Day Two – Snow Day

 You know what they say about Idaho weather, if you do not like the weather, wait a couple of hours and it will change. It is not often you get snow in June, but when you do take advantage of it. Campers made good use of the snow buy grabbing one of the camp sleds and take a few runs down the hill.

extra points for style

Campers downhill sledding 

Tie Expert Darrell

Today, the Activity Center had a first ever tie die shirt station. Campers with tie die expert Darrell to create some colorful shirts.  We had some great designs by the time the campers were done.

Some of the finished products drying

Campers creating their tie die shirts

Today during J-Zone, we learned about Joseph, who came from a blended family, and was his father’s favorite.  This favoritism caused a rift between Joseph and his brothers that could not mended. The family is torn apart when his brothers decide to sell him into slavery.  Just like Joseph, our campers’ family units have been dissolved and they are forced into new circumstances and different living situations. His story is one that is relatable to theirs. 

Christian rapper Dany Gray

Christian rapper Dany Gray 

Christian rapper Kurtis Hoppie

 We were fortunate enough to have Christian rappers Dany Gray and Kurtis Hoppie give a concert for our campers tonight. The musicians brought a message of hope and encouragement. A part of their message is that each camper has a unique set of skills and life experiences -there is no one just like them. They should look for God’s call on their lives and work towards it. Do not be distracted from the path God has put you on and do not listen to detractors- follow your dreams. 

Day Two- Yee Haw or Words to That Affect

 

Day two has a western theme, with campers and buddies dressed in their finest western apparel.  We’re dressing in western gear in anticipation of our rodeo, which we’ll talk about later in this post.  The cowboys were found participating in all sort of activities. One activity, bug boxes, is a big hit with the campers. They build them, paint them, and the fill them with the bugs found around camp.

Camper and buddy putting in the final nails

This camper has decided to makes some 
changes with bugs in residence

First construction, then comes the paint

Putting the wire netting on his bug box

Camper and buddy getting some painting in

 

 

If  you get tired of building bug boxes, there’s always the spin art or the music tent, where many a country ballad can be sung.

Remote control speed boats were added to the camp activities.  The campers quickly got the hang of it, racing around the pond.

Remote control speed boats racing in the camp pond

 

Camper and buddy driving the boat

Uncle Henry's there in case a speed boat

 needs to be fished out of the pond.

Trips down the zipline are always popular ways to spend activity time. Safety is always first at our camp.

Safety first stepping into a zipline harness 

Flying down the zipline

Tonight we had our first ever camp rodeo.  We had barrel racing, steer roping, snake in the boots, horseshoes and much more.  At our camp, everyone comes out a winner. This year each contest got a sheriff’s badge to denote their winning style. 

Horseshoes camp style

Steer roping

Camp Jenga  

Water pistol sharp shooting 

Stick horse barrel racing 

Clowning around rodeo style

Uncle Jim and Aunt Kathy manage the game

Cactus ring toss 

Pastor Sue ropes her steer

It’s time to say, “Happy trials to you, until we meet again” which for us will be breakfast.

Day Two- Royal Family KIDS Boise Camp Regatta

 

It was a great day for riding the zip line. The sun shown brightly above us and a light cool breeze blew across the camp.  The campers tried many poses as they flew down the line, each with a name crafted by the rider. We had the usual Iron Man and Spiderman poses.   One of the more unique poses was named the hanging deer.

In some instances the face paint added to the whole zip line experience making it easier to figure out which poses were which. 

You’ll see to the right that Spiderman is getting his face painted just prior to heading down the zip line.

 

 

We had what  I think might be the first annual Royal Family KIDS Boise camp regatta.  Some of the campers built boats during their time in the woodshop and they wanted to  test them on the high seas.

Campers built a series of canals, locks and dams that spanned much of the sand on the lake beach.

The campers brought water from the lake in their sand pails, they poured the water in the canal, and the water washed the boats through the canals.  They also test the water out in the lake swimming area. The campers were pleased that al of their crafts were watertight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a group of talented musicians that form a band just for our camp. This year they entitled their band the Shepherds’ Band.

During their concert, we learned the all important answer to the question, “What does the sheep say?” For those of you who are unsure of the answer, it is “Ba ba, ba, ba, ba ba baaaa.”  The campers had a great time singing and dancing to their music. Thanks Shepherds’ Band for taking time out to come and minister to our campers.  Day Three has something special in store.  It is a secret that we will share tomorrow.

