Camp @ Home – Week 4

Our Camp Kahquah family thank you for following along with us for the past month, listening and engaging with our Camp@Home video series. We are so happy to have a team of people working to get these videos up and running to give children a little piece of camp during the summer even when we are apart. It has been a different time for all of us and we are very hopeful to see your beautiful smiles come next summer! We hope you enjoyed our video series and were able to connect with God and the people around you during this time. Please enjoy our final Camp@Home video as we close off our Kids Camp season and get excited for Family Camp.

Final Episode: https://youtu.be/B1nvXY_EuYs

In this episode, Kenny will teach you how to juggle! We would love to see you learn how to juggle or learn a new skill! Post a video of yourself learning a new skill and hashtag it #kahquah20. Can’t wait to see you!

Aussie Mantha meets with her friends, Katie and Hope, to teach you how to do cool jumps off the dock! If you’re at a pool or lake, now would be a great time to practice for when you come to camp next summer. But if Ahmic Lake (the lake on which Camp Kahquah resides) is your only access to deep diving/jumping water, then no worries, there is plenty of time during Kids Camp next summer to spend in the water!

As we finish in the book of Acts, we reflect on what our next steps are for the rest of the summer and our lives in this moment. What is our purpose in following Jesus? What can we do during this time to share God’s love? Take a listen to Nolan as he explains how we are called by Jesus.

We just want to say a huge thank you for being with us even though we are apart! This season of our life is hard and we want you to know that we are with you and praying for you. We are preparing for your return next summer and hope to see you soon. Have a great rest of your summer!!!!!

Love,
Your Kahquah Family

Camp @ Home – Week 3

Welcome back to our third week of Camp@Home! Thanks so much for tracking along with us and engaging with our weekly videos! Times are hard right now and we wish you were at camp singing lunch-time songs, spending time outdoors, and having fun with friends. We hope you are all staying connected and remembering God during this time as we are apart! Hold on, we are here for you!

Take a look at this week’s video: https://youtu.be/z5bFCppEeI8

This week we teach you how to make camp cookies from our beloved cookie baking activity – an activity that is offered every day for kids (and attracts a few of our staff members as well)! Today is the perfect day to make your favourite camp meal or dessert and share it with your friends and family! Can’t wait to see what it is!

What do we do when we face hard times? What could we be praying for during this time? Listen to Nolan as we hear about how God is still among us during hard times, as shown in the book of Acts.

We are very excited to share with you our new trails across the road! Our Facilities Manager(or Superhero Extraordinaire) has been working hard to rehabilitate the old trails to make them usable for campers to explore – and not get lost! We hope you’ll be able to get up here soon when it is safe top do so, and adventure into God’s creation. Stay tuned with us for one more week as we approach the end of what would have been our final week of Kids Camp. We miss you!

Camp @ Home – Week 2

Hey Friends! Thanks for joining us for our second week of Camp@Home! We are so happy you are taking time to watch our video series and remember camp. Things look different but we are still running camp with rentals in July and August following Ontario Health guidelines. We miss all of you and hope you’re excited for next summer when we get to see you again!

THIS WEEK’S VIDEO: https://youtu.be/e9qCNq4BT5o

In this episode we are exploring Acts chapter 2. If we have the Holy Spirit living within us, what does that mean for us during this time? Listen in to the episode as Nolan talks us through this chapter.

Our activity for this week is Lunch Dress Up, just like you would at camp!! This week we are challenging you to make a costume with items you can find at home with the theme, ANIMALS! Dress Up as any animal you want, real or imaginary. Then take a picture of you in your animal costume and SEND IT TO kahquahmedia@gmail.com BY FRIDAY JULY 17TH. We’ll post everybody’s creative costume on our Facebook and Instagram and remember the fun of camp together! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!!

Also, good news for Kids campers and Family campers alike! With money given by a generous donor, we were able to build a cement pad for underneath the tent, so no more dusty mess when we jump around during worship! We can’t wait until we get to worship together again! Tune in next week for more content, and thanks for continuing on this journey with us!

Camp @ Home – Week 1

Summer looks very different for everyone this year, so we are very excited to still offer a version of the camp experience to our Kids Campers. We have created a video series for all to watch and remember both camp and how God can work in our lives right now. A blog post with a video link to our new series will be posted every Tuesday for the month of July.

With the help of Nolan Beni and Samantha van der Bent, Camp Kahquah is producing a video series featuring a story with practical teachings from Nolan, interactive activities campers can do at home, and a fun segment exploring elements of camp. We hope you enjoy our series and stay connected with God and one another!

Please subscribe to our blog and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube to stay involved and engaged. We hope you get something out of our videos and would love to hear what you think! 

