It's Time for Junior Camp #2 (Tuesday)

TUESDAY

"Does anyone want to quit?"

We were about 10% of the way up the trail this afternoon when the hiking group took their first water break and I turned around and asked everyone the question above. The campers looked around at each other for a moment before one of them raised her hand. Before I could say anything, another camper started talking. 

"It's okay, stay with us. Nothing bad is going to happen, everything here is made of plastic and the counselors aren't allowed to let you get hurt."

"Yeah," someone else chimed in. "It's a billboard over there."

"A billboard? What do you mean?" I asked. I thought it was a pretty good question, but the camper who made the comment giggled and then answered.

"That's not a real mountain, its like a billboard with a mountain painted on it."

The conversation quickly started to develop about all of the realities here at camp, and the campers all had ideas about what was real and what wasn't real. One camper told me that camp was like a reality show where no one could see the cameras. Another camper told me that the rocks had been superglued to the mountains by the first director of the camp many years ago. After a brief discussion, they all decided to keep walking up the trail to the top of the mountain.

     

It takes at least 30 minutes to hike to the top of the trail, and I wasn't sure if everyone was going to make it. I had about 5 campers who were very excited to hike up the mountain, and another 4 who seemed to be going along because they were signed up to do the activity. It was really interesting to see all of them interact and continue to challenge each other to continue every step of the way.

When we hike at camp, we have a few rules.

#1: If someone says stop, we all stop.

#2: We encourage everyone to finish, but you can quit at any time.

#3: Listen to the instructors &

#4: Hydrate frequently and apply sunscreen.

When we finally got to the top, we let all of the camper who wanted to sit on a rock that overlooks the entire camp. I personally get vertigo if I sit on the rock, and even being near it makes me uncomfortable, but all of the campers wanted to try it!

Before I continue, I want to say that sitting on the rock is perfectly safe, and the campers are never in any danger. Just as a precaution I stand next to them just in case someone gets dizzy or can't handle the view. I had one camper who wanted to sit all the way on the edge, but I asked her not too and she listened very well.

Overall, the hiking excursion at camp is a bit tough, but all the campers were able to do it and no one was injured. We show the campers how to hike, where they need to point their toes away from the trail and when they need walk carefully. After the hike was over we all refilled our water bottles and then I handed out the wristbands the campers earned by hiking the Stork Trail.

There's a lot of things you can buy in the store, but these trail wristbands aren't there. Each person who wears one earned it by completing the hike on the specific trail. The hiking is nice, but the conversations we have on the trail are really priceless.

Before I completely forget, here's the entrée list for today:

Breakfast: Build your own breakfast burrito.
Lunch: Enchiladas, refried beans, and rice.
Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan, breadsticks, & peas.

For a full list of what usually comes with each meal, please see the Sunday/Monday post from yesterday.

Today, we also had a group of five campers visit Wet 'N Wild in Palm Springs. I know they had Subway for lunch and that they had a lot of fun. I talked to the boys when they came back, and they told me that the waterpark wasn't crowded and they got to go on all the rides they wanted to try.

Both the hiking trip and the waterpark trip are part of our new Day Trip excursions from PSR Camp that we're offering for the first time to campers. Tomorrow we have thee boys going to Pole Position in Murrieta and we have a group of nine campers going to Lake Hemet Waterpark on Thursday.

It's going to be a busy week here at camp, so I'll make sure to write a post about base camp tomorrow. Today everything went the same as yesterday, with the campers switching rotations, playing games, eating three times, and going to evening program. Camp is very predictable for the first three days, so the campers get comfortable following the set schedule.

Blessings,

-Jeremy

It's Time for Junior Camp #2 (Sunday/Monday)

SUNDAY/MONDAY

I love to see all of the campers and parents who are returning to camp this year for the second, third, or fourth time. It's nice to meet all of our new parents as well, but I get excited every time I see a familiar face during the summer.

Every Sunday it's the exact same dinner menu, griller patties with all of the items you'd expect to find in a vegetarian cheeseburger. We have a full salad bar with every lunch and dinner, and PSR Camp is pretty serious about color on the plates of our campers and I'm not just talking about the green Jello. This week we have about 111 hungry campers and 90 hungry staff which equals planning meals for about 200 people each day. When you multiply by three, the cafeteria is producing over 300 meals a day for about 6.67 days this session.

It's also a lot of dishes, pots, and pans to clean!

