Junior Camp #2: Wednesday

Blackfoot raising the flag

This morning we all gathered in the cafeteria for some delicious pancakes and fruit from the cold bar and then headed out to linecall where we were treated to a flag raising by cabin Blackfoot. That’s where our day deviated from the norm. We went to the Ponderosa Room for Camp Council instead of going to the church bowl. When we got there we sang a few songs and then we dimmed the lights and watched a video about the aftermath of the fire.

Pastor Jon in Ponderosa for Camp Council

Two years ago fire struck our home here at PSR. When we left the mountain we thought we may never see camp the same way again, but miraculously the camp was saved. She is still a little scarred but she survived and we are here to tell the story. God put a protective blanket around camp and we are so grateful to be here serving him today. We finished up at Camp Council with a message from Pastor Jon about righteousness.

Activities and classes opened until lunch when delivered the mail to our campers, but not before “Putt Putt” stole it from the campers. The media team retrieved the mail from “Putt Putt” and finally delivered it to the campers. From there we shifted back to our regular schedule for the afternoon complete with flag lowering and our final night of outpost.

Have a great day!,             -Colin

Junior Camp #2: Tuesday

Outpost Night 2

This morning we were treated to breakfast burritos by the cafeteria and then headed off to line call where for the first time we saw our South Village campers raise the flag and then went to Camp Council where Pastor Jon taught us about how faith is the shield that protects us from all the bad things that could happen to us. 

Pastor Jon at Camp Council

From there we dismissed to our morning classes and rotations. Our classes had a great time skipping past the introductory lessons and getting to the meat of the material. I met the students in my photography class for the first time today and I’m incredibly excited to work with each and everyone of them. 

After our morning classes we came back for lunch and had some delicious enchiladas, but it was after lunch that the real fun started. We took the campers up to the cabins and had them take their cabin photos for the souvenir packages. Cabin photos is one of my favorite times of the week. I get to go talk to campers and make them smile and then capture it to send home.

After an hour of taking photos it was back to activity rotations. I spent some time visiting with Archery, Gymnastics, the store and field games today and everywhere I went, campers were having a great time. That’s why we work so hard here at PSR to make sure the Campers have a good time and come closer to Jesus.

Fun at Skateboarding

We premiered our second night of outpost to this group of kids tonight and it was a hit. The campers thought the conflict in the Wrightley was very dramatic and exciting. I’m thrilled to see how they respond to tomorrow night’s conclusion.

Looking forward to talking to you tomorrow,                     -Colin

Junior Camp #2: Monday

Nature Class with Jordi

Another week here at PSR has begun. This week more than any other is the week that people assume is just like the one before it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that camp is and always has been about the campers. That being the case, we have a very different group of kids this week and that means that camp will be very different. 

Last week we had what seemed like a million high energy camp veterans in our cabins. They knew the drill, they knew what to expect and they wanted it to happen yesterday. We love those kids because they love camp, but the truth is that while they give us energy to get through the day, when they leave they leave behind a very tired staff. That makes us really excited for the group that follows them. It’s a smaller group and not many of them have been here before, we even have a group of foreign exchange students here this week.

The campers this week aren’t sure what to expect so they just wait and see what comes their way. They are a little more patient because of that. It gives our staff a little breather before next week. It also gives us the opportunity to spend more time one on one with the campers. We do everything we can to touch campers hearts, but sometimes they touch ours too and I have a feeling that’s what is going to happen at camp this week. 

This morning our South Village girl’s counselors raised the flag and started off our first full day of Junior Camp #2. From there we walked to the Church Bowl for Camp Council where we received a message from this week’s camp pastor. Jon, or Johnny as we call him around here has been a staff member here for years in our horsemanship and maintenance departments, but is serving this year as a youth pastor at Redlands SDA. He’s excited to be here and we are excited to have him.

Camp Council

After Camp Council we dismissed to our classes. I have eight students in photography this week and so far they have all been wonderful. Gymnastics has two boys this week as opposed to the all girls club from last week (see what I mean about every week being different?). Our new Adventurus class has seven really happy campers in it and I’m sure they are going to have a great time.

Oscar absolutely loves to teach skateboarding.

In each of our classes this week they took a short test this morning so we could be sure that we weren't teaching them something they already know. At the end of the week they will take it again to see how much they learned. I’m positive all our campers this week will learn a ton of new skills that they can come home and share with you. 

At the end of the day, we are just excited to be spending another week in paradise here at PSR,                        -Colin

Junior #1: Friday

Friday Night Pageant

What a busy day it has been. This morning our classes met for the last time. We had the campers take a test over their skills to evaluate how much we were able to teach them in this short week. We always strive to teach them as much as possible so that we can be good stewards of the investment parents trust us with for their child.

Last Day of Adventurus Class

The day continued with Super Big Event. The campers dueled in a game of boys vs. girls extreme dodgeball. The twist is that rather than simply throwing to get everyone out, there is a line of cones that each side tries to knock over as well. The cones act as a clock because the first side to knock them all over wins. This means we can start new games sooner and get everyone back involved.

