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!!

Junior 3: Thursday

Our week is winding down with our Junior campers, but we aren't done yet! :)

Cabin 3 went Polar Bearing this morning (Cabin 5 went yesterday...typo in yesterday's blog!), and the rest of us got up at the usual time to meet around the flag pole to stretch and get warmed up for a new day. After flag pole, we all headed in for another delicious breakfast!

When breakfast came to an end, it was time to get to our cabins and clean them up! Today's theme for cabin clean up was "The Zoo!" Those who brought stuffed animals with them to camp were especially excited. :) Cabin 4A won cabin clean-up today, for their cleanliness and creativity. They set up an entrance to their zoo, complete with someone handing out tickets. Great job boys!

When our cabins were cleaned and decorated, we all broke off into our cabin groups to have Bible study. Today's Bible study can be found in John 21:1-25. This passage discusses when Jesus appears to His disciples for the third time since He had risen from the dead.

Following great discussions about this passage and what it means to us today, we headed to our choice activities. Today's choice activities included fishing, swimming, crafts, GaGa, another beautiful hike, sidewalk chalk on the basketball court, fishing, archery/slingshots, and disc golf! The kids that went on the hike today had a blast, and took lots of silly pictures!








After everyone went through both of their choice activities, everyone headed in for lunch, followed by some cabin time. When everyone was rested up and ready to go again, we all went down to the gym to learn about the end of camp game called Mêleé, which is a game that challenges the campers to memorize their Bible verses amongst other things. The campers have been working on memorizing their verses throughout the week so they will be ready for the game. This week to get "immunity" in the game, you must memorize 3 verses! So far it seems as though they are doing a great job with their verses. :)

When everyone learned about Mêleé, it was time to start rotations with our teams! Today's rotations included learning more about Mêleé as a team, and swim time. Today during swim time, the teams competed to see who could bury their counselor faster. The counselors were just thrilled as you can imagine, but the kids were even more into it!

Following rotations, free time was opened around the camp. When free time came to a close, it was time to head in for a yummy dinner!

After supper, we began our evening activity. Tonight's evening activity was a classic game of Counselor Hunt! It was a great game, and everyone had a blast. When the Counselor Hunt comes to an end, it will be time for chapel and worship in the gym.

Our week is slowly coming to a close, but we still have a lot of important things to do and learn tomorrow as well! We have had so much fun so far, and we're all excited for what's to come!