After dinner we send the campers to retrieve their jackets and then it's off to the evening program. We used to call them 'campfire programs' but we're not allowed to have fires anymore. The campers sing silly songs, see a silly play, and watch some silly videos. Camp can be a really silly place sometimes and we think laughter and smiles are the best way to start each week.

The next morning we're up at 7:00 am (some of the girls wake up earlier, but I've never been around to witness that) and then we start to clean ourselves in the showers and the cabin for inspection. Every night from 10 pm until 7:00 am their are two adults in each cabin to prevent instances of bullying or to make sure that someone can be with the campers if they have to visit the bathrooms in the middle of the night.

We can think of dozens of reasons to have two counselor with them at night, but its for the reasons we can think of that makes this camp policy so necessary.

The entrée for breakfast today was biscuits and gravy. Every breakfast comes standard with 8 different types of cold cereal, packaged oatmeal, four types of fruit juice, 2% milk, almond milk, rice milk, or soy milk, fruit, fruit cocktail, yogurt, granola, toast, bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, jelly, and everyone has to have at least a half cup of water. In addition to entrée, we also served sliced fruit, tater tots, ketchup, salsa, and various other toppings associated with breakfast.

Campers aren't required to eat everything on the menu, but our goal is to provide a wide variety of options for campers and staff to choose from for each meal time. Plus, at camp the food has to be excellent because we have to compete with all of the wonderful things you provide for your children at home every day.

After breakfast the South Village ladies raise the flag and then at 9:39 am we apply sunscreen to all the exposed areas of our skin. This the second application of sunscreen, the first takes place in the morning before breakfast and the third application takes place during rotations or morning classes. Sunscreen is important but the first and best line of protection against the sun is shirt sleeves and pants! Some of the campers get to much sun and it's a constant battle against the sun that includes the routine application of sunscreen and having the right clothes for your particular camper.

After "Sunscreen Time" we send the campers to morning worship. Each camp council worship consists of singing songs, listening to a short devotional from our camp pastor, a skit, a nature presentation, prayer, and our scripture lesson for the day. Camp Council used to be my least favorite camp program, but I think every year it gets a bit better. This summer our theme is 'Connect' and so far all of our camp pastors have been able to tie the scripture (Philippians 2:13) to the lesson of the day.

Worship ends around 10:30 am, and then the campers are off to their activities. Some campers choose to take the same class every morning for two hours and some campers sign up to rotate through activities in the morning. This morning I looked in our photography class for a few minutes before our administrative camp meetings and I also walked by the camp pool and I could hear the girls splashing around and using the diving board. One young lady told us that she didn't know how to swim so we sent her to a different activities (Arts and Crafts & Archery) so she wouldn't have to miss out on an entire activity period sitting by the pool.

Two hours of activities usually makes the campers really hungry, so we get them all together at 12:40 pm for mail call. The amount of mail is highest for the first week, but still pretty high for the junior weeks at camp. The gymnastics department did a short skit to introduce mail call, and then it took about 20 staff almost 5 minutes to pass out the emails, packages, and notes from parents.

Lunch begins right after mail call prayer, and today the entrée for lunch was Frito casserole. Just like breakfast, at lunch you can expect a few things every period: A starter salad (with romaine and iceberg lettuce) with 9 different vegetable toppings, two crunchy toppings, three salad dressings, cottage cheese, Jello, fresh fruit, peanut butter and jelly, three types of bread, soda, tea, milk, rice milk, almond milk, and soy milk, along with orange slice and dessert.

Once you've selected your options (being careful to construct a colorful plate) and eaten your lunch (hopefully all of it) it's time for a break! Our staff like to spend a bit of time resting while the campers either rest, go for a hike, or visit the camp store. The camp store is a really popular option after lunch, but usually their are some pre-conditions to a store visit. The campers should expect to be on their best behavior before and after visiting the camp store. We're really lucky because last week and this week most of the campers have really good manners and are very polite. I heard a lot of 'please' and 'thank you' during Junior #1 and I'm hoping Junior campers this week will continue the trend.  

Rest period ends at 2:50 pm, and then the campers gather to dismiss to afternoon rotations. Unlike the mornings, afternoon rotations are done by cabin instead of by activity, so it's a great chance for everyone in the cabin to be together and build some shared memories. I spent some time at Archery with Nez Perce and checked in on the Nature Center class where they were making some kind of blue goo. I was asking a few of the campers what their favorite things at camp was and the boys in Nez Perce all told me that they loved the go-karts. In this age group (10-12) they're finally old enough to drive the go-karts and they all really enjoy it.