Day Two–Gray Skies

 

The campers woke up to gray skies and quite a good deal of rain this morning. But we didn’t let a little moisture ruin our fun.  The campers were able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with their

Cloudy skies at camp

counselors and the staff.

  They spent time making bead animals, playing ping pong and took a  preparatory Archery class with instructor Lee with an eye towards being ready to hit the archery range tomorrow.

 

Once the rain let up, the              

 campers headed out to do their favorite activities.  Football games sprang up on the field and the pond was occupied by a lot of bug and tadpole hunters.

Camper and counselor making bead animals

Campers hunting for bugs and Tadpoles

This evening we had a special guest, the band Undignified, who entertained us and lead us in songs. Tomorrow promises to be a sunnier day.

 

 

Day Two – Jumping, Catching Bugs, And A Reminder Of Why We Are Here

Day two marked the first full day of camp.  The campers have settled in and are now about the business of having fun. The bug boxes that the campers built yesterday and early today were put to good use.  The camper with the red shirt

(pictured left) had captured a caterpillar in his bug jar and was on the hunt for a prize dragonfly to add to the collection.  He was awfully proud of his caterpillar and was eager to show it off.  The capture gave him a great sense of achievement.
Today was also the first day we brought out

the jumping house for the campers to play in. It always brings some fun to the party.  The campers were very creative as they played in the house. They weren’t just content to jump but decided to make up games to play while they were in the house.

Camp runs on a schedule to make sure we can get to all of the activities during the

day.  First up on the schedule is Breakfast Club.  Breakfast Club helps us start the day out right with music, games,  and object lessons.  We had an introduction to a story with Hannah and Ricco, two friendly puppets who are facing many of the challenges our campers face.  Each day we have an installment in the story and in today’s installment Ricco talks with Hannah about wanting to try out for the baseball team.  Even with Hannah’s encouragement, Ricco is afraid to try out for the team because of his fear of not being chosen.  In fact Ricco feels that he would not be chosen by many of the people in his life.  Hannah ends the day’s skit with telling Ricco God demonstrates the he has chosen Ricco through the love God gives him. I’ll be sure to post each day’s installment so you can hear how the story progresses.
It was during Breakfast Club that I met one of our new campers.  All of the children had been allowed to chose a new stuffed toy the night before and this little camper, a boy, had chosen the bull pictured left.  I noticed that once he’d picked it out, he’d always had it in his possession as he went

about doing the camp activities.  I asked him, “What’s your bull’s name?” and he told me and pointed out a few other  things about his bull.  As I started to turn my attention back to the object lesson,  the camper continued on with more information.  Not looking at me and staring intently at his bull he told me that his bull’s mother had died and that he was going to be the bull’s father.  Whether this is his story or the story of someone who is close to him i don’t know, but his comment was a hard hitting reminder that while the Jump House and bug catching can be fun, we’re here for a deeper purpose which is to let’s these children who have been abuse, neglected or abandoned some time during their young lives, know that they are loved by God and of great value.  This is why we are here.

Let's Give It A Go

 

Our first event of the day is named Breakfast Club.  As promised, Great Scott came to Breakfast Club and taught the campers a trick where seemingly, a rubber band jumps from the first two fingers to the last two fingers. If you know one of the campers or staff members  of our camp, be sure to ask them to

show it to you.  The trick is amazing.  We've also been learning through stories and activities that we need to help one another.  it may not be the easiest thing to do, but it's always the right thing to do.

 

Sue Carpenter and Larry Funzel teach
the campers

 

Campers were also treated to speedboat rides. A photographer
went along for the ride and took pictures of the campers as they experience the thrill of skimming across the water.  The smiling faces beaming in the photos were a testament to the great time they had this afternoon.

The excitement continued to build for the campers as they attended their joint birthday party.  These children aren't always able to celebrate their birthday. We try to remedy that by having a birthday party where every camper receives a Birthday Box filled with gifts and the whole party attendees sing Happy Birthday to each of the campers until everyone's named has been mentioned.  Just to make sure we have that total "Birthday" feeling, the host camp staffers make cup cakes and distribute them to the party goers.

You've probably deduced by now that one of our camp goals is to build the campers confidence in themselves.  This year, rather than having a Talent Show, we decided to have a "Give It A Go" show.  Giving it a go opens up the field for campers who would like to try  to entertain the audience, but might not think their offering would constitute the name talent.  We had plenty of takers this year with entertainers ranging for singers to actors in skits.  The applause and cheers for each entertainers resulted in a lot of smiles and signs that everyone had a good time.