Base Camp 2017

Family Fun at Base Camp

I hope you and your family enjoyed our last night of Base Camp 2016 on Friday! Family Night is always a highlight for us we get to know your families a bit and share all the fun and learning from this week.

Our last event - Brazil Wins! — Our last event – Brazil Wins!

Tonight we concluded our Olympic games with the Chicken Toss. There was some especially good tossing by Team Brazil who took Bronze and Gold in the event, and Gold overall. In a surprise turn of events, Team Scandalnavia admitted to cheating and apologized. Alexi stated it best when he said that they were bad guys but want to be good guys now, just like Saul in the Bible. Did you see that coming? It was terrific to see our athletes hug it out and move forward as friends.

Along with singing and silliness, Pastor Craig took a few minutes to share about what we have learned this week as well as what we at Forest Hills Baptist Church know to be true. He shared about God’s sovereignty and design for people as well as how much God loves us even though we are sinners. One thing that stuck out to me was when Pastor Craig spoke about how Adam and Eve were deceived but also made a choice to disobey God. God knows everything and could have just said that’s it! You are in so much trouble! God didn’t do that, though. He knew that they were hiding and pursed them just like he pursues people today. He wanted to show them His love, mercy, grace, and to give them every opportunity to be restored to fellowship with Him, just like He wants that for us now. Don’t get me wrong, Adam and Eve ended up in some big trouble, but God still took care of them and promised to make a way for people to come back to Him. Guess what, God kept that promise by sending Christ Jesus. Through Him, people have the opportunity to come back to God, and God pursues us with opportunities to choose to come back to Him. God can’t force us, but He wants to give us every chance to see who He really is and how much He loves. I think having all our campers and families walk away knowing and hearing about God’s love is what Base Camp is all about!

Below are a few highlights of our last evening together. Hope you had a TERRIFIC time and join us next year! In the meantime, please check out our other activities and programing for all ages at fhbcgr.org.

Worth IT?!

This camper faces a gauntlet of water as he races.

Have you ever had to do something really, really hard? Have you ever wondered if it is worth it? I was late this evening to our Olympic Events, and listened in on our 5th grade girls to see what I may have missed during teaching time. Meagan, one of their leaders, used verses like 1 Timothy 4:7-8 to help talk with them about enduring the race to follow Christ so God can be glorified. There will be some hard times, and christians have to fix their eyes on Jesus to become righteous like Him, to gain the crown.

Meagan talking with some of our campers.

Talking together and not afraid to be honest when they have questions!

Acts’s 21:13 talks about how Paul was willing to die for his commitment to Christ, and Megan asked the girls if they have ever made a commitment for which they would be willing to die. I was impressed that some of the girls said yes, but maybe I was a bit more impressed that other girls admitted that they thought it was worth it but not sure why. I applaud their honesty because while they seem to understand a lot of what we have been talking about this week, they aren’t afraid to admit that they still have questions. It would be so much easier to just pretend to know all the answers! Meagan took the opportunity to share her story of coming to know Jesus, follow Him, and how her life is different now. She reminded the girls, and I want to remind you, that she other staff are so willing to stop what they are doing (EVEN GAME TIME) to talk more with you about your questions. No silly questions! No shame in asking!

Water Ballons - need I say more? — Water Balloons- need I say more?

After hanging out with the 5th grade girls, we headed outside to games. I had so much fun watching everyone! Game time seems to be a highlight for all our campers.

Something sneaky going on and not by Scandalnavia tonight!

Competition continued as we closed our evening and took a look at how things are going between Scandalnavia and Brazil. According to our new announcer, things are neck and neck as Scandalnavia won gold in the Leap Frog event while Brazil took Silver. With one night of competition left, who do you think will win? Were there anymore accusations of cheating? Speaking of cheating and unsportsman like conduct, what did you think of things with our announcers? I love them, but their actions seemed a bit questionable….

Who enjoys game time more, staff or campers?

