Overheards - 2010

Day 4: Exalt GOD

"You have sheep hair, Gege! Yeah, you have sheep hair, but you have people skin!" g-Campers, ages 3 and 5

"Just twist it and pull it out" - e-Camper, age 6, trying to pull out her first tooth!

(playing with a train like a plane) "I'll fly you to Jesus!" - g-Camper, age 5

Camper: "This isn't my real hair color."
Leader response: "Oh, really?"
Camper: "Yes, I use a LOT of shampoo!"
- e-Camper, brown hair, 6 yrs old, Voice It!

"My mommy and daddy sing really good. My daddy teaches classes and goes to works. Why does he teach classes? Why am I here?" - g-Camper, age 2

Camper: "I'm so excited to go on vacation to Lake Tahoe!"
Leader response: "How cool...What's in Lake Tahoe?"
Camper: "A Lake."
- Voice It!

Leader: "What was your favorite part of the day?"
Camper: "Losing my tooth!"

Day 3: Trust GOD

Of art created in class, "This represents what God wants to give me and it is too big to hold." - Create It!

"I play the guitar. That is the gift that God gave me to give back to Him." ...of the painting done of a guitar, Create It!

After asking the youth guys to move the staging (heavy lifting at the end of a long, hot day...) the wholehearted response... "I would LOVE to!!" - Aaron Martinez, student leader

"I was just here for the kids, but this is changing me. This is very rewarding!" - Emily Batiste, student leader

"I feel so thankful when I am singing worship songs." - Rachel Wilburn, student leader, Voice It!

"When I sing to the Lord, I feel like He is really in me." - Voice It!

"When I sing worship songs, I am singing more for God's pleasure. When I am singing other songs, I'm singing more for myself." - Voice It!

"We are like professionals at this dance!" - Move It!

"What are some sins? - Ding-Dong Ditching, Egging someone or t.p.'ing a house" - Grasp It!

"Read your bible and use it as a weapon to fight your giants." - Stacia, Grasp It!

"Why does God do bad things and then tell us how to take them away?" - g-Camp, 5 yr old

"Why do we do bad things and belong to God?" - g-Camp, 5 yr old

Camper - "Life is like a rubix cube."
Leader response - "I can solve a rubix cube if I take all the stickers off." - Write It!

"A merry heart makes us joyful and the bad spirit dries up your joyful." - g-Camp, 5 yr old

"You have sheep's hair!" - spoken to Gege, g-Camp, 3 yr-old

Day 2: Honor GOD

"Song writing was AMAZING! We wrote a song...a whole song!" - Write It!

"I think it's time for you to stop talking and start painting." - Create It!

(About God)"You are like a great oak giving us support and shade from lies." - Write It!

"Can we like draw a picture of God so we can show how much we love Him?" - Create It!

God created..."The world! Mars! Yeah and He breathes hot breath from His mouth!" - g-Campers ages 4 and 5

God has provided..."The grass for a soft landing" - g-Camp, Jonathan Petak, age 5

"I like crazy!" - Worship time

"God already told me what to draw." - Create It!

Day 1: Seek GOD

"I know a bad, bad, bad sin...ignoring your parents!" - Grasp It!

"We all live on this big blue ball, and there's sin everywhere. We just have to make the best of it!" - Write It!

(Prayer Request) "I want to die when my mommy dies so that I can go to heaven when she does and we can be together. I don't want to be apart from her." - 5 yr old, g-Camp

"My grandfather composed the music we are listening to" - Create It!

"How do you spell 'createable'?"

Exalting God Dramatically

Today was another dramatic day at E-Camp! Of course, when you kick off the morning with a drama sketch by our student leaders that includes Super Mario and an ostrich named Chives, the rest of the day cannot help but follow suit. When the therapist tried to help the handful of wacky characters to stop exalting things besides God, the kids laughed so hard they almost fell off their choir risers- and they got the point.

Later in our morning drama breakout session, the kids experimented with playing characters who did exalt God. One chose to be a missionary and share the gospel with another student, telling her "God is holy." Another chose to read her Bible- demonstrated by holding her hands like a book. When I asked what she was reading, she said, “I’m reading Luke.” Another prayed with his hands folded and his eyes closed, another sang a song in Spanish about how God can "move the mountains," two danced, and one picked up an imaginary baby lamb to show that she was taking care of God's creation. Little hands, faces, and imaginations were not just acting in those moments, they truly were exalting God.

After the students had returned to their places on the carpet, a little girl came up to me. She said, "I know of another song that exalts God." I needed to start the next activity, but her eyes were pleading. I asked "What is it?" She said, "Joy to the World." I asked, "Would you like to sing it for me?" She nodded. So, amidst the furor of energetic noise around us, I bent my head down to listen. She sang the whole song. And it was precious.

