Game time in the evenings is a great time to relax before bed!
Camp Promise is such a neat place to see campers encouraging each other in their relationship with God. Here, Robbie and Alison team up to work on their Bible books.
Jeremie, one of a million, who enjoyed the super hammocks donated to camp this year.
More fun rowdiness as the group awaits the next item of excitement on the agenda. Wade and Matt have grown to be great pals over the last few years.
Meet Nathan. He lives at Lighthouse Christian Home, a local Christian group home for adults with disabilities. Jeff is on the board for their facility and spent the spring hanging out with Nathan one day a week. Nathan and one other resident, Kristen, stayed overnight at camp while the other 10 residents came with their staff as day campers this year. Below you see the teamwork it takes to hoist a camper up on the "flying squirrel".
Camp Promise is a super place for reuniting with friends and meeting new ones :)! LOTS of smiles are the result!!
The lake is a fantastic place to hang out :)! Above, Jacob cools his feet with Kelly. Roscoe and Meghan try to refresh with a bit of aqua for drinking. Don't forget the rowdiness that can occur as well :) - Mikey & Matt - some of the ultimate wrestlers that show up at camp :)!
We were certainly not lacking in camp dogs to love at camp this year (at least five made appearances off and on). This is Zoe, who flew all the way from PA with Wendy & Bill. Sylvia and Shandra are giving her lots of attention.
I got a bit ahead of myself on the trip photos. I'll post more pics from the visit to Focus on the Family another day. Must start again with the journey pictures (of course, we could take many of these type photos in the hours we spend in the car :) . . . Although it was a bit barren, we did see a number of living creatures in WY (unlike our journey through those parts 6 years ago when we moved here in the dead of winter). The BIG SKY is beautiful! Side note: Kara and I enjoyed a visit to each cabin of 3-6th grade girls during the last week of camp. They were having princess pamper night with foot spas, nail polish, and fruit with yogurt dip. At each stop, we had the girls paint a toe, so we came away with a rainbow of colors - even a "watermelon" toe - with green for "friendship" as the girl told us :)
Where we spend several hours most days :)! Everybody has stayed in good spirits for the most part. Tessa, notice Kara is taking good care of your baby! Thanks!! We're all enjoying the many farewell "on the go" gifts from MT friends!
We're getting this tent-setting-up thing down to a science. Grateful for the camp bunk mattresses we haul in the trailer we borrowed from our camp director. This old lady body appreciates the soft surface for sleeping!!
Mrs. L is our faithful craft gal at camp! We're so glad to have her around and she LOVES her new craft room (downstairs in our new office building - built with many memorial gifts to her husband). The store Jeff runs all summer is also in the basement of this wonderful building. This handsome crafter is Seth. You may remember me mentioning him in the winter. His mom painted the tulip masterpiece that was my anniversary gift. Seth also comes to our Friday Night Out program regularly.
Crafts are a FAVORITE elective, especially on cold days!!
Sunny day for a all camp picture. We all had trouble keeping our eyes on the camera :)!
After breakfast each morning, we spend time reading our Bibles together.
Jeremiah has had more fun each year he comes to camp. Mrs. Wendy is a favorite swim buddy at the lake (Kara's, too!)
This is Thea! This is a constant laughing face she wears :)! She is the deaf camper whom we tried to find an interpreter for last year, but couldn't. This year we were able to have someone come in the evenings, and I had fun going to Bible class with her. She is a great sport and has fun - uninhibited by language barriers!
Mikayla and Hillary were such special friends this year. It seems they both enjoyed camp this year much better because of this friendship!!
It's been a week, now that we've been on the road! We made a couple of days stop in the Denver, CO area with a wonderful friend from our H*V days. Julie took us to the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs. The entire lower level of one of their buildings was a spectacular kids play area and "soda shop". These are some photos in the "Camp WhataNut" toddler play area.
A few highlights from week two of Camp Promise. Again, there are many more wonderful photos, so more to come :) . . . The second picture is Chrissy. She came to church with us for several months last fall. You can pray she would continue desiring getting together with other Christians and learning more from the Bible. Lots of smiles this week of camp :)!
It has been a beautiful summer of watching God do BEYOND what we could ever do without Him!! My dad passed away the week before Camp Promise, but God gave incredible grace for my brothers and Mom and I as we grieved together in Mississippi and to Jeff and the kids as they grieved and worked and played in Montana. We have been blessed by the many hands that have come alongside us to help this summer with the multitude of camp tasks and to fill our kids up with the needed play and nap times we couldn't always provide! The prayers and words of encouragement from SO many have wrapped us with a VERY special love, as well, during these busy and heavy days!! This week, we finish another full summer of camp at Big Sky, and leave Sunday for our trip around the country for 4 months, visiting churches, family, and friends. Jeff and I have really enjoyed being part of all that's going on, here. Camp Promise went very smoothly, and we've filled the other weeks with Jeff on the waterfront, in the camp store, and programming activities some weeks, Emmy leading Bible classes and this week teaching chapels. Keith and Jacob attended camp last week during the All Boys week of camp - super fun & loud :), and they are often seen tromping around camp with the other "big" staff kids! Kara and Simon have thoroughly enjoyed playing with the other young staff kids on the playground (donated to camp a couple of years ago) and have enjoyed all the tickles and fun brought by the counselors. As you can tell, there's been little time for blogging, but I hope to post some action shots of camp in the coming days :)! The photo above was taken at cookout spot around our lake. Workcrews worked this summer to cut a trail to lead to it, cutting out spots (with beautiful views) for benches to be places in honor of my Dad. When the task was completed, one of the groups made this wooden cross and took turns carrying it down the trail and then, placed it at the cookout site. God has brought many healing tears to my heart along this trail this summer, and I'm so grateful for what a sweet rememberance it is of my Dad and his love for God's creation and for his Savior!