Friday is our last night of Base Camp 2016 – Paul’s Race as well Family Night. Starting at 6:15 pm campers and families are invited to a wrap up of this week’s activities with dinner and family fun. (This is a family event and parents are in charge of their children as leaders will be running things and corralling their own kiddos!) It is an event that shouldn’t be missed, and we hope you will join us. Check out a few last minute highlights until tomorrow!

Getting to the Big Picture

Base Camp 2016 continues to keep us on our toes as we have fun and learn about God through Paul’s race. Tonight I joined our oldest, 6th and 7th grade campers with Mr. Scott C. We talked about how Paul shared all about Jesus with the people of Athens, Greece, and ultimately what we need to know about Jesus too!

Our oldest campers learn more about sin, and God's perfect solution. — Our oldest campers learn more about sin, and God’s perfect solution.

The big picture shows us how our choices and sin keep us separated from God because He is holy. It’s been that way since the first people, Adam and Eve, chose to sin, and the separation is nothing we can ever do anything about on our own. Sounding pretty depressing, huh? God, though, never intended us to be separated from Him, and since we could never do it on our own, He made a way to bring us back to Himself! God designed us to be in fellowship with Him. It’s what He wants more than anything else! To pay the cost of sin for us, God sent Jesus to die as a perfect sacrifice. Jesus could have not come and not gone through the crucifixion. He could have chosen not to save us, but that’s not love and that’s not God! Mr. Scott C. explained how it was the only solution, and now we have a choice to choose to accept Jesus and His sacrifice or remain separated from God forever. God did what He could to make a way for us, now it’s up to us to make a choice. It’s a lot to take in and a life changing decision! Mr. Scott C. (and all our staff) want to encourage our campers and families to think about the choice and ask questions. For all the craziness of Base Camp, talking with people and answering questions about Jesus is why we are here! There are no silly questions!

On the silly side of things, Brazil and Scandalnavia continued in their quest for Gold. In the heat of competition with the 3-legged race, things seemed to go terribly wrong for Scandalnavia as the team members turned on one another. In fact, their lack of ability to work together meant that they could not even finish the race! Brazil ended up taking both Gold and Silver Medals!

Looks like chaos, but is actually game time fun and laughter!

The potential rain held off, and we all headed outdoors for game time. While yesterday involved water, tonight was full of running for kids of all ages. We’ve been playing a lot of different games this week. Have you had a favorite?

Just a few more pics from the night! See you tomorrow!

Future Olympic Gymnast - you never know! — Future Olympic Gymnast – you never know!

A quiet moment to talk. — A quiet moment to talk about God.

The Excitement Continues!

Singing, dancing, learning, snacking, playing – what didn’t we do tonight at Paul’s Race – Base Camp 2016? I hope you all had fun as I know all your staff did! What was your favorite part?

Miss Shirley teaching us more about Paul

I had a chance tonight to hang out with our youngest campers, Miss Shirley, and our puppet friends. Miss Shirley started the evening by asking some recap questions from yesterday about Paul, and our youngest friends showed what great listeners they have been. They answered every question! Miss Shirley went on to tell us about how after Paul believed in Jesus that he went around telling everyone about Him. Paul ran into some trouble along the way, though. Do you remember what happened to him? He was stoned, thrown in prison, beaten…. Can you imagine how you would feel if that happened to you? Would you keep doing it or give up? What did Paul do? I know all our campers were learning about Paul. Can you share what you learned with your family or friends?

Miss Shirley summed things up so far by saying that yesterday we learned how Paul acknowledged his sin, and today we learned about how he endured and overcame hardship to tell others the truth about Jesus!

Eddie shares his day and how God is GREAT and in control!

Our puppet friends had their own lesson for us. If you saw puppets, what did you think about the differences between Emily and Eddie? Who do you think had the harder day? Eddie really did, but it sure didn’t seem that way. Even though all sorts of bad things happened to him, Eddie looked on the bright side and praised God for the good things that came out of it. He knew that God is GREAT and in control. Even when something bad happens, God can make something good out of it!

