Thank You Camp 2026 Volunteers

 At Royal Family Kids' Camp Idaho, we take our job very seriously. 

But we can be a bit goofy too. 

Thanks to all of the Volunteers who made our 2026 camp a success. 

Day Five - I've Got A Shepherd

 

Jesus speaking to the children 

As a part of Breakfast Club, the campers have been watching The Chosen Adventures, which is an animated series that features nine-year-old Abby and friend Joshua, as they navigate life in the ancient city of Capernaum. In the course of the series the children meet, Jesus of Nazareth, who helps them understand what he brings to this world.  Abby’s talking sheep supplies comic relief.

A camper places the part of King David

During J-Zone, we picked up the story of David, now King David. King David stayed in Jerusalem, rather than going out and leading his men in battle, which is what a king traditionally did in the Spring.   The decision to stay in the city ultimately leads David down a negative path where he chooses to have an adulterous relationship, which then leads him instigating the murder of one of his soldiers, and finally the loss of his new born son.  David is filled with remorse and he repents of his actions and God forgives him for his wrong doing.  We learn that God is willing to forgive and rebuild a relationship with us if we come back to him.

Wylie,RepPete, Pete, Sherry, Mr. Peabody, Shepherd, Snow White Ewe-nique, Bronco

The final act of the drama Baa-riliant Adventures opens with Wylie Wolf closing in on the helpless lamb Snow White, who’s entangled in a thorn bush and can’t get away.  Just as it looks like it’s the end for Snow White, the Shepherd appears and stops the wolf from making Snow White his next meal.

A fight breaks out between the wolf and the Shepherd, with the wolf injuring the Shepherd before the wolf is finally defeated, and sent packing.

The Shepherd frees Snow White and tends to her injuries. Snow White notices the claw marks on the Shepherd’s arm, left by the wolf, and feels great regret for putting the Shepherd and herself in danger.  But the Shepherd assures her that he forgives her, and tells her she is precious to him and a treasure.

The Shepherd in this story reminds us that our Great Shepherd, Jesus, laid down his life and rose from the grave to save us. We are precious and a treasure to him.

After lunch, it was time for the campers to board the bus and head back to the valley to be reunited with their care givers.  During the Welcome Home event, the campers sang two songs for their caregivers  I got a Shepherd and Your Love. 

After seeing the campers and their caregivers off, the buddies and staff celebrated the closing of camp with years of service awards and dinner. 

 It was a great ending of a great camp. Time to start planning camp 2027.

Day Four- Pray, Sailing, Polar Bears - or- We Love Our Fish

 

John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me,” illustrating the importance of recognizing God’s guidance. Jesus withdrew to solitary places for prayer (Luke 5:16), demonstrating a pattern of listening as well as petitioning.

In breakfast club, campers were taken through an exercise in listening prayer. Listening prayer can deescalate anxiety and can bring them into a safer place. Campers can focus on questions they would ask God.  One camper's question was, "Is it possible to go to the edge of space?" Another camper felt God had given her a promise and drew a rainbow to reflect that promise.  

In J-Zone we heard more about the life of David. Today we learned that King Saul was suffering from severe headaches, and he looked to soothing music to relieve some of the pain. David was able to provide soothing music for King Saul.  David was also becoming more well know and liked by the people, which did not set well with King Saul. 

After a few attempts on David's life, David leaves King Saul's kingdom for a region that is out of King Saul's control. Campers help Pastor Sue tell the story by dressing in period costumes and by playing the parts of King Saul, Prince Jonathan, and David. 

In Today's installment of Baa-riliant Adventures, the samll lamb, Snow White decides to slip away while the Shepherd is not looking, to being her bit adventure. Sadly, it doesn't take long for things to go wrong.  Snow White is caught in a thorn bush, and cannot be released from the bush because her wool is caught in the thorns.  Things are about to get worse, because the wolf has spotted her and his making his way up the ravine to where she is at. At first Snow White thinks the howling is the work of Bronco, trying to scare her again. But she finally realizes this isn't Bronco pretending! It's a real wolf! Will the Shepherd find her in time? Find out tomorrow in more Baa-rilliant Adventures!”

Today was the final day for activities.  Campers could be seen making the final touches to their woodworking projects. Down at the fishing pond, campers continued to catch fish and we were pleased to see that one of the girl campers had finally caught her first fish. Clearly we love the fish we catch.

 

 

The camp was given a special gift of a sailboat, made from fine wood. Campers enjoyed floating on the lake in this new addition to the waterfront and we are very thankful for this gift. 

 

After dinner we had our Awards Ceremony where each camper gets a special award based on their camp experience.  Some of the awards were "Best Fisherman" "Zipline Queen" and other camp related titles. We celebrated our Senior campers, praying a special blessing over them and providing them with a new Bible. 

The final event of the evening was the Polar Bear swing and the Penguin.  Penguins wade into the water up to their knees to with the title and Polar swim the length of the swimming area.

Nothing like a swim in bracing cold water before bedtime, to help our campers winddown  for a good night's sleep. 

Day Three- Pizza, Party, and Performances

 

During J-Zone, the campers were able to watch today’s episode of the drama Braa-riliant Adventures. The sheep were taken to market to be sold to the highest bidder. The sheep know that being sold likely means their next stop was the dinner table.  