After PM activities it's time to get some Ultimate Cabin points by playing a large group game on the field. Today's game was a tournament of champions where campers try to tag the other campers with soft dodgeballs or pool noodles. It's a pretty fun game and the campers were mostly able to police themselves in determining who was out and who won each round of the challenge. The cabin with the most points at the end of the week wins a hat, but right now were focusing on the fun of each challenge and building each cabin into a team of friends.

It seems like we just ate, but at 6:10 PM it's time for dinner. Tonight the main entrée was a taco station where campers could construct their own tacos. Personally I smash two taco shells into chips and pile on whatever the protein options are (adding liberal amounts of cheese and sour cream), but these children carefully build the tacos they'd like to take back to their tables with them to show to their friends and counselors. We still have all of the standard lunch options (salad bar, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, etc...) and the only thing that's really missing is the soda. For dinner we concentrate on water and milk(s) only.

There's a bit of free time after dinner, today we used some of the time to have a fire drill and lower the camp flag before heading to the evening outpost. This summer the Outpost Play centers around a mystery involving a man who is possibly about to be convicted of a crime he says he didn't commit and a lawyer who's trying to find out if he's innocent or guilty. Along the way we find out the truth and then its a rush to figure out how to make sure that justice prevails for all involved.

I know that was a really vague description, but the function of the 3-part (Mon, Tues, Wed night) outpost play is to give children a window of understanding into the decisions adults make every day and then they get to see the consequences of those choice play out. I really enjoy talking to campers about what they think is going on in the play, and how they agree or disagree with the choices of the characters.

As an added bonus, the characters are staff members here at camp and the campers also get to talk to them about the play and the cast.

Right now its about 1:06 am in the morning on Tuesday, and we've just finished cleaning the village bathrooms for the third time today. A big thank you to the cleaning crew this week! We're really just practicing for next week when their will be over 160 children here at camp (compared to 111 this week).

I hope you enjoyed this play-by-play of the past two days; we really having a lot of fun already this week and probably eating a bit to much good food. Don't forget to log-in to Ultracamp to see pictures! We've already post a few already from Sunday & Monday.

Blessings,

-Jeremy

Hello from Junior Camp #1! (Saturday)

SABBATH

Sabbath is my favorite day at camp and not just because we have the most well-behaved campers this week!

After a special breakfast tradition where the counselors have a picnic-style continental breakfast in the cabin, we all gather around the flagpoles at 10:30 am to start our day. For the morning we have a special program where campers get to go all over camp to accomplish different missions in a world that consists of Biblical characters. (See photos above)

Each cabin decorates their counselor to look like a Roman Soldier, Scribe, or Fisherman and then the characters from the Bible (scattered around camp) react to them in their different roles. It's a lot of fun and part of the challenge is that there is more to do in the activity than the children can do within the time limit. This means campers really need to prioritize, work together, and try to figure things out in short order.

I spent some time working with Mojave on the journey, and they were able to do about three of the challenges while I was hanging out with them. At 12:30 we were dismissed with just enough time to visit the bathroom, wash out hands, and get ready for lunch before the mail call bell rang. We managed to pass out all of the Saturday mail today, there's no mail left anywhere at camp to hand out for this session.  

Lunch today was vegetarian scallops, with mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, corn, salad bar, white or chocolate cake, fruit cocktail, jello, and there may have been whipped cream. Again, I always try to watch what I eat on Sabbath because the food can really make you feel sleepy, and I think we all did a good job making food choices today.

Church is at 3:00 pm, and its getting better each week. It was still a bit shorter than usual but I think the campers still enjoyed the songs, special music, skit, and sermon. We dismissed to our PM activity a bit early (again!) and it really was the highlight of the day for some of the campers.

From 4:00 - 5:00 pm the campers get to test drive the 2017 theme year materials. It's really fun and we get to see if our stuff for next year is of the same quality as our 2016 program. I don't want to post to much about our testing, but I am very optimistic right now about how our future plans will be an interactive and positive influence on our campers.

Dinner tonight was build your own sandwich, salad bar, chips, and watermelon. It's a pretty traditional meal here and it takes the children a bit longer than usual to eat dinner. I waited until dinner was almost over before I ate, and there was still plenty of food left over.  

