Goodbye Campers!

VBC's summer camps are officially finished! We waved off the last busload of campers leaving just a few minutes ago and now the staff are gathering for a last meeting all together. Most of the counselors will leave tonight or tomorrow to go back home to many different states.
A few staff, including our family, will stay here for family camp and wilderness camp, which will both take place next week.
This week was full of excitement! We had several injuries around camp, thankfully none life-threatening. On Wednesday, 3 of the 4 camps participated in the Monumental Scamper (VBC's version of the Amazing Race!) and spent several hours racing around camp and participating in wild team challenges. On Thursday we went to the Alpine campout to discover that a bear had again broken into the things left out there and helped itself to a can of non-stick cooking spray. I was also able to share part of my testimony of my time in the village with the campers during our around-the-fire chapel.
Justin got to be the wrap-up speaker after chapel every evening this week, and we taught our final life session on Thursday. It's been cool this summer to see how God can teach you through what you are teaching to others!
We are ready for a bit of a slower, more laid back week during family camp. Justin's job will be to help organize and schedule various staff into the activities they're helping with- the week will be pretty unstructured, with activities available to families who can choose whatever they'd like to do during the day.
Wilderness camp will be a trial run on a first-ever week of this type of camp. High schoolers will hike, cook and sleep outdoors, and learn more about God's creation.
We are so thankful to God for the lives He changed and the seeds that were planted this week. Several campers stood up last night at campfire and talked about rough home lives and what a blessing it is to come to camp and be refreshed and loved by their counselors. Please be in prayer for them, that their growing in their walk with Christ won't stop after camp!
Other ways you can pray for Victory this week:
-Several staff members who are debating about staying on staff for the winter; pray for direction and discernment as they make a choice about how to spend this next year.
-For a fun and safe week of family and wilderness camps.
-Praise to God for an amazing summer, and for His work to continue! We are so thankful to be used by Him.

(Photos: The Victory staff gathered for a last meeting; high school campers building 'fortresses' to protect eggs from destruction; the sun breaks through on a rainy evening in front of Miracle Lodge)

Week 7

This is the last official week of camp! It is a soggy, foggy, rainy, sorry day, but it hasn't dampened spirits around here. The counselors and other staff are gathered outside waiting for the buses to arrive, dancing with umbrellas and sweatshirt hoods up. :)
Last week finished wonderfully, with lots of decisions made for Christ and 2 full busloads leaving on Saturday morning. The testimonies of counselors seemed to fit into each chapel perfectly and I know that God wanted those kids to hear what the staff had to say.
Campfire on Friday night was also a time of testimonies from campers. The staff turned the time over to the campers, to hear how God has been working in their lives through their week of camp. It was especially powerful to hear one girl, who had a tragic death in the family just weeks ago, stand up and say how God has strengthened her, and to give spiritual and emotional encouragement to the other campers. She urged them to look for God through trials, and let Him pull them through.
We weren't able to get a speaker lined up for this week, so the testimonies will continue. One Alpine counselor said this morning, "I've been praying about this (giving my testimony) all summer." I think that God is going to continue to work through people telling how they have come to know their personal identities in Christ.
I have to say that I've never seen such an energetic, joyful staff. Most summers, the last couple of weeks are full of understandably tired counselors, lagging enthusiasm, and people falling asleep in chapel. This summer's staff seems just of full of happy energy as they were the very first week. As Justin said in his 'speech' during staff appreciation, "I think I saw more deep relationships formed this last week, with 86 campers, than I've seen in weeks that we only had 30 campers."
Staff Appreciation at Victory is an evening meal provided by the permanent staff that gives each camp a time to relax, enjoy themselves, and play some crazy games. The directors of each camp each said a few words about their staff and the hard work that everyone put in this summer. It was a time of thankfulness and credit to God for an amazing summer and lots of hearts and lived changed, and seeds planted. Each camp got to dress up in a theme to make the evening exciting. The theme this summer was games. Frontier Camp chose Mario Kart, Ranch chose roller derby, and Alpine chose medieval jousting. It was hilarious to see everyone dressed up--we had a dragon and a dragon slayer, a couple of damsels in distress, a jester and a minstrel, several knights and horses, and Justin and I were king and queen. It was a great evening.
This week is our high school week at Alpine. Justin and his assistant decided to make this week out of the ordinary, changing around the schedule, planning epic ongoing games throughout the week, making it an awesome, crazy way to finish the summer. We are excited for week 7!!

