God's Love Is 24/7
At Heartland, we understand that some kids love to stay up late and sleep in the next morning. The good news is, our Lord loves to be praised 24/7! And Night Owl Camp is the perfect place to do just that.
“There’s 2 ways to see things—everything’s a miracle or nothing is. It’s hard to not see miracles in every single Night Owl Camper’s life this week. It’s a really neat experience to see these kids grow closer to one another and closer to God while they’re spending time with Him in this community.”
“I’ve been coming to Heartland for a little over 10 years and Night Owl Camp is one of my favorite weeks. I see God everywhere in this place, especially with the sights and sounds that you get to experience at night. It’s like I’m carrying Him around on my shoulder.”
This camp is for middle school and high school campers and their day begins with breakfast at 11 am. After breakfast, they have Morning Watch, which is a term for Bible study. Every day, each Night Owl group gets to spend an hour at the Craft Lodge creating keepsakes and playing games. Afternoon Tea, our camp-term for late lunch, is served at 4 pm. The rest of the day is full of camp activities. This includes trail rides at the corral, archery and the challenge course and zip line at high ropes. At 8 pm, campers cook their own dinners at their campsites. Our kitchen staff provides all of the necessary materials and the counselors oversee the preparation of the food. This is a beloved Night Owl Camp tradition.
“I love that we get to cook our own meals at Night Owl Camp. It’s something that really opens your eyes to how often God appears at this camp and it’s a good time to have fellowship with the other people in our family groups.”
Night swim is another highly favored camp activity! Every night at 10 pm, our Night Owls head to the pool to cool off and enjoy each other’s company. Vespers, our evening Bible study, is held around midnight, following night swim. Night Owl Vespers has proven itself to be one of the most exhilarating Heartland experiences.
“My favorite part of Night Owl Camp is Vespers and playing night games. There’s something about Vespers late at night that is just so powerful. I also like playing camp games with glow sticks. That’s fun.”
After Vespers, campers and counselors play one last night game which usually involves a glow-in-the-dark aspect. This is the final activity of the day and campers head to bed around 1:30 am.
Our week of 2016 Night Owl Camp is coming to a close and we already cannot wait until next year’s group of kids! To see more moments from this week’s Night Owl Camp, check out our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
Written by: Shelby Atkison