 Fortunately for the sheep, they have been bought by the Shepherd, who calls them my sheep. There’s love and kindness in his voice and he leads them to a new beautiful meadow and sheepfold.  The scene provides a picture of how our Shepherd, Jesus, has bought and paid for us and calls us to follow him.

The littlest lamb, Snow White is intent on leaving the sheepfold for new adventures.  The other sheep in the fold warned her not to venture beyond the safety of the sheepfold. We’re left with wondering if Snow White will understand the need to stay close to the fold or will she give in to her desire for adventure? We’ll learn more tomorrow, when we see Act Three of the Braa-rilant Adventures drama.

The  true life story of David was a part of J-Zone. Yesterday we learned that God was displeased with the current king, King Saul, and sent his representative, known as a prophet to identify the new king. God impressed on His prophet Samuel, that the next king would come the family of a man named Jesse.  Samuel goes through the line-up of Jesse's sons, starting with the oldest, and working his way down to the next to the youngest son, but God tells Samuel, none of these men are God's choice. David, who was forgotten at first, and watching over the family sheep, is finally remembered. David is brought to Samuel, and God tells Samuel this is the one.

Today we learned that Israel was at war with the Philistines and  the Philistine champion Goliath, a giant of a man, was mocking God and Israel, since no Israelite had the courage to face him in a duel.  David was offended for both his God and his country. He accepted Goliath's challenge.   King Saul attempted to outfit David with standard issue army items, like a sword, armor, and shield, but David was not effective with these standard issues tools of war. Instead, David used his sling and some stones to take Goliath down.  God had prepared him to use the slingshot and stones for this time by having him use them to fight off wild animals. 

We learn from yesterday and today's lessons that God looks on a man's heart, not his appearance, and that we must follow God's plans and ways for our life to be successful in him. 

Campers continue to enjoy the arts and crafts if the Activity Center.  In the Bead booth, campers can make a variety of items by following pattern books or they can make up their own pattern for a one of kind beaded item.  Campers also made their way to the lathe, where they learn to coax  beautiful shapes out of blocks of wood .

The archery range was open for business today. Archery Instructor  DJ took the campers through the basics of archery  an how to stay safe while having fun on the range. 

While at the waterfront today, campers were able to take a ride on the pontoon boat and tour the surrounding area.

The fun continued with the camp Birthday party.  Campers are called up to the front, grouped by Birthday month, and they select a Birthday gift bag.  Once everyone has a gift bag, they tear them open to see their gifts. 

A popular Birthday gift this year was a personal, mini karaoke machine. A pizza party immediately followed the gift opening. 

The final event for the day was the Give It a Go Show.  This show differs from a talent show, in that the campers' talents are never judged, and in fact campers are encouraged to share the abilities, no matter how zany the act might be.

This year's show included several singing groups as well as solo singers. Other talents shown were, back flips, a shadow puppet show,  art, dancing and flying eagles.  Everyone was encouraged during their performance and it was clear that everyone had a good time. 

 

Day Two - Art, Fish and, Space Dawgs

 

Act One of Braa-riliant Adventures was presented to the campers. The cast of characters are:

§  Snow White, a baby sheep

§  Ewenique an eccentric, middle-aged ewe

§  Sherry a meat-and potatoes, no nonsense adult sheep

§  Pete the “straight man” in the comic team

§  Repete the “straight man” in the comic team

§  Bronco He an overly self-assured, late-adolescent ewe

§  Mr. Peabody   He is the wise, old leader of the group

§  Wylie an externally self-absorbed, 

charming villainous wolf

§  The Shepherd who represents Jesus, patient, wise, 

loving, and who speaks identity into His sheep

§  The Buyer, a person who plans on

 buying the sheep for slaughter

Little Snow White, the baby lamb, loves to run away. But Bronco is hatching a plan to teach her a lesson.  It's also rumored that there's a buyer for the sheep and they will soon be sold. Be sure to check back tomorrow to learn if Bronco’s plan works. And how about the sheep, will they be sold at the market? If a shepherd doesn’t buy them what will happen to them?

The Activity Center offers many artistic opportunities . Campers can take advantage of the Face Painting booth

Plaster of Paris forms are another way the campers can express their creative side.

The cat on the left of the drying rack was inspired by the camper's black and white cat. The camper was very avant guarde in his approach to his artwork.  

The Spin Art booth is always a big draw for our creative campers. One of the campers pointed out that he had create so many spin art master pieces, he now had the makings of a gallery. 

The woodworking booth has added a lathe, which enables campers to create their own pens from cylinder pieces of wood.  Clearly these pens will become keepsakes for our campers.

 

Dollhouse, bug boxes, lions, and other wood kits are available too. 

It was back to the fishing pond reel in more rainbow trout. Campers continued to pull them in and add to the cooler full of fish.  We had a few first time fishermen who were able catch a fish or two.

The campers were able to experience a Kurtis Hoppie concert this evening.  Kurtis is a Christian faith based hip hop artist with a message of hope and a love of Christ. 

The campers were engaged in Kurtis's concert knowing and enjoying many of the songs he sang for us. An example of tonight's set was Space Dawgs and his number one song, Rooftops.  Go here to learn more about Kurtis and his music.

Christian Rap Kurtis Hoppie 

Camper relaxing with his buddy and enjoying the concert.

Kurtis autographs campers' items