Hey Y’all,
It’s been one last long, full day. This afternoon, the rain stopped in time for our larger-than-life Steeplechase, a relay race. Which included, alef-beit (which the kids have been learning the song this week), dance, box-stitches, leap-frog, and a wheelbarrow race. In the end, blue came in first.
Following the drama of the steeplechase, we had our closing ceremonies which included cabin evangelism skits and team presentations. Colour war came to a spectacular finish as Red held its lead with a great performance and took first place. Blue’s presentation kept it solidly in second, much like yellow who remained in third. Tonight, I was totally rooting for the green team, which, as you know, has been trailing the other teams all week. Despite a wonderful performance tonight, green finished last. And again, the lead was determined by the daily Bible verses. Now, the kids are finishing up a pizza party and heading back to their cabins to pack.
Yours in Good Faith,
~ 2nd Place Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Shabbat Morning
Hey Y’all,
We had a slow start this morning as campers climbed into their newly tie-dyed shirts and counsellors dug out their pink (why oh why pink?) staff t-shirts in preparation for camp pictures. It began to rain during the night but it has not deterred our fervour. This morning, we had a great worship service with plenty of dancing and praising the LORD. Mr. Brown talked about how Yeshua is the missing piece in the Jewish jig saw puzzle. In response, we have had a third camper accept the LORD. Which makes my heart sing as it is one of my girls. Following the Shabbat service, the kids had a great game of American Eagle. During which it took three full minutes (which is really long in American Eagle time) to ‘capture’ one of our older campers, Matthew. Despite the rain, this was a fun game all around.
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
We had a slow start this morning as campers climbed into their newly tie-dyed shirts and counsellors dug out their pink (why oh why pink?) staff t-shirts in preparation for camp pictures. It began to rain during the night but it has not deterred our fervour. This morning, we had a great worship service with plenty of dancing and praising the LORD. Mr. Brown talked about how Yeshua is the missing piece in the Jewish jig saw puzzle. In response, we have had a third camper accept the LORD. Which makes my heart sing as it is one of my girls. Following the Shabbat service, the kids had a great game of American Eagle. During which it took three full minutes (which is really long in American Eagle time) to ‘capture’ one of our older campers, Matthew. Despite the rain, this was a fun game all around.
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
Friday, July 9, 2010
Erev Shabbat
Hey Y’all,
It’s been a fun day today. This afternoon was our final electives and I again joined the younger ones at horsemanship. They are so much fun to wait with. After electives, the kids had free time with multiple activities to choose from, including archery, praise dance, and the pool. Tonight, our colour team meeting and our cabin skit practice were reversed and after dinner, the kids went back to their cabins to practice before this evening’s worship, which I couldn’t wait to get to it because I always feel better at worship. Tonight’s activity was a wagon ride followed by a night swim. It was so much fun in the pool with the kids tonight. Now, the counsellors are about to head out for a cookout.
As for colour wars, we have a new leader with the slim lead of twenty-five points: the red team. Blue drops to second by a hair as yellow (3rd) and green (4th) continue to trail.
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
It’s been a fun day today. This afternoon was our final electives and I again joined the younger ones at horsemanship. They are so much fun to wait with. After electives, the kids had free time with multiple activities to choose from, including archery, praise dance, and the pool. Tonight, our colour team meeting and our cabin skit practice were reversed and after dinner, the kids went back to their cabins to practice before this evening’s worship, which I couldn’t wait to get to it because I always feel better at worship. Tonight’s activity was a wagon ride followed by a night swim. It was so much fun in the pool with the kids tonight. Now, the counsellors are about to head out for a cookout.
As for colour wars, we have a new leader with the slim lead of twenty-five points: the red team. Blue drops to second by a hair as yellow (3rd) and green (4th) continue to trail.
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
Friday Morning
Hey Y’all,
I think we’ve gone from the red-eyed crew to the purple-eyed crew. No one wanted to get up this morning. Which is exactly how Camp Kesher works. They put the best activities at the end of the week so that the campers want to participate even though they’re tired. This morning was our second praise dance mandatory workshop and they reviewed the dances they’d learned this week, including Sacrifice Lamb/ Camp Kesher generic, Walk in the Light, Hora Nirkoda (taught during free time on Thursday by Matthew), and We Delight in Your Shabbat (taught in 2008 and reviewed every year for Shabbat). Devotions continue as the kids learn different aspects of being a friend, the easy and the hard. In arts & crafts those not doing ceramics made hemp bracelets/necklaces/anklets (depending on which they wanted) with their name in Hebrew written on wooden beads incorporated in the bracelet/necklace/anklet. The LORD is moving among us, tugging at the hearts of these kids and even as we grow weary, we’re encouraged and we soldier on, hoping to touch each camper in a special way applicable only to them.
