Camp 2013 Friday

Today is the last full day of camp. We woke up to a cloudy day, but only a bit of rain. After breakfast, the tiki was given to Chelsea Martin's cabin. We were able to go outside for the flag raising and Tim Rochelle gave the flag talk.

After cleanings, it was time for the last morning devotional in the B Lodge. The devotional time was led by Drew Akin's cabin. Today's lesson for the Grow Up theme was "Big Serve" . The scripture was Matthew 14:13-33. The bottom line was "There is a direct connection between your faith and your serve."

At lunch, the tiki was won by Brianna McVey's cabin. The golden broom was won by Andrew Murray's cabin for the boys and by Paige Denney's cabin for the girls.

There are not crafts on Friday. Today the activity was an all camper sweetheart kickball game. It has been good all week to watch the older camper's and counselor's interact with the younger campers. This combined was a good example of how the older and younger interact in such a good way here at camp.

Today is also the final day for athletics. The Championships are determined as the first two teams in each division play each other. They play for the honor of receiving a ring pop. In fact I heard cheers throughout the week about winning ring pops.

On Friday, the parents come and join us at the evening meal.  The oldest campers for whom this is the last year of camp, enjoy the evening meal at a table together.

Friday night is award night. There are a number of different and interesting awards given.  The counselors give the awards and this is one of the fun events for camp.

Next was some devotional time, and then we witnessed the baptisms of five people. Caleb McNamee, Tanner Armstead, Keely Chandler, Rachel Blazer and Julia Heideman.  As you may have noticed the location for the baptisms changed this year. The water was too high and too swift for the place we have used over the past few years.  The park graciously allowed us to use the swimming pool.  The other location is a beautiful location at night. However, what we observed is that the real beauty of the baptisms is to see the commitment to Jesus.

The night ended with a devotional in the B Lodge. This brings us to the last night of camp. Tomorrow the cabins will be packed up and it will be time to go home.

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Camp 2013 Thursday

We woke to fairly steady rain this morning.  As I said earlier in the week, the leadership and staff we have at camp are able to adjust to whatever  the weather conditions happen to be.  We had a good breakfast and after breakfast, the table tiki was awarded to Drew Akin's cabin. One of the things that is done at camp is to have each cabin set at a table, and they are responsible for cleaning up after the meal.  They throw their trash away and they wipe off their table and sweep. 

Due to the rain, we had the flag talk inside today. Jeff Wilson gave the talk and then we said the pledge of allegiance together. We then brought the four military veterans here at camp and recognized them.  The four are Steve Gaines, Tom Burns, Justin Morgan, and Jeff Wilson.  We then sang  "God Bless America" together.  I wish that all of you could have experienced this.

The B Lodge devotional was led by Andrew Murray's cabin.  Today's lesson for the Grow Up theme was Big Give. The scripture for today was Matthew 6:1-6. The bottom line was "Spiritual disciplines grow our faith and show us both God's heart and ours."  After the devotional the campers participated in Bible Classes.

Kick ball was the activity for today. The older campers went to kick ball while the younger campers went to the last day of crafts. The Kick ball was played in the rain. As with all kick ball games, the girls and boys play separately before the sweetheart kickball starts. One of the things I observed today was that take a ball, some rain, some mud, and boys and you have a divine recipe for fun. Of course many of the boys we sliding head first into the mud. Once the sweetheart part started, we saw some people face down in the mud that you might be surprised about.

After the morning activity and crafts, it is time for lunch. After lunch we all gathered in the mess hall for a most interesting rendition of "Singing in the rain". The entire group took part in this. Again this was something that I wish that all of you could experience.  The Golden Broom was awarded to Hunter Saunder's cabin for the boys and to Grace Phillip's cabin for the girls.

After lunch the younger campers went to play kick ball in the rain. Again the boys were quick to slide head first into the mud. However, when the sweetheart part of the game started, both boys and girls were sliding into the mud. Again you will be surprised at some of the people who willingly went sliding head first into the mud. The older campers went to crafts at this time.

Next was to play the regular athletic games that we have scheduled.  Given the weather today, those games were played in the rain. Softball and volleyball aren't as much fun when it is raining.

The rain let up for a while after dinner and we had a fourth of July parade. The campers were lined up the road and the counselors pulled the floats that they had been working on this week. Also we had a queen of the parade. It was our own Sherri Murray.

After the parade we went to the pool and when it started raining we left early and came back to camp. Usually we have canteen at the pool. Tonight once we got back to camp the decision was made to take the canteen to the younger campers in their cabins. Also we did not have our usual devotional time with all of the campers. Instead we ended our day with a B lodge devotional with the older campers.

