Day One - Welcome to Camp

 

When the campers arrive on Day One, RFK Boise camp buddies and staff welcome campers with poster. Most of posters have the names of the campers and positive messages, but some, like the one pictured below tell a story of what is to come.

Poster create by local artist DeAnn Slaughter

As the poster depicts, campers can expect to learn about Joseph, a teenager sold into slavery by his bothers and forced to traverse difficult life events with only to faith in the God to carry him through.  We will also follow the drama of Bandyanna Jones as he and his fellow travelers face difficulties in the jungle as they search for the Tree of Life. Campers can also expect to get some fishing in as well as a few Bible verses along the way. 

Rain showers arrived during the night and continued during our first day. So What can you do on a rainy day at camp?  

Fishing is always an option. Campers and buddies lined the banks of the fishing pond with hopes of catching the big one. The fish were very elusive today, except for three of them.  Starting out todays count is boys 2 fish, girls 1.  

If fishing is not your game, then how about face painting. Some of the campers and buddies tried some new designs as a part of their artistic design. 

And of course, what would be a full art experience if you did not include spin art.  Campers and buddies picked their favorite colors, flip on the spinner and came out with some color examples in creativity. 

We are not just limited to art, puppet shows and bubbles are always good options.

Music Lady Lynne being entertained by puppeteers


 

It has been a long tradition of offering handmade quilts to first time campers. Project Linus has been a supporter of the camp for years by providing the quilts. These quilts quickly become cherished keepsakes for campers, who maybe experience the warmth of a quilt for the first.  

We want to thank the Project Linus for the continued support of our camp.

Day One- Camp 2022 In Full Swing

The camp excitement crescendos with the arrival of the bus. 20 campers were met by the excited buddies displaying signs of welcome with their names on them. 

The bus arrives 

Buddies welcome their campers

Welcome to camp

A welcome from the Chapel Crew

After a brief safety discussion and lunch, it was off to the lake and down to the Activity Center to check out the cool things campers can do. Campers could be seen rushing from activity to activity.

Bubbles at the Activity Center

Bug Boxes

Woodwork at the Activity Center

Buddy and camper checkout the water

The Drama Team started play practice with costume fittings and rehearsals. This year's play is centered around Esther, a poor girl who was made queen, and later rescued her people for a certain death.  The story will unfold throughout the week. 

Mordecai played by Uncle Bill 

Day One is also a time for new campers to receive their quilts. This has been a longstanding tradition for our camp.  The Linus Project is a group of quilters who have been providing quilts for our campers for a number of years. The quilts are cherished by our campers, and many have turned into keepsakes for campers long after they attend our camp. We are grateful to the Project Linus group for their many years of service to our camp. 

Happy camper with a new quilt

To learn more about Project Linus, follow this link to their web site [Project Linus] 

Day One–Welcome To Camp

It’s finally here. The campers arrived midday today and an Idaho Ground Squirrel was at the door to greet them.  As you

can imagine the little squirrel is already a big hit with many of our campers.

 

Another big hit with our campers is swimming at the lake.  The

stage was set for a spectacular day of swimming. the Sun shown brightly and there was just enough breeze to keep the campers on the beach cool but not so cool that it kept those who wanted to swim out of the water. 

Swimmin’ and splashin’ and havin’ a good time… line for RFKC theme song

As is customary of all of our camps, this first evening was dedicated to awarding our new campers with handmade quilts provided by the Idaho Chapter of the Linus Project.  We want to thank this generous organization for the many quilts they’ve offered our campers over the years. These quilts become prize possessions these children that are cherish long after the camp has become a distant memory. Camp has wound down for the night with the promise of more fun tomorrow. 

Day One - What's In A Name?

The sign read Tony, a fairly common name, but for us it’s a very special one. Tony is one of the many campers who arrived today to participate in our camp. One of the things we want to promote is the notion that each child who comes and spends the week with us is unique and special. Included on the children’s name tags is the meaning of their name. The exhaustive list of the names and their meaning for all of our campers would fill this post but to give you an idea, some names mean adventurous, others noble, joyous, strong, steadfast, to name a few. We use the meaning of their names to further reaffirms that they have the potential to live up to the positive attributes that are linked to their names. You maybe asking yourself, “Why is this counselor holding up a sign with Tony’s name on it?”

Upon arrival, each camper leaves the bus, and exits onto a red carpet while one of our staff members announces them. The counselors and staff cheer their arrival to make sure they know they are welcomed and that we are excited that they will be participating in our camp. The sign helps each camper more easily identify their counselor,

which speeds their way towards lunch and a fun afternoon of activities. Speaking of the camp activities, here’s a sampling of what some of our campers did today.

           

Building Bug Boxes in preparation for

 tomorrows bug hunting down at the pond.

Learning how to hold the bow and

 arrow while aiming for the target.

Looks like our campers are pretty quick studies.

There’s always opportunities to be creative either

 through painting plaster forms or face painting (below).

 

Counselors and campers kayaking on the lake.

Camp is off to a great start and we’re looking forward to a spectacular week.

The Red Carpet Treatment

  Today is the first day of camp for RFKC Boise.  For those of you who have been following the camp blog over the years, you've probably seen a couple of photos of our arrival party where each of the children are announced and cheered as they leave the bus, ready to begin their camp experience.  This year, we've added a new twist.  A red carpet and ropes have been added to the walkway in hopes that we can give each child the "Your Special" treatment right from the start.  On our red carpet, we don't ask who you are wearing, but rather say welcome, we're so glad you're here.

 

                           Red Carpet walk

 

 

Counselors and Staff Welcoming the Campers

 

For several years, the Project Linus organization has provide beautiful quilts for our first year campers.  These campers cherish these quilts and take the quilts with them wherever life leads.  The quilts are picked by the camper's counselors and sometimes the choices can be difficult due to not knowing what the campers may like in terms of patterns and colors.  The picking of the right quilt was particularly agonizing for one of our counselors who did not want to let her camper down.  Her perseverance paid off,  her little camper wrapped herself snuggly in the quilt, even though it was a hot day, and exclaimed, "You made a good choice."

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

The campers are now safely in bed , likely covered with their quilts and dreaming of the big fish they are going to try and catch tomorrow.