The water is suppose to go in the bottle - not on the camper! Good luck with that! — The water is suppose to go in the bottle – not on the camper! Good luck with that!

While you all were in Cabin time, our game team were busy setting up fun for us outside. Even if just a small amount, it seems like there was some water involved in all the games. Did you get wet? Was it fun? It sure looked like everyone was having a great time!

Brazil takes it first medal, and it's gold! — Brazil takes it first medal, and it’s gold!

After games, we had a chance to catch up with our athletes from Scandalnavia and Brazil. Were you excited to see the Brazil team win gold tonight? I know Scandalnavia was not happy in the least, but there are more games to come. Do you think there will continue to be allegations of cheating by, ah… one of the teams? How do you think our announcers did tonight? Do you think the cue cards for emotions helped? I’m not so sure….

Well, that’s it for tonight. Just a few more photos of our time together, and it is off to bed! Hope to see you tomorrow for Day 3 of Paul’s Race!

Our nursery kids are thrilled to have some visitors!

The boys get help from a gold medalist in the tug-a-war!

Let the Games Begin!

Wow! Our first night of Base Camp 2016 – Paul’s Race is over already! The time just seemed to fly by, but I must admit to being a bit tired after all the fun. I don’t think, though, that I am as exhausted as our torchbearer! It was quite a run he made! Why do you think he did it? Didn’t he look tired? Didn’t it look hard? Why do something that is that hard? I have a feeling that the ‘why’ of it all may come up this week, so put your thinking caps on and be prepared with your best thoughts.

So, what did you think of our first night of activities? Was it what you expected? Personally, I am glad that no one asked me to actually run any races. I know Base Camp is all about Paul’s Race this year, but I have never been much of a runner. Running just makes my shins hurt which is not much fun at all! Now, maybe with training, I could do it, but I think I would have to be part of an encouraging team to even try. Any thoughts on our teams, one from Brazil and one from Scandalnavia? Which team would you want to be part of? I don’t know much about either team, but I have to admit that I am with Craig and Luke in thinking that one of the teams,… you know the one…, is just a bit scary even if they did win tonight.

Teaching time for 3rd through 5th graders.

During large group time, I think we all learned a bit about Paul. Actually, do you remember what his name first was? I had a chance to listen in with our 3rd through 5th graders. Mr. Scott G. had an interesting activity for our campers to begin with. He asked them 3 times to choose between two different things. Depending on their answer, campers moved to one side of the room or the other. The first decision was to choose between cake or ice cream. For those who love both, it was a tough call! (Ice cream won!) The second one was between books and movies. (Movies won!) The last one was to decide about a person that beat you up, and if they would be a friend or enemy. Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? The funny thing is that God doesn’t always take the easy choices. Mr. Scott G. explained how He chose someone against Himself and made the person one of His racers, one of His team. If you get a chance tell, your friends or family all you learned about Paul and maybe why he was an odd choice for God to use!

I had a lot of fun watching you all compete in your own games tonight. It seems like we have some tough competitors among our campers. Take a look at some of the pics from tonight’s games and other activities! We hope to see you back for our 2nd night as well as the rest of our action packed week!

Seems like a pep talk before games.... — Seems like a pep talk before games….

Two of our athletes take a break and have some fun.

These cabin leaders must be planning on taking their campers to the pool!

This leader remarked at what good listeners her kindergarten boys are! Way to go boys!

Base Camp 2016: Paul’s Race

Base Camp 2016 is right around the corner, June 20-24! We will be studying the life of Paul, playing great games, singing, dancing, and making great friends.

Big news for parents: online pre-registration won’t be needed this year. Be sure to invite friends, classmates, and teammates with a Base Camp postcard or by sharing this post with them. A preview of what’s to come:

And a quick look back at the fun we had last year:

Themes

What is Base Camp?