After dinner was vespers, and then we had skits, camp songs, a video/slideshow presentation, and our final goodbyes. After program it's time to pack and then get ready for bed. It's been such a great week of camp and the campers have been very well-behaved. I knew it was going to be a good week for our camper from day one. They were probably the most mild-mannered and polite good I've ever had for a session of camp and I know we're going to miss them when camp starts all over again next week!

Blessings,

-Jeremy

Hello from Junior Camp #1! (Friday)

FRIDAY

Probably the best way to start a Friday is with some carbohydrates, so we had the campers munching on French toast, cold cereal, strawberries, bananas, toast, vege-patties, yogurt, dates, and various toppings for breakfast. Even though some of the campers are a bit older, a ladle full of syrup doesn't look like a whole bunch until you drop it onto a whole mess of food. It took the campers a little longer to construct their meals this morning, but French toast is a meal that can't really by rushed. 

For worship Pastor Pablo talked about sharing the gospel and using it to connect to others. After worships was over we split up for morning activities. On Fridays we do something a little different by allowing the cabins to choose which morning class they want to take (absent those signed up for specific classes). Sometimes all of the cabins want to do the same thing, but this Friday they were really nice and almost everyone got to do a rotation in an activity they loved.

Lunch today was baked potatoes, chili, chili toppings, Jello, salad bar, fruit, and we even let the campers have soda. After lunch it was time to go the store, have quiet time in our cabins, or even go for a nature hike with our counselor before super big event.

Super Big Event is when the camper get to visit the pool, the zip line, play soccer, do drama games, or laser tag. Cabins get to rotate through two of the activities between 3-5 pm, and most of them go to the pool or drama games.  

  
After those rotations we have dinner (it seems like all we do it eat and play at camp!) which was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, with full salad bar, French fries, orange slices, Jello, and water/milk. Grilled cheese sandwiches is a popular meal, and I saw lot of the staff filling up in preparation for the evening program.

At PSR Camp we start the Sabbath at sundown, and campers go to our sundown service after flag lowering. After singing a few songs we have our Pageant and then the camp pastor does a call for those who want to dedicate their life to Jesus for the first time. Most of the campers make this kind of decision at camp or choose to rededicate their lives to Christ and honor the sacrifice He made to cleanse us from sin.

Sabbath is my favorite day at camp and it's not even over yet.

Blessings,

-Jeremy

Hello from Junior Camp #1 (Wednesday & Thursday)

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY

I'm glad to be at camp this week, so many things have been happening down the mountain and around the country that it's nice to be away from it all at Pine Springs Ranch. The campers are having fun and we're having a blast with them every day.

I have been up and down the mountain several times in the past couple days, so I haven't spent a lot of time with the campers. I wish I had a lot more to report about camp, so I'll try to create a really good blogpost tomorrow for our most avid followers. Things are going so well at PSR this week, but now that thought brings me very little joy because of the events that have transpired to the north of us.  

I'm sure some of our parents have heard about the two staff from Camp Big Lake in Oregon and Camp Wawona in the Central CA Conference who've recently passed away. Even though those two individuals weren't working at PSR Camp, their loss has been deeply felt by those who knew them here at camp and elsewhere around the country. A camp staff is really like a family and I find myself unable to imagine how we would deal with that kind of tragedy. We're doing our best to care for the staff who are hurting while also rotating our staff around so that people have a chance to grieve before coming back on duty.

This is our smallest session of camp, which really bothered me a week ago. However, if we had more campers here this week, we wouldn't be able to rotate the staff to give some people a bit of extra time off. I'm not sure what God's plan is but I'm bolstered by the small things we're able to do everyday to help each other during these difficult times.

Blessings,

-Jeremy

Hello from Junior Camp #1 (Tuesday)

TUESDAY

It's hard for me not to mention the weather everyday. Last week it got unbearable hot for a couple days, but that hasn't been the case at all this week. Things could always change, but I'm hopeful that we won't have any unexpected weather events.

This morning we started with fried eggs on English muffins, tater tots, yogurt, strawberries, bananas, grapefruit, cold cereal, milk and juice. All of the campers were able to get through the cafeteria line in about 15 minutes, so they all had about 45 minutes to eat and then prepare for line call. It was another standard morning, with a few upset stomachs but nothing out of the ordinary in the camp population. Some of our staff are a little under the weather, but everyone reported to flag raising on time.

