Wonderful Winter Camp Week
Trip Start
Dec 22, 2011
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Trip End
Ongoing
East Troy, Wisconsin
Monday, December 26, 2011
Dinner was served at 5:30. I had heard that the previous Winter Camp location had horrible food, so everyone was anxious to see what type of food would be here. We were not disappointed. Now, a week later, I cannot remember what we had, but they always had a balanced meal. Bread was homemade and whole wheat. A salad bar was always available. At lunch, there was homemade soup as an option too.
After dinner, there were staff manuals to put together, the making of signs, and other details to take care of. We were staying in a house like cabin with the two other couples, so every evening was filled with fellowship and or work. There was never a night that we went to bed before 11PM.
Mornings began at 6 AM. Breakfast was at 7:30 AM. For Scott and I, each breakfast included a meeting with the counselors. Each lunch, included a meeting with the Assistant Counselors. We discussed needs of the dorms, or problems that arose, or how to facilitate the boys escorting the girls to dinner, which is always a highlight for both. With three girls' dorms and two guys’ dorms, we had to work out a plan so everyone was escorted.
Linda and I had to prepare a presentation for the girl campers for Wednesday night. Tuesday night we finalized our topic, and we worked on it all day Wednesday. We presented the topic of Inner Beauty is what God wants, not outer beauty which the world emphasizes. It was well received by the girls.
There was no snow at Winter Camp, so some of the activities like Cross Country Skiing, tubing, and tobogganing had to be revamped. Everyone rolled with the change of schedule, and still had fun despite not having snow. I helped out with Arts and Crafts at times at they were a little shorthanded. The project was making a picture using chalk pastels or oil pastels to make a stained glass looking picture. I made one picture with oil pastels. I had never worked with them before and really liked it.
As a camp, we planned to send cards signed by all the campers to various congregations around the world. Roxanne asked me to make two pictures for the fronts of the cards. I really enjoyed creating pictures for these cards. I think we sent 5 cards to different locations.
There were 6 ABC students at camp. One of them was Jaime from Colombia. I had met his father in Colombia during the Feast, and I enjoyed getting to know Jaime here. Another student was Derrik from the Netherlands. So, we really had an international camp this year.
Friday, the last day of classes, I made about 12 trips between Arts and Crafts and the dining hall. As the dorms finished their pictures, I took them to the dining hall to hang them on the windows so that everyone could see each other’s art work. By the time 4:30 PM rolled around, my legs were tired. I had been on my feet standing or walking all day. The dining hall looked lovely with all the pictures adorning the room.
The evenings after dinner were for Christian Living. One night was the presentation that Linda and I did for the girls, while the guys had theirs with Scott and Randy. Friday night was a Q & A, and afterwards there were group Bible games, and time for writing Sabbath notes and fellowship.
Sabbath morning after breakfast, we had two Bible Seminars which were absolutely fabulous. They dove tailed together and covered the topic of your calling and answering that call. Many of the campers and young adult staff commented on how much they appreciated them.
The next hour was left open. Many used this time for writing Sabbath notes. Of course, it usually ends up with a group around a table, and I find it hard to not talk. So, my Sabbath notes ended up to be few and short, but filled with love. J Connecting with the other campers and staff at this time is just as important.
We had lunch and then there was Sabbath singing. Singing hymns at camp as a group is always so inspiring and thrilling. It creates a feeling of camaraderie.
Services were at 2:30 PM. A few members from the area attended with us. We had two shortened sermonettes, special music, and the sermon by Scott. Special music was done a capella and was absolutely beautiful—it was called "It is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. Scott’s sermon was well received by the campers.
Everyone was dressed for the dance at dinner. The camper boys had escorted the girls to dinner. The level of conversation sounded like a fine restaurant. We have had a very fine group of campers at this camp. After dinner there were dorm pictures and then the dance at 7 PM.
During the dance classes, the campers were taught a couple of line dances different Scottish ceilidh’s, which are group dances similar to the Virginia Reel. The dance went well; the dance floor was usually packed. I danced many dances and had a great time. After the dance, they showed a slide show of all the pictures taken during camp, and the music videos made in the music class. The campers always enjoy seeing the pictures of themselves from the past week.
It was late by the time we cleaned up and rearranged everything in the dining hall. After returning to our cabin, I took a shower and packed most of my things. I knew the morning would be rushed. We had a finally powwow to discuss items regarding camp that need to be tweaked for next year. The first year at any location always has its surprises and has to be tweaked for the next year. It was about 1:30 AM when I crawled into bed.
Morning came quickly. We woke to falling snow—about a half inch, so we got snow during camp after all! It made it a bit messy for packing up, but that is what winter is all about. We had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, turkey bacon, yogurt, fresh fruit, cold cereals, oatmeal and beverages to send us all on our long trips home. We had a final Compass Check, and then everyone said their goodbyes. The most tearful for me was saying goodbye to Daniel and Felicia. I won’t see them again until their wedding.
The snow stopped by 8 AM. We were checked out of camp and gone before 10 AM. It was very windy with gusts up to 29 mph (50 kph). It made for horrible driving. The temperature was just above freezing, but with the wind chill, it was bitterly cold. We were both tired (that is actually underestimated—we were exhausted), so staying awake was difficult.
