This has been an incredible week at Base Camp! We are so thankful for all who participated and were happy to see so many faces tonight for our wrap up and family night. We hope that you had as much fun as we did.

One of the best parts of the evening was learning the fate of our islanders. Amelia, Ty, and the island directors were pretty bummed at the loss of Moshia, and Amelia felt incredibly guilty at starting everything by playing the magic oboe. Her friends, though, were very forgiving because we all have made mistakes. How amazing was it then when Moshia returned!!! Were you surprised? Our island friends were so happy but felt sadness when they learned that Moshia had to go away for a time. The good news, though, was that he will return and things will be better than ever. In the meantime, he warned them to watch out for the scheming brothers and to listen to the Holy Spirit.

After this skit, Pastor Craig reminded us how the story mirrors God’s big, true picture with us starting in Genesis with God’s creation, to how sin entered the world, the consequences of sin, and God’s plan to restore fellowship through the sacrifice of Jesus. While we are still in a world surrounded by sin, we can have peace with God, and ultimately, everything will be made right. It is a lot to cover in part of an evening as well as as in a week, so if you have questions, please ask. We’d love to talk to you.

Lastly, we concluded our program with Flipper and Mulligan still dealing with the volcano. Once again, she asked them to do just one more thing in order to help them get off the island. Even after an excellent performance at synchronized swimming, Volcano was reluctant to help them leave. It was only after Flipper and Mulligan discovered the truth that they finally got help. Do you remember what they discovered? The volcano was not REAL! They opened it up and found a man inside, and he finally helped them get back to Base Camp. All they had to do was click their heels and say 3 times, “There’s no place like Base Camp.” They did return but were found sleeping on the stage. Both were confused and thought it was the first day. While that part was wrong, they really did have what they said right – “There IS NO PLACE like Base Camp!”

We hope you enjoyed time eating, relaxing, and playing for the rest of our time together. If you are looking for a Bible-teaching church home, we would love to invite you to our Sunday and Wednesday services. You can check things out at http://fhbcgr.org.

A few more fun photos….

Are you ever sure that you know what is going to happen, and then you are COMPLETELY surprised at what really occurs? I feel like tonight was one of those nights. I know the campers that ended up helping Flipper and Mulligan with Volcano’s request must have felt that way. One moment their feet are on the ground and the next they are flying through the air! I think they will think twice about volunteering in the future…. What other surprises did we experience tonight? I think Flipper and Mulligan were surprised that the Volcano still didn’t help them. Did you think she would? I sure hope that she does tomorrow because it will be our last chance to find out if they ever get rescued!

Were you surprised by anything with our other castaways? Did the king come? Before Amelia figured it out, who did you think was the king? The island had two new visitors. One was a young man who just walked in upon them. The other was a delivery man. “Delivery”, hmm, it almost makes me think of “rescue”. Plus the delivery man was bigger and seemed more likely to be the king. I was pretty wrong, though, just like the brothers and other islanders. When Amelia figured it out, I was really surprised to see the brothers grab the young man and take him towards the volcano, but what was more unexpected was that he went willingly. It will certainly be interesting to find out more tomorrow.

Just like the young man in the story, we learned about another who willingly sacrificed Himself, Jesus. Our classes all talked on various levels about how sin separates us from God. The only way to God is through the blood of Christ Jesus. His blood can cover our sins because He is and was the perfect and holy sacrifice. Notice I said “can.” What do we need to do make this a reality? Do you know? Jesus already paid the price, but we have to accept it and apply it. We have to recognize and confess our sins, and yes, we have ALL sinned. It doesn’t matter if it was a little sin or big sin. Sin always separates us from God. BUT if we recognize, confess, and put our faith in Jesus, God can change our hearts and help us live for Him.

Our youngest campers have been enjoying puppet time each evening. Tonight our friends taught them how when we spend lots of time with people (like our families) we tend to act alike. Has anyone ever commented to you that you sound just like someone else in the family when you laugh or say something? The more we spend time with God in prayer, reading the Bible, and with other believers, the more will act like God. What is important to Him becomes important to us. Our friends left us with the idea that wouldn’t it be cool if even strangers could tell you love God just by how you behave!

We sure have learned a lot this week and had a ton of fun. We have one more great evening planned for you all and hope you will join us as a family. We’ll find out the end of our adventures, sing, enjoy hotdogs, and have loads of fun with outside activities. Don’t forget to bring swim attire for the giant slip-n-slide as well as a towel for afterwards. Looking forward to seeing you at 6:00PM on Thursday!!!

It is hard to believe that our time together is over half done now. I hope that we get to hear if both sets of castaways get rescued. Could you imagine being stranded and separated from home forever? Luckily, it sounds like Amelia, Ty, and their fellow islanders have learned that rescue from a king is on the way. It was interesting to hear their thoughts on what this king might be like … strong, rich, knight, jedi, or maybe even Elvis (?). What do you imagine their rescuer might be like?

Speaking of rescues, Flipper and Mulligan are still asking the volcano to help them get off their island as well. The volcano seemed pretty interested in Christmas plans and had our poor castaways singing and dancing to the song of Rudolph. Even though she admitted that they did well, the volcano was not ready to help them off the island. Tomorrow she wants to exchange gifts. I think this could be interesting, but I’m starting to wonder if she will EVER help them.

While the stories of our various island friends were very fun and intriguing, they ultimately remind us of the consequences of sin and the need for our own rescuer. All our campers have been learning how ALL the stories in the Bible about people like Gideon, Esther, Moses, Noah, and David are REAL. They aren’t fairy tales but history. Plus they point to our ultimate rescuer whom we are learning more about. He is the only one who can rescue us because He is perfect and holy. No one else is or ever will be. Do you remember what we’ve learned about Him so far?

