Junior High 1: Monday

Our first group of Junior High campers have arrived!! Woo-hoo!

They were all dropped off this morning, and promptly got settled into their cabins. We got everyone set up and ready to go, said goodbye to our parents and headed down to the gym to kick the week off!

When we all gathered together in the gym we started out by introducing our counselors and other staff members. The counselors also acted out short skits to explain the rules to everyone in an enjoyable and very entertaining/humorous way.

After introductions, everyone got split and mixed up into their teams for the week! Each team had to come up with a creative name to go by for the rest of the week, and the team name had to include an adverb and a mythical creature! We had a lot of interesting results, a few being "Simply Deerbra" and "Adorably Hydra." We seem to have some rather creative campers with us this week!

Our teams then got to know one another by playing some name games and fun challenges to get everyone warmed up and comfortable with each other.

Following some fun in the gym, everyone had their cabin pictures taken and went up the hill for a picnic lunch! We had sloppy joe's, mac & cheese, watermelon, grapes, cookies and chips all set up by our awesome cooks!

We sat around the camp eating with our cabins and enjoyed our yummy food and the amazing weather in camp community.

After lunch we all headed back to our cabins for cabin time and went over some basic cabin guidelines for the week, and relaxed on our beds to let our lunch settle.

Then the girls went to canoe and take their swim tests to ensure safety during swim time, while the boys went to do their Bible studies with their cabins. After that, the boys and girls switched!

We will be studying 1 John this week with our cabins, and will be interacting with the text by highlighting, underlining and coloring our booklets. Today our counselors talked through 1 John Chapter 1, and explained our theme for the summer, which is being "Alive" with Christ. Our counselors especially highlighted verse 1, which states "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life," by explaining to their campers some times in their life they have personally encountered God, and what that could look like.

After the counselors spent some time verbally proclaiming and testifying to the truth of 1 John chapter 1, the campers had some time to reflect on times they may have encountered God in similar ways.

Following swim tests canoeing and Bible study, it was time to enjoy free time around camp. This includes freedom to play GaGa, tether ball, corn hole, carpet ball, basketball, nine square, and more!

This week the campers will also be working on memorizing Bible verses for our famous game of Mêleé at the end of the week. To help with this memorization, there are coloring pages in their Bible study booklets to work on that have some of the verses on them.



After some free time around the camp, it was time to head inside the Dining Hall for some delicious dinner!









Following dinner, we gathered together for our All Camp Game of Four-Way Capture the Flag!

After a great few rounds of capture the flag, we all headed to the chapel for worship and a lesson taught by Josh Rockey!

Following a great lesson and worship, we will get to gather around the campfire for a snack and then we'll head off to bed!

We have had a great start to our week, and we are so excited to see God move in amazing ways! We are praying our campers will walk away from this week with a deeper understanding of who God is, and how they can live their lives with Him. Here's to the start of a new week!!

Primary Overnight

Our Primary Overnight campers have arrived!!

We are so excited that our very first group of campers are here! We have had a day packed to the brim with fun, and there's still activities left to enjoy before they go home!

To begin the day, our campers arrived and unpacked their stuff. Bobby the Bear was wandering around to greet our campers, and our counselors were stationed and beyond ready to meet their campers in the cabins!



After getting settled in and saying goodbye to the parents, we headed down to the gym to get things started! First we introduced our counselors and staff and went over some basic rules. Next we kicked off our scavenger hunt with our cabins! We were looking for all sorts of things, from pine cones to fuzzy objects. One cabin even got to find Bobby Bear!






After our scavenger hunt, we went back to the Dining Hall and had a delicious lunch of hot dogs, fruit, mac & cheese, and popsicles for dessert prepared by our wonderful cooks! Then we all headed back to our cabins to change and to lay down for a little bit.

Next the boys headed down to the lake for some refreshing and much needed swim time, while the girls went to make an awesome bookmark craft and play a game of "Captain's Orders." After that, the boys and girls switched activities!




Then we had some free time and got to eat some popcorn and lemonade at the picnic tables!

After our tasty snack that hit the spot, the girls loaded up on the hay wagon to go down a path through some wooded area. It was a beautiful day and we saw dragon flies, a blue bird, butterflies and some beautiful scenery! It was wonderful to sit back and enjoy God's creation together. Meanwhile, the boys were playing an awesome game of kickball! When the girls got back, the boys and girls switched activities!





After those activities we got to hang out and have some free time around camp. We got to swing, play tether ball, GaGa, Carpetball, and other fun games!





Then the bell rang and we ran off to a delicious dinner of homemade pizza, applesauce, and ice cream for dessert! We sure are blessed to have such a wonderful kitchen staff to make such yummy food.

After dinner, we had an all camp game down on the field. It was a super fun game of "Buzz Lightyear!" Our campers had such a great time running around and playing hard!



After our game, we all headed towards the Chapel for some worship and a lesson. Monty talked to us about what it means to be "Alive" with Christ, and we sang some great songs. It was great to reflect on how our great our God is together as a camp. 

Following worship we gathered around the campfire outside and enjoyed some snacks before heading off to bed. It has been such a great day, and we have had so much fun! Our first group of campers have been wonderful, and we can't wait for what we have in store tomorrow morning before they head home.








We hope they have each had a great time with us at camp, and we really hope they come back later this year or next year! Primary Overnight has been amazing, and we can't wait for what God has in store next!

Staff Training

Well, we're back! :)

The 2016 Bear Lake Camp staff arrived back at camp on the evening of June 5, and jumped right into training for this upcoming camp season!

We spent a lot of time diving into this year's Bible study, fixing stuff around camp, cleaning, getting to know one another, playing lots of games, and learning what we need to know to help make this summer the best one yet!

This year we studied 1 John. We dug deeper into the pieces and learned more about what it means to be "Alive" and living life with Christ. It has been a great learning experience and as a staff we have truly enjoyed discussing the Word together again.

We have also been making camp even better than before! We have now moved our craft stuff into a barn, now called "The Craft Barn," and it looks great! We are so excited to have a new and improved space for craft time.

We also have a new archery setup, among other exciting changes!

This past week has been amazing, and we are so excited to be together again and get the summer rolling! I think it's also safe to say we are beyond ready and excited to have campers arrive! We can't wait to serve them and grow alongside them and learn more about our Lord.

We have so many fun things planned. This summer is definitely going to be one to remember, and we are praying each camper will walk away with a deeper understanding of Christ's love.

After a week preparing, we are ready for the season to begin! To finish up the week of training last night we all rode together in the hay wagon over to JR's for some ice cream, and then got settled into our cabins, all ready for Primary Overnight and the rest of the summer!

We can't wait to see all of our campers! Here's to a new summer!!