It was a hot, sunny day August 4th, 2008, as the caravan of cars mistakenly rolled passed the gate of Camp Whitney, led by none other than our Mission Director, Bonnie Hissom. The camper I was bringing did say, "Camp Whitney," as we passed the sign, but I paid no attention. I was following Bonnie. I did realize shortly after that that we were in unfamiliar territory and decided to get her attention that we had come too far.
As usual, first day of cap is always filled with excitement, confusion and exhaustion but always in our minds is the anticipation that we will see young people touched and souls saved. We were glad our professional school cooks arrived and prepared evening meal. Eventually, we did get to go to the "Hotel" and pick our rooms, while the counselors and campers were getting settled in their quarters. We started with 68 campers, and 30 leaders, staff, counselors and cooks.
Our Camp Counselor groups were named after leader of the 12 tribes. CALEB (Judah) - Danny Beach; SETHUR - John Nestor; NAHBI - Eric Lynch; SHAPHAT - April Smith; HOSHEA (Joshua) - Teresa Eads; IGAL - Cathy Sanson; PALTI - Erica; GADDIEL - Erin Roach; AMMIEL - Mallory
Our camp speaker, Phil Hissom, proclaimed that no one would be left behind, and on the last night, all the little hands went up proclaiming they were ready and saved.
Charity and Bill Grisanti came up with the idea and provided the shoe boxes that became the wall of Jericho. It was a project to get the campers to pray about and work through personal issues. Each person, including staff and leaders, was asked to place a prayer request or need on a piece of paper to be prayed over. These requests were placed in the boxes and the boxes were stacked in the front of the altar, which was also in the boy's dorm. The miracle was that with all the little rambunctious boys running around playing, not one box ever got knocked over until the march on the last night when everyone marched around the wall seven times. They blew "trumpets" and some carried the "Ark of the Covenant". The boxes were burned in the campfire on the last night.
Another highlight was the talent show. Several groups participated. "Super Good Cheer" performed by April Smith's group won first place. "Plagues - let my campers go!" performed by Erica's group won second place and Erin's group won third place with "Gossiping". They only had a couple of days to come up with the idea and then perform. They did an excellent job.
Of course, the last night the children performed the various activities they had participated in which included Sign language, Mime, Choir, and Interpretive Dance. It is always a miracle to see how they can do such a good job after just three days of practice. We were thankful for Nurse Linda, who dealt with possible broken bones, scrapes, stings, and headaches and administered medicine. Things do get lost at camp, but this year, it was the "lost teeth" we had to deal with. Of course, they had to be saved for the trip home.
Erica, one of our counselors, was given an award for saving a child in the pool.
We have seen lives changed each year, and no matter how exhausted we get, by the time we get to campfire on the last night, it always seems worthwhile.
It was a hot, sunny day August 4th, 2008, as the caravan of cars mistakenly rolled passed the gate of Camp Whitney, led by none other than our Mission Director, Bonnie Hissom. The camper I was bringing did say, "Camp Whitney," as we passed the sign, but I paid no attention. I was following Bonnie. I did realize shortly after that that we were in unfamiliar territory and decided to get her attention that we had come too far.
As usual, first day of cap is always filled with excitement, confusion and exhaustion but always in our minds is the anticipation that we will see young people touched and souls saved. We were glad our professional school cooks arrived and prepared evening meal. Eventually, we did get to go to the "Hotel" and pick our rooms, while the counselors and campers were getting settled in their quarters. We started with 68 campers, and 30 leaders, staff, counselors and cooks.
Our Camp Counselor groups were named after leader of the 12 tribes. CALEB (Judah) - Danny Beach; SETHUR - John Nestor; NAHBI - Eric Lynch; SHAPHAT - April Smith; HOSHEA (Joshua) - Teresa Eads; IGAL - Cathy Sanson; PALTI - Erica; GADDIEL - Erin Roach; AMMIEL - Mallory