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Camp 2013 Wednesday

Today we pass the halfway point of camp. It is always hard to believe how fast camp seems to go by. It rained some overnight and we woke up to an overcast day. It is amazing to have the cool weather we have had, considering this is the first week of July. Despite several bouts of rain the last couple of days, we have managed to get all of our activities completed. Also fortunately we haven't dealt with any severe weather, just simple rain showers. One other observation is that there is a freshness in the air after the rain that we don't get in an urban area.

This is one of the days during the week that start the day later. Instead of breakfast starting at 7:15 as it has the last two days, today breakfast starts at 8:45. This extra rest really helps especially after two full days of activity.

The table tiki was won by Andrew's cabin. The flag talk with given by Steve Gaines. After the flag talk the campers go to clean their cabins and then to the morning devotional in the B lodge. Michael Clinger's cabin led the morning devotional today.

Today's lesson for the Grow Up theme was Big Team. The scriptures are Proverbs 13:20 and I Corinthians 15:33. The bottom line is "God uses relationships to impact and grow our faith". Donna taught the younger campers today and Russ taught the older campers. One of the examples they used was a stack of 2 x 4 pieces stacked to be a Jenga game. (Pardon my spelling, I know the game but I am not sure if how to spell it.) The younger campers played quite a long game and the stack of wood was very unstable before it fell.  We were all amazed by Eli Edwards. The stack of wood was very unstable, and it was Eli's turn. He went up and quickly pulled out a piece of wood and the stack did not move. The older campers made about five moves before theirs fell.

After classes it is lunch time. The table tike was won by Mark Hager's cabin. The golden broom was won by Kerri Loftis' cabin for the girls and Kyle Taylor's cabin won it for the boys. Chad reported that cabins were leaving good bribes and apparently the older more experienced boys know how to bribe.

After lunch we gathered outside and Lisa Gregg was presented with her fifteenth year award.

The activities were sweetheart kickball for the younger campers. It never ceases to amaze me the reactions to this game by the younger campers. However, after the warm up games and getting over the hump of selecting a kickball partner, what you hear from the field is laughter and the campers having fun. The older campers went on the hike to the bottom of the falls. Normally when they hike to the bottom of the falls, the get together and lookup and a photo is taken from the top. The one taken with the younger campers was posted yesterday. We weren't able to take that picture because of the volume of water coming over the falls. It was amazing how much more water was coming over the falls today.

After the evening meal, we went to the pool.  The water in the pool here is cool even on the hottest days. We thought maybe that the pool would be cold given the cool weather that we have been having.  Many campers did get into the pool, but many other stayed on the side.

Wednesday night is the night Larry Beard comes up for entertainment.  We enjoyed Larry Beard, Danny Gregg, Lisa Gregg, Frank Batson, Billy Seal, Steve Gaines, and Darlene Sweet. If you have a chance sometime you should see Danny's performance of the song "Swinging". Also during the song Wildfire, David Peden and Kyle Taylor joined in with motions to the song.

The night was ended with devotional time in the B Lodge.

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Camp 2013 Tuesday

We woke up to a cloudy day on the second full day of camp. We enjoyed a breakfast of bacon and eggs. By today the routine of camp is established. Breakfast, table inspections, flag raising and cabin cleaning. Grace Phillips won the table inspection and thus the coveted tiki.

We then go to the B Lodge for a devotional time. Parker's cabin led part of the devotional time.

Today's lesson for the Grow Up theme was Big Life. The scripture is Matthew  7:24-29. The bottom line statement is "When it comes to growing our faith, doing, not knowing is what makes the difference. Danny led the classes for the older campers and Sherry led the class time for the younger campers.

Today was sweetheart kickball day for the older campers. The boys and girls play separate games to start the time and then they pick partners and play sweetheart kickball. The kickball day is a day of absolute fun for the campers. It is good to see them having such a good time together. The younger campers worked on their floats and then worked on individual crafts. I noticed several with cross necklaces that they had made.

At lunch time the tiki was won by Morgan's cabin. Chlesea Martin's cabin won the golden broom for the girls and Mark Hager's cabin won the golden broom for the boys.

The afternoon activities for the younger campers was the hike to the bottom of the falls, and the older campers worked on their floats and on some individual crafts such as cross necklaces and bracelets.

The night's activity was talent night. Several performed karaoke. These performances range from great to not so great, but for all it was a great deal of fun. Next we had several acts perform various songs. We have some tremendous in our youth and it was a joy to watch their talent in action.

We closed the night with some devotional time with all campers, and with devotional time in the B lodge with the older campers. 

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Camp 2013 Monday

We woke up to beautiful weather for the first full day of camp. We had a breakfast of pancakes and sausage. After this comes the table inspection. The camper's tables are inspected to make sure that the tables are clean and that there is nothing on the floor around the tables. The losers stay and clean the dining hall the winners get the coveted tiki. Paige Denney's won the table award. We then go outside for a flag talk that was given by Justin Morgan, and the youngest campers raise the flag as the rest of us say the pledge of allegiance. The campers and their counselors then go to clean their cabins, while the staff meet to discuss the different activities of the day and then we spend time praying over each child by name.