Mr. Scott has been meeting with our oldest campers. Tonight they talked about if someone is a true christian there will be evidence in their life. Just like if you are in a garage, this does not make you a car. Likewise, just attending church does not make someone a christian. There will always be more evidence. Can you think of evidence that some has a relationship with Jesus? Do you have questions about what that means? I am sure we will be talking more about this tomorrow, but if you do have questions or don’t get something, please don’t be afraid to ask any of the leaders. We won’t laugh at any question, big or small. In fact, asking questions is one of the best ways to learn about something.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow but also feeling a little sleepy. Enjoy a few more pics, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

It was great to see so many smiling faces back again tonight as well as some new ones! What do you think of the how things are going for Amelia A. Hart and Ty Tanic? The brothers were sure convincing in getting Amelia to decide to play the magic oboe. Do you remember how they tempted her to do it? They used something she loved, music, to get her to think about disobeying the rule. Now, look at the consequences – there’s a horrible storm brewing and the island directors seem really nervous! I’m thinking that the rule about not playing the magic oboe was there for their own protection, and boy, am I glad that I wasn’t the one to do it! Have you ever been tempted to do something you shouldn’t? I think we all have.

After some great song time, we headed for large group teaching. Mr. Troy lead the 3rd thru 5th graders as they learned more about God’s big picture and promises. If you were with Mr. Troy, do you remember his illustration about the elephant and blind men? If you do, share it with your family and friends. It really did show us how people can come to different conclusions about the same thing when they only have part of the picture. Luckily, God knows and gives us the big picture and His plan with the Bible. While sin separates us from Him, God wants to bring us back to Himself. We’ll learn more about that as we meet again.

Flipper and Mulligan were back to entertain us with their adventures after some small group time, snack, and game time fun. It seems as though the duo missed an opportunity to be rescued when Flipper got a delivery from Amazon, so, with rubber chicken in hand, they returned to ask the volcano for help. All they want is to go home, but even after some antics with the rubber chicken, help from the audience, and an attempt at the chicken dance, they will have to spend another night as castaways. I’m not sure if wanting to go home is worse or wondering what that volcano is going to ask for next! If you were far from home, what would you be willing to do to get back?

We hope to see you back tomorrow night for more learning, worship, and fun! If you get a chance, let us know your favorite parts of base camp and what you’ve learned so far in the comments or draw a picture to share. It’d be great to hear and/or see what you think!

What an amazing start to Base Camp 2012 – Found! Whether you arrived by shipwreck or crash landing, we are so excited to have you all joining us this week!!! We hope you will learn a lot with your fellow voyagers, Amelia A. Hart and Ty Tanic. I think it is going to be quite an adventure. Just remember to NEVER touch the oboe that Jimmy the Raccoon in guarding, and I think we will get along just fine. Although, I wonder what happens if I touch it? Do you think I would be allowed, or does NO touching mean everybody?

Between singing, games, classes, and snack, it was a busy evening. Did you enjoy your time with classes? I know that the first grade boys worked really hard on some chalk drawings only to have them destroyed by Miss Kendra. They couldn’t believe it and neither could I. But, do you all remember the bigger picture as it connects to God and creation?

God created the entire world and everything in it. When He created it, it was good. Then, as Ms. Jodi told our younger campers, Satan came along and tricked Adam and Eve. Sin entered the world, and just like our 1st grade boys, God feels very sad because sin messed up the perfect world He made for us. I don’t like the idea of God being sad, but I think there is more to the story. We’ll have to come back tomorrow night to learn more.

The end of our evening was rounded off by meeting Flipper and Mulligan from Mulligan’s Island. What do you think of these two castaways? Do you think that the “Dormant” Volcano can really help them get home? She seemed to have some interesting requests to even consider helping them. Did you like the feeding one another cake or hula dancing the best? Personally, I really like the hula dancing, but think that Mr. Kevin should really help them out.

Check out a few more pics below and feel free to leave comments. Signing out until tomorrow.

I was so excited about Jimmy’s drawing the other day and talking about the jungle that I forgot about our other questions. Did anyone answer, if something is “FOUND”, it might first be what? My first thought is LOST. I am always so excited when I find something that I have lost. What about you? Have you ever lost something and then found it? How did you feel?


While I was thinking about this, though, I realized that you can find things that weren’t lost. For example, I might say that I FOUND someone’s house if I was following directions to get to it. The house was never “lost”, but I did need help to find it. So, if something is found, it could also suggest that it was being searched for. In my example of finding someone’s house, directions sure come in handy. I AM NOT directionally gifted. I’m a little worried about being in the jungle. If someone tells me to turn right at the palm tree and there are 10 palm trees, exactly what am I going to do!

This leads us to that strange symbol in the letter “O”. Do you know what it is? It is a compass. A compass is used to give direction. The little arrow in the center always points to the north so that you can then determine which way is east, west, and south. As long as you know which direction you are suppose to head, you can use it to steer your course. Can you think of other examples of things that give direction?

I bet you have a recipe book in your house. It is how your mom or dad makes your favorite meal. Even your school books give directions. They may tell you how to solve that math problem. One of the best direction books I can think of, though, is the Bible. It give us all sorts of guidance on how to live our lives and tells us of God’s big plans. I think we are going to hear a lot about God’s big plan this week. Hope you are excited and ready. We’re waiting for you! See you Sunday night!