Discovery Camp: Day 4

Photo Booth at our Carnival

Today was a blast!  We all had fun at activities and programing today. Our day started off like a normal day here at PSR, but by the end it turned into something special. Here are a few special things that happened today at camp:

1.) Our campers got the opportunity to play lazertag in the dark, as part of our Thursday carnival.

2.) The cafeteria served pizza for the first time this summer! (let the staff rejoice…)

3.) The kids all had a great time at big event playing dodgeball.

4.) We served Nachos, Ice Cream and Popcorn for our carnival. (That’s always a hit)

Climbing wall orientation at ropes

Today wasn’t special though because of what we did that was fun, it was special because today I saw several indications that the kids finally settled in with their camp families. Cabins seem closer than ever and the awkward distance between campers has changed into budding friendships.

Nina engaging with campers at camp council.

I know that in the few short days we have left your campers will create memories for a lifetime. That’s what happened to me, and its our goal for all our campers this summer.

Our staff is dedicated to that goal and is working hard to ensure a pleasant experience for each and every one of our campers.

I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,               -Colin

Discovery Week: Day 3

Fun with Cabin Arapaho

Today was full of uncertainty. The weather was always just shy of forcing us into rainy day schedule. We weren't sure if outpost was going to happen until it started and morning linecall had to happen indoors. 

I have one thing to say to all that uncertainty. We beat all of it. Not a single thing was interrupted today by the weather. It stayed just far enough away for us to have a great day. 

Our staff were ready to make the shift to rainy day if necessary, we were prepared to move our outpost program indoors and everyone pitched in where it was required.  It's just another example of our dedicated staff being willing to be flexible when we need them.

Before we met in the Ponderosa Room for Linecall, we had a pancake breakfast with fruit. We had Camp Council indoors and then came outside to a bright shiny day for our activities. Go-Karts was up and running after the track dried, but never fear the kids had tons of fun playing games until they started. 

Counselor Gabriel Driving kids at Go-Karts

The cafeteria came to life again at 1:00 PM with a frito casserole and a full salad bar. The staff ate together and traded stories of their campers. 

Back to the regular drill with another set of activity rotations. Dinner was brief for the staff, as they ran off to practice for our third night of outpost, but it was a good meal of hoagies and salad. We headed up to the fort for the final installment of the outpost play, which was a blast for our campers. 

No day at camp is dull, so I can’t wait to see you all in the morning,                -Colin 

Staff Profile: Edward Rebolledo (Self-Defense)

Edward as a Roman Soldier on Sabbath

    

     Remember back in the day when people wrote bios for Facebook and nobody read them? This is like that, but not at all, in any way. I've asked some staff members to write be a short profile of themselves and why they work at camp. I'll be posting them occasionally through the camp season.

     This week I've asked Edward Rebolledo, our Self-Defense Instructor, to share his with us. Here's what he wrote:

    "Hi! I’m Edward and I’m the self-defense instructor here at PSR. As a former pathfinder, I’m also part of our Special Drill Team. I was a camper myself at PSR for eight years and loved it enough to spend a summer as a counselor-in-training and after leaving on hiatus, I’ve finally come back to try and give back to this camp everything that it gave me.

     My favorite memory at camp as a camper was being able to grow spiritually, especially my last year as a camper. At PSR you become so much more connected to everything around you and that sort of spiritual tranquility is priceless.

     As a staff member, I have really enjoyed being able to minister to kids and really try to reach them. Another benefit is being surrounded by genuinely caring souls from the 2015 staff."

We really appreciate the work Edward is doing here at PSR. Stay tuned for more staff profiles and don't forget tonight's blog.

Discovery Camp: Day Two

Cabin Mohave Lowers the Flag

     At camp it is easy to get burned out and it is up to all of us here to lift each other up and make sure camp runs smoothly. So, I want to start today’s blog with an affirmation to our staff for everything they do to cover for each other. Here are 5 things I saw today that inspired me in our staff:

1.) I saw a staff member drop what he was doing to help a fellow staff member escort a camper to the nurses station.

2.) I saw 6 different staff members offer to assist in a cabin to give their fellow staff members a break.

3.) A staff member carried my tray back into the cafeteria because they saw I was a little tired.

4.) I saw staff members rush to the aide of a golf cart stuck at the bottom of a hill with no battery left.

5.) Finally, I saw departments pull together and share a water cooler because we were low on coolers today.

     These clearly aren't life changing situations, but they are little snippets of why camp works. We help each other. We are always there to help each other when needed. Camp doesn't run without these moments and we want to give a huge thank you our staff.

     Now on with our regularly scheduled blog. Our day began with a hearty breakfast of eggs and tater tots, with fruit on the cold bar. From there we had a flag raising by Counselor Delcy and Cabin Arapaho.

    Onward to morning rotations; including Archery, Drama, Swimming, Soccer, Skateboarding, Sports and so many others. Indian camp is having a ton of fun earning their feathers.

     Lunch was a decadent pasta and salad bar. The kids really seem to enjoy pasta day.

