Ever wondered what camp would look like if it were focussed on learning of Jesus, living in community, and playing TONS of water games?!
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“Come, bring your burdens to God, Come, bring your burdens to God, Come, bring your burdens to God, For Jesus will never say no.”
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A small moment I won’t forget was pool time on Tuesday. It was slightly drizzling when we got in, but within moments, God opened the flood gates and it was a complete downpour! Instead of complaining about the rain the kids had an insane amount of fun! Climbing on floaties, a fun game a basketball (with the counselors), and I even saw a few campers dancing in the shallow end.
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We will continue on the conversation of what a relationship with the Creator/Jesus looks like and how we are only complete in Him. Camp has been stretching and challenging for most of our campers on some level, but it has been fun to watch them develop and grow through the process.
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That's right, we were “edgy,” but none of these activities compare to the edginess of the culture of camp where all are accepted, valued, needed and loved as brothers and sisters in Christ.
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Very quickly we learned that the hardest part of being in the kitchen was patience. All the fresh veggies we chopped and diced was the prep for our Five Star Ninja Star Restaurant we opened. Before making the homemade granola bars for camp, we conducted a tasting lab to identify salty, sweet and savory flavors. In addition, our big focus has been on creating the first ever Heartland Bake Sale. Lots of decorating is taking place today, turning all those cookies into fruit pizzas and turning blank cupcakes into works of art.
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"I felt God when we were at Vespers and was reminded that God chose me and chooses me and nothing can ever change that."
We have played water basketball, water polo, covered ourselves with shaving cream and sunscreen, ridden horses, learned to work together as a team, prayed together, and have sung loud, soft, fast, and slow. We have danced frequently, laughed until we cried, and bonded as a group. One special activity was making rice crispy treats over the fire the first night in our new home. Everything tastes better after being made over a fire! We are looking forward to archery, the challenge course, Ga-Ga ball, more rapping, and time spent together as we see God at work in our lives.
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Campers have seen deer, raccoons, moths, and a snake, and in true camp style, wasted no time naming their new acquaintances (In the case of the snake, they also wasted no time heading in the opposite direction).
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Meet Sam and Sara Richardson, the duo behind a passion project: From Camp to Camp. Their mission? To capture the power of Christian camp and share their experiences with the world.
This power couple lives out of their trailer - and has for the past few months - as they travel from camp to camp across the US, volunteering their time at a variety of Christ-centered, inter-denominational organizations.
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Who says camp has to be spent in one spot? Our Amazing Race camp is one of the most unique - sending campers scrambling for clues all over the state! Here’s how our week went…
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As you can imagine at All Star Camp we play a lot of sports. So far this week our campers have learned basketball, soccer, football, and water wiffleball. With most All-Star camps part of the learning experience is learning Christ-centered competition.
I am so proud of this group, because they didn’t have to learn how to care for one another in completion. Each camper is so joyful, kind, and compassionate.
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Would you go to summer camp just to come back the same?
This week challenge camp has been amazing. We've bonded over cooking over fires, sleeping in cabins, and completing challenges – pushing out minds, bodies, and spirits.
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We made our own ice cream…because we are all scientists, we may have accidentally made an ice cream volcano...and then let it explode!
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Camp's over, and you're reunited with your child! Here are some questions you can ask your child to get the conversation rolling about camp:
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Your kids had fun this week, and that's a big part of what we do. We hammocked, went down slip and slides, made up word games, danced, sang, and pretended to be horses about 47 times.
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This week at middle school Horse Camp, we have been able to experience God through learning about horses and ourselves. The campers were so excited to meet their horses for the week during horse class on Monday. Since then, we have had so many adventures both on and off the horses.
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Hydro camp has splashed through the first half of the week with water games, swimming, slip n slide, and so much more!
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From the start of Day 1, the campers named their family group the “Shebergedergens” (super random!) and created a funny obsession with sheep sounds (but really just any silly sounds).
Their hard work is paired with good conversation, silly songs, and fellowship that has created one of the most cohesive groups we have ever seen.
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In today's busy world, we tend to spend an awful lot of time indoors. Often, we are staring at the screens of our computers, televisions, and phones. Our attention is so absorbed we barely notice what's happening around us, much less what's happening outside. In the hectic pace of our lives, we don't take enough time to slow down and connect to the beauty of nature, and because of that, we're missing out on some pretty amazing things.
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Last month in our “60 Years of Heart” blog we talked about how God grew the small seed of an idea into the tree of ministry known as Heartland Center and Camps. Since then, the Lord has planted thousands of seeds at the ACA (American Camping Association) accredited camp and retreat center.
This month we’re sharing the seed stories of two of our newest summer staff members. In the summer of 2017, God called Jana Life and Jenna Lillian to serve at Heartland Camps.
Jana
Ohio native Jana Life was torn between getting an internship that would help prepare her for a job after college and working at a new camp. When Jana came across the Marketing Internship Program she felt she had found the best of both worlds. After Michael Megraw the program director got back to her right away, Jana thought to herself “I guess I’m going to Missouri!”
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