After we left the field, open activities began. The campers got a chance to play lasertag, go skateboarding, play soccer, swim in the pool or climb the wall at ropes. Skateboarding was absolutely flooded with campers, but our skateboarding instructor Oscar did a great job of making sure that each and every camper got the opportunity to skate.

Super Big Event Climbing Wall

We travelled from there to the cafeteria for dinner for everybody’s favorite meal: grilled cheese and tomato soup. Then we started the most important of our week. We cleaned for the Sabbath and then made our way to the campfire bowl for Pageant. Pageant this year follows a prodigal and her journey away from God and her family. In the final scene even those with the most reason not to accept her back, welcome her with open arms. 

Welcome Home to the Prodigal

Tomorrow morning we will be sleeping in a little and having breakfast as a cabin family. Then we will journey back in time to the Sabbath Village for an interactive bible experience. We can’t wait to show them God’s grace.

Blessings,                         -Colin

Junior #1: Thursday

Light Writing from Photo Class

This morning we woke up to a breakfast of omelets and tater tots. Then we headed off to camp council where Pastor Larry shared more stories about walking the talk. The rest of the day went pretty normally. We went to our activities and then during line call batman saved the mail and brought it to the campers.

Amanda at Line Call

Today was our first deviation from the regular daily schedule. After the activity rotations and dinner (which was my personal favorite: spaghetti and tortellini) concluded, we shifted to our special Thursday evening program: Carnival. Our carnival is an eclectic and entertaining time for everyone. 

We serve Ice-cream, Nachos and Popcorn. We set up a special store and had a basketball game going all night. We even had Lasertag available for the evening, but my favorite part of the night is the Photo Booth we set up for the campers to goof off. 

Snapshot from the Photo Booth

Before any of that began we hosted a giant game of life sized Sorry in which the campers were the pawns. The twist: before anyone could move they had to answer some camp related trivia. The campers love it and the staff have a great time too!

We can't wait to get started in the morning so without further ado, goodnight.                -Colin

Junior #1: Wednesday

Blackfoot raising the flag

I’m pretty sure I sound like a broken record, but today was another great day here at PSR! We had a breakfast of waffles and fruit topping and then a flag raising done by cabin Blackfoot. At camp council this morning Pastor Larry taught us more about how to walk the talk. He even did the coke and mentos trick, which almost accidentally soaked a cabin in soda. It was all very exciting.

The morning classes then started and the campers all had a great time. In the photo class today we covered a few applications for a fast shutter speed. We shot at sports and skateboarding and showed the kids how to freeze motion with the camera.

Lunch was a hit, we had baked potatoes with chili and toppings. I asked a camper today what his favorite meal in the cafe was and he said “all of them” so I take that as high praise.

Afternoon activities went off without a hitch and then we went to the field for a game of ultimate handball. We had pizza for dinner and then cabin Nez Perce presented what must have been the most technically good flag lowering at camp this summer.

Finally we headed up to the fort for the final night of our story where Hope Gale attempted to pit the opposing heirs to the rightly estate against each other and have the winner inherit the Gail estate. When Jeremiah won and refused to finish off Rhett she ordered him killed, but then Autumn’s late husband’s brigade came to the rescue and informed Hope that Jeremiah is in fact the blood heir to both estates and that she had nearly ended the feud there by killing off both families.

Jeremiah and Rhett fight to stay alive.

The story touched a lot of hearts when everyone involved had a chance for gain, but they set it aside out of love. Jeremiah’s courage was immense to risk his own life to save the boy he thought was his enemy. That’s the kind of sacrifice Jesus made. Our kids loved the play and we do too.

I can’t wait to tell you about tomorrow. Good night!         -Colin

Junior #1: Tuesday

Cornucopia on the Field

Day two is under our belts and we are still having a great time up here. Our classes are in full swing, after administering pretests yesterday we were able to dedicate all our time to teaching them the material for the week. We cherish every opportunity we get to teach our kids and these kids absorb so much information. We have such an opportunity to influence our campers this week and we have every intention of influencing them to learn new skills and to fall in love with Jesus.

We had a delicious lunch of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables and then headed off to afternoon activity rotations. Then we went to the field where our Activities Coordinator Judith led us in a game of cornucopia. Cornucopia is a great game of free for all dodgeball kind of like “steal the bacon” we played in middle school. We view it as a safer alternative with much more entertaining results and the campers love it. It’s even the staff’s favorite game.

Outpost tonight was really interesting too. Autumn Wrightley went to her mother’s family for help, but when her adopted brother found out she had a son to be an heir to the family, he made a plan to protect his sons fortune. Tomorrow night we will find out what Autumn does to rescue Jeremiah from the Gail family.

We hope each and every camper has fun this week at PSR,       -Colin