Taking aim at the Obstacle Course

     Then a break for village time and a chance to visit our brand new store in the Manzanita Room. Afternoon rotations were a blast, I heard they had a particularly good time at the Obstacle Course.

    The day started to come to an end at supper with a fan favorite: Grilled Cheese. Flag lowering was done by Cabin Mohave in excellent form. Our second night of Outpost happened tonight at the Tee Pees for the first time and was a huge success, then we all headed off to bed, but not before Indian Camp made a quick stop at the Ponderosa Room to earn their blue feather in the chair maze.

    We look forward to every day here at PSR. See you in the morning,           - Colin

Discovery Camp: Day 1

     Today was our first full day of Discovery Camp and it was incredible. We have almost 130 campers and we are extremely happy to have them. We are pleased to announce that we will exceed last years numbers for enrollment!

Village Coordinator Briana Martinez taking LineCall Report

     Every single camper is important to us here at PSR and despite the high numbers of enrollment we are committed to providing each and every camper the full camp experience. Our Boy’s Village Coordinator is even assisting in a cabin for two nights so we don’t over burden our staff. 

Safety Orientation at the Ropes Course

      So far this week is already turning out to be great. We started the morning with biscuits and gravy in the cafeteria. Our cafeteria was bustling today, and we couldn't be happier. Its a long wait from the end of Teen Camp 2014 to today to see young men and women filling the cafeteria lines; it was a welcome sight.

     After breakfast cabin Apache raised the flag. 

     Not long after that we sent our campers to their first set of activity rotations. Before our afternoon rotations we had a successful fire drill. We are so proud of how well our campers responded to the drill. After rotations we played Dodgeball for Big Event. We had Tostadas for Dinner and then cabin Iroquois lowered the flag to end the activities portion of our day.

    We ended our day with the first performance of our Monday outpost program at the wagon train.

    We are so excited to have so many campers here at camp this week so we can show the the love of Jesus.

    For more photos be sure to check out UltraCamp.

Blessings,  Colin      

Summer Update: Family Camp/ Cub Camp

I have so much to tell you. Since I last gave you an update, we have finished our staff training program and even completed our first week of camp. During staff training we asked much of our staff, and we found out what they are capable of. The PSR 2015 camp staff are a fantastic group of dedicated young adults. They might just be the best staff I’ve ever seen. 

2015 Staff Photo

“Sure”, you might say “they just pay you to say that” ,but you couldn't pay me enough not to say it. This staff has taken everything we have thrown at them and run with it. They have done it with a smile on their face and represented camp in a way that makes us very proud.

The staff pray for each other as we open camp.

Annika and Emily take a well-deserved break.

Angelica staining benches at the fort.

During our staff training week we put in more than 1,500 man hours on work projects to prepare our campus for our arriving campers. We tested them on more than 100 points from our staff manual and updated their first aid and CPR certifications. We also took time to reward them for all their hard work with a bowling and pizza party and our beloved annual agape feast.

We are also extremely excited to announce that we are at the conclusion of an extremely successful Family Camp for our 2015 season. Family camp sold out this season and we are so pleased to have been able to serve more than 200 guests. Our family campers were the first to experience our annual Pageant and our brand new Sabbath morning program. We are running a programming heavy season this year and so far we think it has been a huge success. 

Kids having fun in the Sabbath Village

Family Camp Check-In

We also are coming to the conclusion of our first ever Cub Camp session. Our Cub campers have been the brightest part of our days. Seeing their smiling faces every morning has helped our staff get through a very busy week. We had 34 Cub Campers this week and we look forward to seeing them at full weeks of camp in the future.

Cub Campers enjoying the pool.

Cabin Arapaho Raises our Flag

Today was a bittersweet day as we say goodbye to all of these beloved campers but meet our 2015 Discovery campers. We look forward to serving each and every week this summer and we can’t wait for you to come and see us.

It has finally begun...

      Something  incredible happened at 9 AM Monday morning. The 2015 PSR Camp Staff walked into the door of the Lodge and began a Journey. We went through a day of paperwork with them and got ready to start Staff Training Week. Then, in the evening, we split up into family groups where they got a chance to get to know each other. We followed that up with worship to end the night, where our staff got to sing together for the first time.

Staff sings praise songs together for the first time.

     These are largely a group of students strapped for cash, struggling to pay their way through college.  Naturally they came to camp to help pay off student loans right?

     Wrong.

      The truth is that they could make more money stuffing tacos in a Taco Bell drive thru. So how is it that we pull them away from the horrors of corporate fast food? The answer is change. Change is how nature moves, its how culture evolves and how the word of God affects you.

     Camp staff believe in change, that’s why they sacrifice their summer and financial well-being to minister to our youth.

     Camp changes minds, it changes lives and it changes hearts.  It is our hope that camp this summer will change the lives of our campers for the better. The reward we gain from that is worth far more than the wages of a fast food employee.

     The 2015 staff are all making sacrifices with their eyes on that reward. We know you appreciate their service. This message isn’t to ask for your appreciation. This message is to ask you for your prayers; prayers for the success of camp, for the health and safety of our staff and that God give them energy and patience to last the summer. Please join us in our prayers this summer.