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
I think we’ve gone from the red-eyed crew to the purple-eyed crew. No one wanted to get up this morning. Which is exactly how Camp Kesher works. They put the best activities at the end of the week so that the campers want to participate even though they’re tired. This morning was our second praise dance mandatory workshop and they reviewed the dances they’d learned this week, including Sacrifice Lamb/ Camp Kesher generic, Walk in the Light, Hora Nirkoda (taught during free time on Thursday by Matthew), and We Delight in Your Shabbat (taught in 2008 and reviewed every year for Shabbat). Devotions continue as the kids learn different aspects of being a friend, the easy and the hard. In arts & crafts those not doing ceramics made hemp bracelets/necklaces/anklets (depending on which they wanted) with their name in Hebrew written on wooden beads incorporated in the bracelet/necklace/anklet. The LORD is moving among us, tugging at the hearts of these kids and even as we grow weary, we’re encouraged and we soldier on, hoping to touch each camper in a special way applicable only to them.
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
O To Praise The LORD
Hey Y’all,
Well, today was another very full day. Camp Kesher is powerful and there are times at Camp Kesher that are really powerful. But I get ahead of myself. This afternoon was our epic counsellor hunt. And when a camper prays that the campers find Jason Kardell, our co-director, next year, you know that it is epic. During free time today, the kids cooled off in the pool and I took a handful of kids over to archery. (No wonder my drawing arm is a little sore! LOL). Following dinner, we had our evening worship service. Which we started off with baby shark. (If you don’t know what baby shark is, just ask your campers when they go home. It’s a camp song that goes from camp to camp. I learned it at a camp in Virginia before I came here). After cabin skit practice (during which I totally tie-dyed a shirt and my hands! LOL), we had our praise & worship concert, which is a cover for what it really becomes. There is a skit (or a video) done to a song by Lifehouse called Everything. I encourage you to youtube it if you have not seen it. It is powerful if take to heart what the girl in it is going through. Well, every year this video is shown to the campers and each in turn react in their own way, and for many that includes tears. This video was followed by Shulchan Adonai (the LORD’s table). Mr. Brown encouraged us to not serve ourselves but to serve another. I got the opportunity to serve a girl that I struggled with understand and a few times spoke abruptly to. Each and every camper, counsellor, and staff member here is so precious in the LORD’s eyes tonight and always and in serving others we got to bless them with a little bit of the LORD’s love.
As for colour wars, blue remains in the lead, as red shifts into second, yellow begins to lag a bit as it drops into third, and green closes the gap but remains in fourth. Please keep all of Camp Kesher in your prayers, focusing on how these kids are touched while they are here but most importantly how it affects their life when they return home.
Yours in Good Faith,
~ Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
Well, today was another very full day. Camp Kesher is powerful and there are times at Camp Kesher that are really powerful. But I get ahead of myself. This afternoon was our epic counsellor hunt. And when a camper prays that the campers find Jason Kardell, our co-director, next year, you know that it is epic. During free time today, the kids cooled off in the pool and I took a handful of kids over to archery. (No wonder my drawing arm is a little sore! LOL). Following dinner, we had our evening worship service. Which we started off with baby shark. (If you don’t know what baby shark is, just ask your campers when they go home. It’s a camp song that goes from camp to camp. I learned it at a camp in Virginia before I came here). After cabin skit practice (during which I totally tie-dyed a shirt and my hands! LOL), we had our praise & worship concert, which is a cover for what it really becomes. There is a skit (or a video) done to a song by Lifehouse called Everything. I encourage you to youtube it if you have not seen it. It is powerful if take to heart what the girl in it is going through. Well, every year this video is shown to the campers and each in turn react in their own way, and for many that includes tears. This video was followed by Shulchan Adonai (the LORD’s table). Mr. Brown encouraged us to not serve ourselves but to serve another. I got the opportunity to serve a girl that I struggled with understand and a few times spoke abruptly to. Each and every camper, counsellor, and staff member here is so precious in the LORD’s eyes tonight and always and in serving others we got to bless them with a little bit of the LORD’s love.
As for colour wars, blue remains in the lead, as red shifts into second, yellow begins to lag a bit as it drops into third, and green closes the gap but remains in fourth. Please keep all of Camp Kesher in your prayers, focusing on how these kids are touched while they are here but most importantly how it affects their life when they return home.
Yours in Good Faith,
~ Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thursday Morning
Hey Y’all,
This morning came too quickly. We are a red eyed crew today, but today’s activity was ultimate water balloon. I’m told that it was like ultimate Frisbee but with counsellors punting kids with water balloons. All in good fun, of course. The last group, the younger girls and boys (the babies as Mama Haas would say), also had cold water dumped over them, which they loved.