(Photos: Campers gather outside Spruce Lodge before chapel; Justin gives the wrap-up message after a testimony; the Alpine medieval troupe at staff appreciation)

Mud and Many Chairs

We have started week 6 out with lots of rain! The roads are very muddy, but today the sun is out and shining and I for one hope that it continues. :)
We have this week, we are pretty sure, the most campers ever attending Alpine camp in the history of Victory! Yesterday we played a game of 'I have never' and it was amazing to see so many chairs around the edge of the top story of Alpine Lodge. Even more amazing that those 100 and some odd chairs were filled!
There has been a need for lots of creativity in planning games, activities, trail rides, etc., for so many campers, and we have had to borrow a few counselors from other camp areas, but the staff have been up to the challenge and are doing a beautiful job! It is also very much a blessing that we have an awesome group of kids this week, with great attitudes and great listening skills.
The speaker for chapel this week had to cancel at the last minute, leaving Victory in what could have been a tight spot, but I believe it was God's plan. The ministry team decided to have counselors share their testimonies for the regular speaker's spot in chapel, and it has been just incredible to see God work through this. There is just something so real about someone getting up in front of so many people and sharing their personal story and journey to Christ, and I think that it especially hits home with the kids since our theme this summer is Identity. It's perfect that these staff members can share their identity in Christ and that the campers can relate to that.

Some ways you can pray for Victory this week:
-There is currently no speaker lined up for next week either, and it's coming up fast! Pray for God to fill this spot with another something great.
-For the camps to continue to run smoothly despite the many campers and therefore many issues that can arise
-For continued rest & good health among the staff- I have never seen a summer with so few people sick!


(Photos: More great sidewalk chalk art :), Alpine counselor Chomper with the Alpine sign for new arrivals; we will have put hundreds of miles on the stroller by summer's end; Justin cliff jumping into hidden lake; the campers gathered in Alpine lodge to hear rules for the week)

Well, week 5 has come to an end and a lot has happened in a few short days!

We’ve had a day of non-stop pouring rain, which made games and activities interesting, and a couple days of hot sunshine that we really appreciate!

You could tell that God was really at work here this week, based on how many issues with homesickness, illness, small injuries, and other problems each camp had…the enemy obviously didn’t like the fact that God was working in hearts this week. One Alpine camper in particular seemed to be very attacked and we are all praying hard for her and trusting that God is going to do something awesome in her life.

The chapels & skits went well and it was so neat to see campers break into small groups with their counselors and talk last night. Some lingered afterwards to pray together and we know God was at work in kids’ hearts.

The new staff that are here have slipped really well into each of their roles and we are so thankful for more help here. We know God has sent each person here with a plan for them in mind.

Our plans for this weekend include Justin hiking up to Hidden Lake with some of the counselors to go cliff jumping!

Some ways you can pray for camp today:

-For each of the campers that pass through camp, that they would have hearing ears and seeing eyes for the gospel; that there would be no interference with God working in their lives

-For an Alpine counselor, Clay, who has been sick for a while

-For illness to stay away from the rest of the staff as we are maxed out on numbers of campers next week and will need all counselors to be well!

(Photos: One of the boys' cabins posing for a crazy picture; the Alpine 2011 Counselors & Staff)

Hello Week 5!

