After a week that seemed to fly by, we’ve reached the last day of Kindle One camp. What a week it’s been, with beautiful weather, exciting skills and camp-wide games, and a bunch of memories to last a life time. We’re really going to miss the kids who called Red Rock home this week, but before the farewell could kick in, they still had one more day left to enjoy here in the Whiteshell.
With Friday being the last day of skills, the campers tried to get the most out of the two skills that they signed up for. What better way to see what kind of fun the kids were having then to check back with our pirate fishing skill, which seems to have turned back into a normal fishing skill. I guess Jack needed a break.
But of course knowing the characters who signed up for fishing, it couldn’t actually stay completely normal as the kids decided they wanted to catch beetles instead of actual fish. So the campers put their rods away, and exchanged them with a net to see if they can come up with anything.
Turns out they actually got something! I’m not sure if they caught any fish all week, but it’s always good to end the week off in a positive note. And I suppose catching a few water beetles count as a positive.
But, just as we do with the fish, we make sure the kids send what they catch back into the water. The kids took great joy about the fact that these beetles have a chance to swim on to a full life. Kids are precious.
The last time we checked in with the Water Skiing skill, the kids were doing great getting up on the boom or on the rope. Things continued to go smoothly with them on Friday, and it’s great to see how much they’ve improved since the first day, and how much fun they had.. It also didn’t hurt that it was a beautiful day every day this week, so hanging out in the middle of the lake isn’t all that much of a chore.
We really like our lake because very rarely is the water cold, due to its lack of depth. The only problem with a shallow lake is the seaweed. Fun fact, some kids have a strange fear of seaweed. That tends to make things interesting from time to time over here in Red Rock Lake.
The boats were also put to a special use yesterday as the Water Ex skill was shipped over to Crevice Point to do some rock hopping. We don’t have too much of a cliff, but it’s always fun for the kids to take the boat out, and jump off something that’s not the trampoline or a deep dock. And of course they all had to wear lifejackets. That being said, there’s something about jumping off of rocks into the water that takes a degree of bravery to actually go and do it. And I’m proud to say they took the plunge.
With everyone in the water, it made for great bonding time for the Water Ex skill, and it was an awesome way to end the week’s skill.
Throughout the week there have been skits every day relating to our theme of Truth. In the skits, detective Maxine Blake, and her assistant, Simone, are on the hunt for the “truth”. They look everywhere to find it: at game of truth of dare, at a lie detector test, and yesterday they tried to find it at a courtroom.
In the end, they find out the truth can be found in the Bible, and that truth is Jesus Christ. And that’s really what this whole week has been about: trying to teach the kids that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And through Morning Watch, Chapel, and even these skits, it really seems like God has been showing His truth to these campers and lives are being changed.
In the evening, the campers participated in counsellor hunt, which was basically hide and go seek with the counsellors. All of the campers met up at the ball field while the counsellors hid, and the kids had one hour to find as many as they could (with tuck as the prize). The campers did tremendous, as many counsellors were found and a whole lot of candy was consumed.
After enjoying their final Big Brother, Big Sister time of the week, the campers filed into the Chapel for the last time. Lorne sent them all home with a challenge to continue to follow Jesus with everything that they have, and to be lights to everyone around them – something we also continue to pray for as a staff.
Finally, the campers walked down by the lake to sit around a campfire and reminisce about the amazing week they had. Campers talked about their favorite activities, shared about what God has taught them, and shared about any new commitments they’ve made in their lives since they’ve been out here. It’s an awesome send off for the campers, and it’s one of the best parts of every Kindle week.
We are so blessed to be located where we are. I can’t say enough how evident God’s presence is in His creation here. And when we head over to the fireside at the end of every week, you look out onto the water and feel a peace that God is surely at work. On display last night was one of the many breathtaking sunsets that we have out here every summer, and it just doesn’t ever get old.
Thank you everyone for checking out the blog this week. It’s been such a blessing to share about what God’s been doing, and we really appreciate all of the feedback you’ve given us. You’re definitely going to want to check out the blog next week, as the teenagers head over here for Summer Scorcher camp. We’re going to have a whole bunch of wild and crazy things going on including a concert, beach party, worship night, and the famous Homemade Jam sketch show. It’s going to be an amazing week, and you’re going to want to check out what that all looks like. Until then, have an awesome weekend!
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