter, warmth, and a cloud of bug spray over the campers. Some of the campers' favourites include Wig-A-Low, the Banana Song, and the Boogie Woogie Washer Woman. You never know what kind of dance moves you'll see at a Keir fire. One of my personal favourites was when one of the camper's dance moves was rolling around in the grass. It was priceless. Gone are the days of the easy campfire dance moves of "the John Travolta" or "the Egyptian Princess"; now we have moves such as "the log roll", "the worm", and "the crazy bear". Campfire is never boring and never without a good laugh.

Some highlights of the week also came out of the spontaneity of the staff. Some of these kinds of activities go the best among the campers because they aren't expecting it especially when we have campers who have been coming to camp for several years. I know that when I was a camper, I loved it when we did games that were new and unexpected. At one point this week, a tug of war rope appeared out of nowhere and a big tug of war ensued. It seemed to mostly be our director (Andrew) and one of our seniors (David) against the campers - and, of course, the campers won. There is clearly strength in numbers.

Every camp has a few different traditions whether it has to do with a "Yellow Cup", an "Arrowhead", or our "Thursday Movie Night". But I think that almost every camp has the necessary Spaghetti night where the campers pull a kitchen utensil out of a shopping bag. They may get a whisk or a measuring cup and have to eat their whole meal with the utensil. One lucky person gets the sought after fork and for one meal they are the most civilized person in the dining hall but as for everyone else, all North American manners are thrown out the window and faces get covered in spaghetti sauce. Where can a kid eat a plate of spaghetti with their faces and have noodles in their hair? Camp Keir!

Oh! And it was the birthday of one of our senior girls: Katie! Happy 19th Birthday Katie!

Here are some shots from the final themed meal at camp. It was a luau in the dining hall, complete with a limbo, a surfboard making competition, and hula dancing. 

It was an amazing week at camp in so many ways but a few of the most exciting things were seeing campers come to Christ on the last night of camp. There were happy tears and hugs for the campers who had made this huge commitment and we ask that you would pray for the campers who are making these decisions or still on their way to this decision. The last night of camp is always a fun one at Camp Keir. We put on the weekly talent show in the chapel and the audience is amazed as they watch the special array of acts. This week one of the most unique acts was a robot dancing act by a group of boys. Some of the other acts included a beautiful song by one of the girls, a magic trick, a wonderful comedy act, some great jokes, and a live makeover. To finish off the talent show Angela (senior girl) was prompted to perform Sanctuary for the camp. However, without any warning, the entire camp jumped from their seats and laid on the floor around her to see her play the song.

Thursday movie night came and went and before anyone knew it, the last day of camp arrived. It was such a great week of camp filled with excitement and awesome memories. Enjoy these last few pictures of Week 1: 9-11 year-olds.

Keep praying!

I know this croc may not make sense to you. But certain staff members really wanted to see him on the blog. So Andrew and Corbin, here he is. (they also threatened me with glue).

Let the Games Begin

Camp has officially begun! How do I know? The sound of kids singing loudly in chapel and shaking the floors as they jump with joy for the Lord! It is such an amazing thing to see group of thirty boys and girls praising God together. Last night the 9-11 year-olds finished their first full day at camp with a rocking chapel session! The familiar Keir classics came out once again - Mercy is Falling, Milk, and Pharaoh.

Some campers arrived on Sunday afternoon with hesitation about camp. They seemed a little quiet and not sure what they would think of camp. As the evening went on, they opened up to camp. As they did their passport pictures for our Around the World theme and as we ran around the backyard playing games, the hesitation slowly disappeared and they were all full of smiles.

Yesterday was a day full of fun themed games. The staff always enjoy this, we get to play make believe! How often does a 22 year-old get to dress up in a pink dress and pretend to be a Chinese queen? The day was spent in China and we did "Sumo Wrestling" with the kids and helped Mrs. Chang get back her family's heirloom teacup from the evil Mr. Zing. The kids really got into it and you could see that they were loving it. We finished off the day with a Chinese supper in the dining hall. As always, the chicken balls and egg rolls were a big hit. What child doesn't like chicken balls?

Camp is such a joyful place. It is so exciting to have counsellors coming back from Bedrocks beaming because their campers are asking how to become Christians! What a joyful and amazing job we have here at camp. Please be praying for our campers who are considering making a commitment. Also, that we would continue to have fun with the Around the World theme, and that the staff would continue relying on God for strength, patience, and energy!

Love and prayers from Camp Keir!!

One week until training!

Camp is getting closer every day and the staff and campers are getting more and more excited. Camp is always the highlight of a child's summer and they look forward to it for months. I can remember as a kid that I would have my registration into camp by February to ensure that I got a place.. there was no way I would end up on that dreaded "waiting list". I usually had my packing list done up two weeks in advance and my bags packed a week ahead. It was the highlight of my summer.

Not much has changed since then. I still get eager for camp in February and start making lists weeks in advance. The lists are a little different now, my packing list usually includes more things like costumes, devo books. And leaves out things like Cow (my childhood stuffed cow, I know.. original eh). And my "to do" list includes several dozen more items than it did when I was 12.  But I love it.

When you become a staff member, you get excited about different things too. I get so excited to see the new faces at camp and to hear about their lives and show them God's love over and over again in our conversations, in chapel, at meals, and yes, even during our very competitive dodgeball games. I also get really excited to see returning campers! I love hearing what went on in their year away from camp and seeing how they have grown. It is so encouraging to hear that they are still trying to live every day for Christ!

As staff members we also get really excited now about training week. That is the week where we plan and prepare ourselves for the upcoming eight weeks. We bond and learn to trust each other and work together as a team. Every training week, we make sure that staff are well prepared for the summer. We all go through a first aid training course, seminars on working with different age groups and how to deal with tough situations and hard questions. This is the week where we become friends and therefore, are able to work well as a team in the summer for the benefit of the camp.

Keep getting pumped! Keep getting prepared! Camp is almost here!

Here are some shots from 2010's training week:

Candace making a poster to decorate the chapel and dining hall

Emily pleased to have her picture taken.

Lindsay and Shawn working together

Andrew planning our staff devotional time

Corbin working hard too

We sometimes have to share spaces.