We have begun our short week after a great staff trip!
The 6-ish hour bus ride from Victory to Seward was actually very relaxing. Both Evie and Norah slept most of the time and the scenery was beautiful!
The whitewater rafting expedition went very well, ending with a total of 8 people dumped in the water and everyone well and safe at the end. :) Justin and everyone else had a blast.
Now we get to spend the next 3 days enjoying the little guys. The campers at Alpine this week are 4th-6th grade. The schedule will be a little bit different, including an earlier bedtime--hooray!
Rather than have a speaker this week for only 3 days, the ministry team has decided to run chapels themselves. I got to write a series of skits that speak the theme verse's message, and Justin and I get to perform them. I think it's going to be a really neat set of chapels.
Some ways you can pray for Victory:
-We have several new staff members that will be with us for the rest of the summer. Pray for an easy transition, as jumping in in the middle of the summer can sometimes be difficult.
-Pray for focus for the staff, as it is not always easy to get back into the mindset of being focused on campers after a longer break.
-Pray for the counselors as they lead the daily Bible studies for their cabins. They will have to adjust the studies a little bit to the younger age group.

(Photos: the rafters getting caught in "Suckhole"; Justin's raft heading into the same rapid; the whole group; and a sidewalk chalk drawing with a great message)

Sunshine & Marshmallows

Well, week 4 is at an end and I can't believe how fast the time is flying by! We had a great week with hot sunny days and a couple of rainy evenings, which was just perfect. The smaller numbers of campers allowed us to join Ranch at their campsite, Hicks Creek, and we had a lot of fun with a boat race down the river (each cabin makes their own boat) and an epic round of gibberish, a charades game.
The speaker for this week, Joel Kiekintveld, is the director of Parachutes Youth Ministry in Anchorage. He spoke about our identity in Christ, using our theme verses for the summer, Isaiah 41:9 & 10, which is a powerful scripture. If you want to learn more about Parachutes, visit their website, www.parachutesalaska.com.
Friday night's campfire was full of kids sharing what God taught them this week and how He's drawn them closer to him through their time at camp. The night ended with marshmallow fights and staying up late!
Today the week draws to a close and kids will be loading up on the buses and heading home. It's our prayer that each one of them will not forget what they learned, that the new lives in Christ will find ways to plug in to a youth group or church to attend, and that God will place someone in their lives who can mentor them in their walk.
We are leaving first thing tomorrow morning for our staff trip to Seward, where we'll spend a couple of days. Justin is heading up a large group of people going on a whitewater rafting trip down 6-Mile Creek out of Hope.
Tonight the staff will relax a bit and have fun with an open mic & coffee night put on by the leadership at Victory. Justin & I have prepared a skit to perform!

Ways you can pray for Victory right now:
-Renewed focus for the counselors & other staff. This part of the summer is often the toughest as staff can get homesick (many of the staff are from out of state) and lose focus on why we're here.
-Health for everyone here; we've had a great summer so far with not much sickness at all; let's pray for it to continue!
-Continued safety for campers & staff on the lake and around the horses, and during games
-Next week is our short week with our youngest groups of campers, who will arrive Wednesday. Pray for brave little ones and for the homesickness to stay away!

(photos: the poster at Spruce Lodge for our theme this summer; a counselor talks with a camper at Alpine)

Bears and Mountains

Week 3 ended great! We had a bear roam through the Alpine campout area (thankfully before we got there to camp). It tore into a few things and made some pawprints on the cooking grill, but it had moved on by the time Alpine got there to camp out on Thursday. The weather was good last week and lots of kids got to swim. We also broke in the water balloon launcher and had a shooting contest between cabins!
Evie made friends with an Alpine camper named Aiden and had lots of fun hanging out all week!
For July 4th, the staff had a day off. Justin and I, together with some friends (and Norah in the front pack!) hiked Anthracite ridge, a 7-hour hike. The weather was beautiful and the hike went really well. We finished the evening with a unique prayer and praise time with the staff. Normally we meet with small groups to pray and then come together to worship, but this time we listened to a short devotional and then went to different areas of the chapel to pray, spend time in God's word, write down prayers, praises, and ways we've seen God work this summer on big posters, or worship God through artwork or writing. It was an interesting way to spend time worshipping together, but one-on-one with God.
Week 4 will be a day shorter than normal because of July 4th, and most of the camp numbers are pretty small. We'll be spending a little more time with Ranch Camp this week, and will journey down to Hicks Creek for our campout on Thursday.
As I write this, the campers for the week have just arrived on the bus and the counselors are welcoming them with lots of noise and cheering! We're thankful for a gorgeous, clear day to start the week of camp with.