Now that I think about it, it wasn’t just another dramatic day at E-Camp. Through wacky characters, heartfelt acting, and a joyful Christmas carol, it was a dramatic day in which God was exalted!

Daily Notes - Exalt GOD

 

Daily
 Notes  
Exalt 
GOD

 



Verse of the Day! For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; You are EXALTED far above all gods.

Psalm 97:9

DON’T FORGET!

• FWN will begin at 6:30 pm Friday night. Please look for our FWN Daily Notes for details about times and places of drop off, etc.
• We hope everyone is planning to stay after FWN tomorrow for our Ice Cream Social!! Bring your favorite box of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, or push pops to share along with your appetite for frozen treats and fun!
• Sign up for childcare with the names and ages of your children so you can attend the Parent Breakout on Spiritual Leadership in the Home in room LC219 of the Learning Center while your campers are at FWN warm-up. Childcare will be provided in room LC149.
• Campers will be wearing denim shorts and their camp t-shirt for FWN, tomorrow night . Thank you!

Family Worship Night (FWN)! We are SO excited about being led in worship by your children! And don’t forget to stick around afterward and join us for the Ice Cream Social in the back barn with a photo slideshow of our week and a fun time of fellowship to close out our week.

Daily Notes: Family Worship Night

 

Family
Worship Night

Schedule
3:00pm  - Camp Ends
5:00 pm - We need your children back to prepare for Worship!!
                  Please bring your children to the Student Center
                  with your box of frozen treats.
                  We will have coolers to put the treats in!
5:15 pm - Parent Breakout on Spiritual Leadership in the Home
                 in
 room LC219.
                 Childcare is located in room LC149.
6:00 pm - Parent breakout session ends
6:30 pm - Family Worship Night begins!!
Immediately following FWN  - Ice Cream Social!!

A different perspective...

g-Camp.

I know a lot of you have probably seen "g-Camp" written in the sidebar and thought that it was a typo. It isn't. g-Camp is the camp for our littles...aka the small children of our e-Camp staffers that is held at my home. In it's second year, just like e-Camp, we have grown this year...just like e-Camp.

Last year, I was a full-timer at e-Camp, being the camp "administrator", and my son attended g-Camp. Let me just say that g-Camp was the HIGHLIGHT of his summer! Now I know why!!

About a month ago, we added a little girl to our family, I made the shift for this year to staying at my home and helping with g-Camp. We have had an absolute BLAST! As you can see from some of our "over-heards", our little people can be every bit as funny and profound as our big people and while I miss being at e-Camp and really miss the campers I bonded with last year, g-Camp has been so fun and the kiddos are learning so much!

This year, our theme is "Great is Thy Name!" (the "g" in g-Camp) and the kids, so far, have learned that Jehova-Raah is their Shepherd, Jehova-jireh is their Provider, and Jehova-nissi is their banner. They have heard the stories when God first called Himself by these names and have asked questions and learned verses, hiding His Word in their hearts.

Thank you so much to all the e-Camp volunteers, but from all of us over here at g-Camp straight to the mommas of our kiddos, thank you for serving AND for lending us your kids. We love them to pieces, each and every one!

- by: Mandy Reutter

Lead It!

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  
1 Timothy 4:12 

What a beautiful gift God has given to us in the form of kids - they are like brightly wrapped packages to open, full of smiling faces, curious questions, and contagious laughter. The energy at e-camp this week is over-the-top, thanks, in part, to another beautiful gift God has blessed us with -- our student volunteers from The Foundry (Fellowship's highschool youth group.)  They greet our campers at the door every morning with a smile and a "Hey, I'm so glad you're here!" They play, they give piggyback rides, they lead the kids to their activities and take them to the bathroom(over and over again!).  They let the younger kids go through the lunch line first, they reign in the stragglers, they answer lots and LOTS of questions -- all without whining, complaining or wishing they were somewhere else. What an incredible example of the body of Christ; to walk alongside another in love, showing by example and sharing one's experience.  May we all come into the presence of Jesus as our kids do...and don't forget to HAVE FUN!

by: Katie Hogue, full time e-camp volunteer

Daily Notes - Trust GOD

Daily


Notes

Trust 
GOD

Verse of the Day!
TRUST in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5,6

DON’T FORGET!

• Sign up for childcare with the names and ages of your children so you can attend the Parent Breakout on Family Worship in the Home in room LC219 of the Learning Center while your campers are at FWN warm-up.
• Please remember that you MUST sign your child IN AND OUT of camp each day. For their safety, and the security of camp we must ask you to escort your child in each day to check them in to camp.
• Your camper received a CD Monday of the music we will sing at FWN on Friday. Please be listening to these OFTEN!
• Campers will be wearing denim shorts and their camp t-shirt for FWN. Thank you!