Today is Tie-Dye Day! Arts & Crafts was a colourful affair as the kids took wet Camp Kesher 2010 t-shirts and banded them into design shapes. Then, they covered them tie-dye ink, which got everywhere, it seemed, but the clothes they were wearing. Only one kid in my group got it on his shorts and he wanted it there, so all good. Later, Dara and Ronit, our arts & crafts counsellors, will rinse the shirts out and wash them once they’re dry. Team placements, as announced this morning (as Ilana did not announce them last night), stand thus: green continues to trail in fourth place as yellow slips to second. Leaving red in third and blue is our new leader, landing in first after trailing yellow all week. Today, we’re also celebrating two boys’ birthdays, Jonathan’s fifteenth and Matthew’s seventeen. Yom Huledet Sameach Boys!
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
This morning came too quickly. We are a red eyed crew today, but today’s activity was ultimate water balloon. I’m told that it was like ultimate Frisbee but with counsellors punting kids with water balloons. All in good fun, of course. The last group, the younger girls and boys (the babies as Mama Haas would say), also had cold water dumped over them, which they loved.
Today is Tie-Dye Day! Arts & Crafts was a colourful affair as the kids took wet Camp Kesher 2010 t-shirts and banded them into design shapes. Then, they covered them tie-dye ink, which got everywhere, it seemed, but the clothes they were wearing. Only one kid in my group got it on his shorts and he wanted it there, so all good. Later, Dara and Ronit, our arts & crafts counsellors, will rinse the shirts out and wash them once they’re dry. Team placements, as announced this morning (as Ilana did not announce them last night), stand thus: green continues to trail in fourth place as yellow slips to second. Leaving red in third and blue is our new leader, landing in first after trailing yellow all week. Today, we’re also celebrating two boys’ birthdays, Jonathan’s fifteenth and Matthew’s seventeen. Yom Huledet Sameach Boys!
Yours in Good Faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
A Night of Praise
Hey Y’all,
It’s been a really full day today. The kids had electives today and so the kids enjoyed boating and horseback riding. Free time was filled with a counsellor volleyball game and cooling off in the pool. But none of that compares with what happened in worship this evening. Every year at Camp Kesher there’s a time where the Ruach HaKodesh is so present and so heavy upon us that it has everyone in tears. This year, Mr. Brown spoke about how friends praise our good qualities and then opened the mic. There was not a dry eye in the room throughout the whole event. (And if there was, I don’t know what was wrong with them). Camper after camper, counsellor after counsellor went up to praise different people. Yael was the cutest though. She went up to praise Baylee Roberts and ended up just saying “Baylee. Baylee. Bayle, you’re awesome.” There are some things you just can’t take a picture of and this entire event was one of them. It went so long that it was time for Wednesday night campfire. Wednesday night campfires are special. They’re gender specific and become a forum for girls (given that I’m a girl, I was at the girls’ campfire and can’t comment on the boys’ campfire) to talk about everything that they worry about. Everyone is insecure and tonight was a time that everyone could be affirmed in the LORD. I can’t tell you where the teams are tonight because Ilana decided that it was inappropriate to announce the scores with everyone in tears from the emotional, supernatural event that had just occurred. Camp Kesher is powerful and I can’t wait to see the outcome the LORD has planned for us.
Yours in Good faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
It’s been a really full day today. The kids had electives today and so the kids enjoyed boating and horseback riding. Free time was filled with a counsellor volleyball game and cooling off in the pool. But none of that compares with what happened in worship this evening. Every year at Camp Kesher there’s a time where the Ruach HaKodesh is so present and so heavy upon us that it has everyone in tears. This year, Mr. Brown spoke about how friends praise our good qualities and then opened the mic. There was not a dry eye in the room throughout the whole event. (And if there was, I don’t know what was wrong with them). Camper after camper, counsellor after counsellor went up to praise different people. Yael was the cutest though. She went up to praise Baylee Roberts and ended up just saying “Baylee. Baylee. Bayle, you’re awesome.” There are some things you just can’t take a picture of and this entire event was one of them. It went so long that it was time for Wednesday night campfire. Wednesday night campfires are special. They’re gender specific and become a forum for girls (given that I’m a girl, I was at the girls’ campfire and can’t comment on the boys’ campfire) to talk about everything that they worry about. Everyone is insecure and tonight was a time that everyone could be affirmed in the LORD. I can’t tell you where the teams are tonight because Ilana decided that it was inappropriate to announce the scores with everyone in tears from the emotional, supernatural event that had just occurred. Camp Kesher is powerful and I can’t wait to see the outcome the LORD has planned for us.
Yours in Good faith,
~Blue Team Camp Counsellor Laria
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