Cabin Apache raised the flag and did a little show. I have recently started thinking about video blogging just because all of the cabin presentations after flag raising are so memorable and creative. The boys have been a little more shy so far, but the girl cabins are starting to become more outgoing and interesting.

After flag raising we went to morning worship and the camp pastor talked about the gifts God gave us and then we had a positive affirmation battle where two people would day nice things to each other in front of the audience. It was really nice to hear people affirming each other in a way the world often uses to disrespect others (often humorously).

Morning activities went off without a hitch, with some campers doing rotations and others taking classes. I heard they were really cooking in Junior Chef today, which is probably why it's one of the most popular classes at camp. It's a bit silly, but after sampling their own food it's basically time for mail call and then lunch.

Lunch today was vegetarian Swiss steaks, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetable, Hawaiian bread, chocolate pie/or vanilla pie, and a full salad bar. I wasn't very hungry, but the campers and our staff ate all the food. We very nearly had to make more potatoes so everyone could get all they wanted.

After lunch and rest period we had afternoon rotations. I spent most of my time clearing trails for classes that are going to happen during Tween Camp. I even missed big event today, which was ultimate kickball. I'm not sure what makes it 'ultimate' but I could hear the laughter all the way from my office in the lodge.

The Outpost play (Mon, Tues, Weds nights) has a lot of these campers on the edge of their seats. Last week the campers didn't enjoy the outpost as much as this group, it's nice to hear them laugh and sit silently when the action rises and falls. Pastor Pablo focused on two of the characters and how their decision to do the right thing might be scary to them, but it would help someone else immensely.

I think his words were really well received by everyone who heard them and I'm hoping for another great day tomorrow!

Blessings,

-Jeremy

P.S. Looking for photos? Check out the website! I posted 90 photos today on Ultracamp.

Hello from Junior Camp #1! (Monday)

MONDAY

It was a beautifully sunny day at PSR Camp today!

Breakfast was eggs, tater tots, fruit cocktail, melon, toast, & juice/water/milk. I missed breakfast, but I talked to the campers about it during morning worship and they all told me it was fine. After breakfast we raised the flag and ran off to morning worship where Pastor Pablo Ariza from Calimesa talked about different ways we can connect to God. It's really nice to have him up at camp as a pastor, and the children were very quiet and attentive.

I know some of you might think I'm just saying that, but the campers this week are different than most sessions. They listen very well and have great manners for junior campers. I had my first day of camp without a single issue that I needed to attend to regarding camper behavior. It's a real blessing when all of the children are getting along, but I honestly have to admit I was almost bored today!

After lunch we had morning activities, followed by lunch which was corn dogs, chili beans, fries, toppings, salad bar, and we let the campers have a bit of soda if they wanted it. I ate quickly to get ready for our fire drill and it went off without a hitch before afternoon activities. I think a few of the campers thought it was a real emergency, but everyone was calm and we finished in nearly record time.

For afternoon rotations I spent time with the boys from Navajo and Nez Perce at the pool, and then I checked in Arapaho and Apache on the field for soccer. All of the campers were playing, and seemed to be having a good time. It wasn't to hot today, and I'm sure that helped. After the first rotation ended I went to dig a trench and barely made it back for Jedi Dodgeball out on the field at 5:10 pm.

After our big group game we all headed to dinner, which was pizza!

Pizza night is the best night of camp. Last week the campers had pizza on my day off, so I was glad to see those square slices of cheese greet me this evening for dinner. Along with pizza we had a full salad bar, fruit, chips, and water/milk. I know I talk a lot about the food, but it's the one time I get to see all of the campers in the same place. A stopped a couple children who were running in the cafeteria (towards the pizza) but otherwise dinner was uneventful.

Tonight after dinner we had our first night of Outpost. If your campers love or dislike the play this year its my fault. I write the plays every year, and try to create something interesting for children ages 7-17. Its always a challenge, but I'm very proud of the cast this summer. They have a great director and are really doing better every week.

After the play is lights out before 10:00 pm, and nearly all of the campers were worn out after such a long day. I am going to get to bed before midnight tonight, and I really have the parents to thank! So far camp is going really well and we're looking forward to a bright and early morning tomorrow at 6:30 am.

Blessings,

-Jeremy