Day Five–Camp Wraps Up

We had the final installment of the story of Joseph in Breakfast Club.  Yesterday, we left Joseph at the spot where he’d just been made second in command to the pharaoh.  A famine had struck the area, just as God had foretold through Joseph, and Joseph’s family was forced to go looking for food in Egypt.  They were brought before Joseph to ask for food.  Joseph puts them through several test to see if they’re still of bad character or if they’ve changed.

 

Campers portray Joseph’s brothers heading off to Egypt in search of food.

 

     Camper portraying Joseph

Joseph learns that his  brothers have had a change of heart and are no longer of a jealous and murderous nature.  He forgives his brothers, offers them food and invites them and his father to come to live in Egypt.  We learn from this story that throughout our lives, we can rely on God to be with us and will watch over us, regardless of our situation, whether it be good or bad and that we must forgive those who have hurt us and treat us poorly to ensure bitterness doesn’t overtake our lives.

The rest of the day was taken up with lunch, the trip home and our Welcome Back presentation for the campers’ caregivers.  The songs for the program were, Jesus Is Our Super Hero, Rain or Poor and Absolutely Nothing. We also watched a video of our campers having fun throughout the week.

2011 RFKC Boise Staff and Counselors

            2011 Drama Team

The less serious side of the Drama Team

We want to thank our campers’ caregivers for allowing us to spend the week with their foster children while at camp. We’d also like to thank our camp sponsors and those who have made donations through the year.

It’s time to start planning our next year’s camp.

Day Four- At Least There Wasn’t Ice On The Dock

Though the morning was crisp, the weather couldn’t stop our Polar Bears and Penguins from their annual camp swim.  Early this morning the campers marched down to the waters edge to take their early morning dip. Many of the campers, counselors and staff joined in on the event.  What’s the definition of a Polar Bear and Penguin in camp Lingo?  Polar Bears dive into the cold water from the end of the dock, while Penguins wade into the cold water until the water reaches their knees.  After the swim, campers warmed up by taking a warm shower and then heading into the Dining Hall for waffles.

The Sun peaking through the clouds, just prior to the Polar Bear Swim & Penguin Wade

Campers and counselor heading down the trail to the lake

Counselors dive in and start their swim

Spectator at the event

Our camp Grandma and Grandpa traveled from Australia to be a part of the camp.  They along with some of the staff members, watched the Polar Bear Swim and Penguin Wade from the balcony.

At Breakfast Club, we learned more about the ordeals and triumphs of Joseph’s life.  As mentioned yesterday, Joseph was accused of crimes he’d not committed, which had resulted in the loss of his job, goods, and a place in his household.  We learned today that these false accusations also led to his being imprisoned. But through it all, Joseph never lost his trust in God.  Joseph was blessed by God while in prison and rose through the ranks of their “White Collar” prison to one of administration over the prison.  It was while he was there that he met servants of the Pharaoh,and through one of them was able to predict a famine (with God’s help) and advise the pharaoh on steps he should take to prepare for it. The lesson of this story is that God is always with us whether we’re experiencing an ordeal or a triumph.

The afternoon’s water activities consisted of more kayaking, sand castles building, and speed boat rides. The campers were thrilled to skim across the surface of the lake in the boat.  They also enjoyed playing in the water and on the sandy beach.

The after swim activity was working with a parachute.  This type of activity promotes teamwork as well as improving fitness.  An added benefit is that it’s a lot of fun.

 

Campers huddle under the parachute

The final event of the day was the Award’s Ceremony and Graduation.

Co-Camp Directors and  Dean of Women distribute awards

Each camper receives an award certificate that highlights something special about him or her.  The awards can vary from “Best Smile” to “King of the Bug Catchers”; the sky’s the limit.

Our graduation ceremony is for those campers who have reached the upper limit of our age bracket (ages 6-12).  Each graduating camper receives a Bible and Graduate medallion.  Their counselor says a special prayer for them as a part of the ceremony.

Graduating camper receiving graduation hat from the camp Director (The picture has been blurred to respect the privacy of the camper)

However the Graduation Ceremony does not signal the end of camp.  We still have one more day of fun to go.

Day Three- Rain, Rain Go Away

Today we woke to the sound of rain and discovered everything was soggy outdoors. The day didn’t start out too promising but as to day wore on we found that the rain would clear up when we were ready to go out and enjoy the activities set up for this for the day. By the afternoon we were actually seeing patches of blue.