Family Worship Night (FWN)!

We will be celebrating our fabulous week with a fun night of singing, dancing, drama, drumming, and psalm reading all to the glory of our King Jesus! And what’s a celebration without ICE CREAM! Please join us for an Ice Cream Social in the back barn immediately following Family Worship Night. Bring your favorite box of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, or push pops to share along with your appetite for frozen treats and fun!

CREATE IT

Imagine a long hallway with sunlight streaming in through floor to ceiling windows. A violin softly invites you to sit and meditate. A tranquil fountain gushes water atop a peaceful, still pond. Thirty children sit at tables meditating on God’s Scripture and painting their hearts in colorful offerings of worship. You have just stepped into “Create it!” You are at e-camp, yes.

We listen to Scripture read in a “lectio divina” style. Lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o dih-vee-nah) means a holy or sacred reading of Scripture. It begins with cultivating the ability to listen deeply to hear with the ear of our hearts. As we quiet down, we listen to the Word of God for the day. Today we heard 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

We listen for a word or phrase that God is speaking to us. Maybe He gives us a picture. We pray for Him to speak to us individually through His Holy Word. We begin to paint as an act of worship to offer to God our gifts and our adoration. We are Levitical priests tending to our souls – temples of the Living God!

What a privilege it is for me to get a front row seat in the holy of holies in the hearts of these precious children! I cannot imagine a more beautiful scene than children worshipping their Creator. Can you?

Do you find it hard to believe that your child can be quiet for 50 minutes and listen? Do you wonder how it is that a group of 30 children go from 100 miles per hour to zero in less than 3 minutes? Do you want to know a secret? They can do it! Know what else? It is beautiful!

Daily Notes - Honor GOD

Daily


Notes

Honor 
GOD

Verse of the Day!
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth, wisdom and strength, HONOR and glory and praise.”

Revelation 5:12

DON’T FORGET!

• Sign up for childcare with the names and ages of your children so you can attend the Parent Breakout on Family Worship in the Home in room LC219 of the Learning Center while your campers are at FWN warm-up.
• If your child is still hungry after they have finished their purchased lunch, please feel free to send additional food to go with it.
• Campers will be wearing denim shorts and their camp t-shirt for FWN. Thank you!
• Your camper received a CD yesterday of the music we will sing at FWN on Friday. Please be listening to these OFTEN!

Family Worship Night (FWN)!
We will be celebrating our fabulous week with a fun night of singing, dancing, drama, drumming, and psalm reading all to the glory of our King Jesus! And what’s a celebration without ICE CREAM! Please join us for an Ice Cream Social in the back barn immediately following Family Worship Night. Bring your favorite box of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, or push pops to share along with your appetite for frozen treats and fun!

Grasp It!

What do you get when you put 120 kids, 30 plus adults, silly songs, drum sticks, pizza, bananas, games, chocolate milk, stones, pretzels, water bottles, popsicles, and BACON together? Day 1 of E-Camp!
What an amazing day of SEEKing after the one true God who created us to worship! I have the privilege of speaking to all campers during one of the morning break out sessions: Grasp It. David and Goliath are the subjects. Do you know how tall Goliath was? By the end of the week, your camper should be able to tell you.
We all have giants in our lives; the sins that so easily entangle us. Daily SEEKing God with our voices, eyes, minds, and hearts will protect us from those giants. The 5 smooth stones serve as a reminder that God has given us 31,103 verses in his word to use as our weapons. Memorize them and hide them in your heart to bring out in times of struggle. What an awesome tool God has given us to fight off our giants! The white stone is a reminder of the stone we will receive with a new name written on it that no one knows except the one who receives it. (Rev 2:17) I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my new name!
The lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10.




by: Stacia Hudspith,
      e-Camp Leader
      Grasp It!

Daily Notes - Seek GOD

Daily
 Notes

Seek 
GOD

Verse of the Day! The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who SEEK the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:10

DON’T FORGET! We will be taking a large group picture tomorrow with our camp t-shirts! Please send your child in denim shorts so we can have a uniform look for the photo. We will put their camp shirt on over the shirt they wear to camp. Campers will be wearing denim shorts and their camp t-shirt for Family Worship Night . Thank you! Family Worship Night (FWN)! While your children are warming up for Family Worship Night, please join us in room LC219 in the Learning Center for a Parent Break Out on Family Worship in the Home. There will be childcare provided for those who sign up! Then, we will be celebrating our fabulous week with a fun night of singing, dancing, drama, drumming, and psalm reading all to the glory of our King Jesus! And what’s a celebration without ICE CREAM! Please join us for an Ice Cream Social in the back barn immediately following Family Worship Night. Bring your favorite box of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, or push pops to share along with your appetite for frozen treats and fun!