The Grow Up theme was started on day one by Big Faith based on Matthew 8:1-10. Russ showed a video of him skydiving on his fiftieth birthday. He was in a skydiving tandem and had Big Faith in the experienced instructor that was jumping with him. The younger campers were blindfolded and had to show their faith in a partner that was leading them.

After the devotionals and classes, it is time for lunch. One of the things that happens at lunch is the awarding of the golden broom. It is good to have Chad Herndon back to award the golden broom. He sure knows how to raise the appropriate level of excitement at the prospect of winning the golden broom. He also gives advice on how to win the golden broom. For instance bribes are gladly accepted and help a cabin to be looked upon favorably. Grace Phillips' cabin won the golden broom for the girls and Michael Clinger's cabin won the golden broom for the boys.  The losing cabins get to clean the bathhouses.

After lunch, the older campers went on the hike to the nature center. This hike includes crossing the swinging bridge, and a chance to go into the air conditioned nature center and watch a movie such as the Lorax. The younger campers worked on their floats in crafts. There are red wagons that will be used to pull the floats and the floats will be used in some fourth of July activities that have been planned.

After the older campers got back from the hike, it started raining, so the decision was made to have free time and postpone the older campers craft time and the younger camper hikes. One of the good things about having experienced leadership and staff at camp is that they have experienced all sorts of weather challenges and know how to respond to them.

Later in the afternoon, the skies cleared and the younger campers went on the nature center hike, and the older campers went to crafts to work on their floats.

Tonight athletics started. The softball and volleyball games got underway in a light rain but the rain cleared soon after the games started. These are not athletics in the usual sense of the word, but are games that include everyone of every skill level. You would be proud of how you children conduct  themselves during the games.

The activities tonight were some classic movies. They showed 1940s era cartoons such as Tom and Jerry and Chad and Dustin spent some time after each cartoon drawing some interesting moral stories from the cartoons.

The night ended with a devotional and again you would be proud of the way your children  participate in the nightly devotional.

This ends a first full day of camp. The campers are off to their cabins to get ready for another day of camp.

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Camp 2013 Sunday

The 44th Donelson Church Camp is underway. Parents arrived with excited campers. Once they check in, they go to their cabin to meet their counselor, pick a bed, unpack, and start enjoying the camp experience.  The theme of this year's camp is Grow Up, based on II Pet 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory now and forever! Amen."  The Bible lessons will be centered around this theme, and some of the crafts will be centered around this theme as well.

We have 98 campers coming this year with 28 of those being visitors. We have a couple of requests for you this week. First we ask that you honor our request that there be no visitors to camp before Friday at 4:00. One of the underpinnings of camp is safety. The structure of our schedule and activities throughout  the day are designed so we can keep track of the campers and so that each camper can enjoy a fun and safe environment. Given the number of campers that we have and given the need for safety, unfortunately we cannot accept visitors before Friday. If you plan on coming on Friday, we ask that you contact Janice at the church office and let her the number that are coming.

Weather plays a big role in camp. During the setup time and throughout the day today, the weather has been in a word perfect. However, as the campers started arriving, so did a light rain. Once registration was completed, and the campers were settled into their cabins, they came together for the first devotional of the week. We spent some time singing, and Danny introduced the theme for the week and talked to them about the natural process of growing. He brought up a younger camper and talked about how next year that camper would grow. He talked about how a farmer plants a seed and the seed grows. Once the devotional is finished, campers go and tell their parents goodbye.

We want to thank each of you who brought drinks and "goodies" that we use during canteen. We are very thankful for your overwhelming generosity.

The next activity is Midgett madness. Fortunately the rain stopped, the sun came out and Midgett madness was underway. This is a series of games that get the campers engaged in the spirit of camp. Once Midgett madness is finished, the campers have canteen, and the participate in the closing devotional for the day.

This completes the first day of camp. The campers return to their cabins to get ready for a full day of activities on Monday.

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Camp 2013 Saturday setup

The preparations for Camp 2013 are in their final stages. Today is the culmination of weeks of planning preparation for Bible Studies, Activities, Crafts, and Meals. The area is transformed from Fall Creek Falls Group 2 to the Donelson Church of Christ Church Camp. There are many people from the various areas of camp here today preparing for the arrival of campers. We have a total of 98 campers with 28 of them being visitors that will begin arriving tomorrow. To end our day, we go to Buzzard's roost and sit in silent wonderment and amazement at God's creation. We end the day with a devotional time, which helps us to prepare our hearts to serve the incoming campers.

We desire your prayers this week. Most of all our desire is to grow closer to God.

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