Blue Skies on the horizon

In fact the afternoon warmed up enough to enjoy some swimming and go for a sailboat ride.

For those who have been following our camp activities for a while, you will know that we always celebrate everyone’s birthday while we’re at camp.

 

This is the way it works; we group the campers together by month and sing the Happy Birthday song to each group, including all the names of campers of that group, which can make for a very long song, depending on the size of the group. Once we’ve completed singing to each group, the campers open their presents, which were distributed as a part of the process, on the count of three.  It was evident that the campers were pleased with their gifts, cupcakes and ice cream that followed.

We had another installment of Joseph’s story during Breakfast Club.  As you might have read yesterday, we left off where Joseph had been taken from his home and put on a caravan to parts unknown.  Today we learned that Joseph’s fortunes had gone from bad to worse.  Joseph reached Egypt where he was sold as a slave.  Although Joseph would be in what many would call unfavorable circumstances, God still blessed him in his situation and he was soon put in charge of the whole household of which he was a member.  Just as things began to look up, Joseph loses his position due to slanderous accusations.  Once again Joseph has everything taken from him and he must move from his home.

Our teachers, Sue and Carolyn pointed out that there was one thing that could not be taken away and that was Joseph’s trust in God.  We’ll be looking forward to learning more about Joseph’s adventures this morning in Breakfast Club.

Day Two- Swimming And Splashing And Having A Good Time…

We have a theme song for Royal Family Kids’ Camp.  The song starts out this way, “Heading for the Royal Family Kids’ Camp, heading for a lot of fun. It’s great just knowing I am a part of God’s family, playing under the sun. swimming and splashing and having a good time….”  We definitely lived up to the part about “swimming and splashing and having a good time.”  Swimming at the lake is a part of the daily schedule and it was a hot day, which made it all the more enjoyable. 

Tonight we had a pop quiz from resident worm  Larry Funzel.  Earlier in the day, we’d learned about how Joseph had been treated badly and had been neglected by his family. Each question Larry put forth was met with the correct answer for the campers. The Joseph story is one of which our campers can relate.  Those who are familiar with Joseph’s story know that he has had many highs and lows throughout his life. But ultimately those experiences enabled Joseph to become one of the most respected Egyptian rulers.  We’re hoping Joseph’s story will bring hope and encouragement to our campers, who too have experienced many highs and lows in their lives.

Our night was capped off by a concert given by The Waiting Kind. The campers immediately connected with the band and the message of the music.   We’re thankful to The Waiting Kind for traveling a long distance to share their music and message of hope with us.

          Link: The Waiting Kind

Day One–Ready, Set, Go

The counselors and staff arrived last night and started prepping for the arrival of the campers.  Meetings were held, rooms were decorated and Welcome signs were crafted to make sure the first day of camp went smoothly and make known to the campers how excited we were to have them at the camp.

Pre-camp Counselor and Staff Meeting

 

Eagerly anticipating the arrival of the campers, knowing the bus is just minutes away

Counselors and Staff Cheering the campers as they depart the bus

Quickly unloading the bus so the fun can begin

Relationship building beings immediately

 

Next on the agenda was lunch and then out to the Activity Center to let the creative juices flow.  Campers had their choice of crafts including face painting, bead animals, and painting plaster forms.  One of the new crafts this year is building wooden boats, which can later be taken to the lake for an impromptu regatta.  Boat building was definitely a hit with the campers this year.

This boat, made by one of our boy campers, is a  Prince Cruise liner. It is NOT a Princess Cruise liner.

It’s a camp tradition to give each new camper a quilt made by the Linus Project. Our Dean of Women will meet many of our campers years later and these quilts are always highlighted by them as one of their prize keepsakes.  We offer our thanks to the Linus Project for

their continued support of our camp.

Dean of Men and Dean of Women distribute quilts to the campers

Our Final Event was distributing stuffed toys that have been donated from various groups in Southern Idaho.  The campers really enjoy their new toys as they settle into their first night at camp. RFKC is grateful to all of the organizations that support our camp and make this experience possible for our campers.

One More Sleep And Then Camp

Yesterday, I was reading a Facebook post shared by one of our teacher’s Carolyn.  in her post she wrote, “  Two more sleeps til RFKC - an amazing camp for some amazing Idaho kids.”  Her post brought a smile to my face.  It was filled with excitement and anticipation of another great camp.  The staff and counselors look forward to the camp every year, much like the campers themselves. So with that, I’ll say one more sleep and it will be time for camp.