WATCH OUR TEACHING VIDEO HERE!!

Link: https://youtu.be/mhniFK3Tf44

SERIES CONTENT

A Lesson From Aussie Mantha:
Watch as Aussie Mantha and Aunt Emily walk across the road to the ropes course to teach us how to tie our climbing knots. We’ll learn how to tie a double figure 8 knot and a stop knot. Join us every week to learn something new!

Teaching with Nolan:
Follow along as Nolan teaches through the book of Acts.
What are we supposed to do during uncertain times? How is God with us during this time?

At Home Activity:
This week you are tasked to create a camp logo of your own desire. Please scan or email a digital copy of your beautiful logo to samanthavanderbent@gmail.com or kahquahmedia@gmail.com. Submit your design as a PDF file with 8.5×11 inches, making sure the design is clear and visible, by FRIDAY JULY 10TH. We will use your logo for a very special purpose!!! So have fun and be creative!

We are saddened to not have Kids campers here at camp but we are excited with what God can do in our lives and at camp during this season. We are praying for you and hope to see all your smiling faces soon! Don’t forget to subscribe to our Blog and Youtube channel, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Summit Day 5

WOW!

What a last day of camp we’ve had for Summit.

Last night the campers were surprised with a late night game of find the counsellor. Counsellors were hidden throughout the camp with glowing infinity stones. After completing the games, campers headed to their cabins for the night and were excited  to sleep in.

After filling their bellies with breakfast cake, campers did one last cabin clean up and were sure to leave some bribes for the judges- it’s all about getting points for your team.

Following the session worship, Nolan shared chapter 9 of the HIStory series. He shared about the value we have in Christ and the session artifact was Roman coins Some lucky campers were gifted with some to bring home.

Lunch was a camp favourite- mac n’cheese with hot dogs. Dress up for lunch today was Battle Aftermath. We had mourners for Iron Man, piles of dust and of course lots of “injured” campers.

Campers had fun with the last day of their activities and majors. Campers wrapped up the last of their activities with free swim, which was most welcomed on this warm day.

After the formal dinner, campers and counsellors gathered for pictures. Once they changed into active clothes, campers competed in the last camp wide game to earn points for their team. Campers were tasked with finding all the infinity stones and the gauntlet that were hidden all around camp. Once they put together their gauntlet, they had to find, chase and tag Thanos in order to win.

Nolan wrapped up the last of this week’s series by talking about how we get to go home and share all that we have learned about God and his love with our families and friends. We were encouraged to be bold and ended the session with an amazing time of worship.

To end the time of worship, Greg and Caleb played some fast music and our campers sang and danced their hearts out. There were glow sticks and lots of jumping and even a call for “one more song”.

Campers then headed down to final campfire to receive their major certificates and to find out the winners for the week. Black Panther who started out in the bottom of the standings managed to pull ahead for the win! They enjoyed sundaes complete with all the toppings and even a brownie.

As we wrap up the blog for kids camp, we can hear the campers out on their porches singing songs, trying to enjoy every last minute of camp that they can. Camp is truly a special place that has left an immense impact on all the campers that have visited in the last four weeks. The staff at Kahquah have done such a fabulous job pouring everything they have into making the kids experience one to remember. We can’t wait for you to hear all about your camper’s experience when they come home 🙂

Please check out our end of the week video for more of a glimpse in your child’s week at camp: SUMMIT 2019

CREW AND L.I.T. UPDATE

To celebrate the end of their two weeks, crew had a surprise party with tons of goodies and lots of dancing. L.I.T. Also wrapped up their time at camp with their graduation ceremony. Thank you to CREW and L.I.T. For spending so much of your time serving at camp- YOU ROCK!

Summit Day 4

Campers were moving a little slower today as the fun of the past three days has caught up. Everyone was delighted to be greeted by yogurt parfaits for breakfast and despite being tired, campers brought the energy to this morning’s big top session.

Greg and Caleb led an acoustic set and Nolan started sharing from the New Testament. His message was called ‘Kingdoms and Empires’. For this morning’s artifacts, Nolan shared a Greek arrow head and a replica of Greek armour modelled by Caleb.

Today’s lunch theme was Guardians of the Galaxy. We had committed cabins who painted themselves as the various characters, and another who showed up ready to garden- ‘Gardeners of the Galaxy’ they called themselves.

For today’s activities we visited beach volleyball, craft, water sports and photography who took a break to play some games. We also got to watch campers tackle the ‘pamper pole’ at the high ropes course and practice their balance at low ropes.

At dinner, campers ‘monkeyed around’ in order to receive their letters from home. After our rice, meatballs, veggies and salad dinner, the Outdoor X crew prepared and left for their camp out.

For tonight’s camp wide game, campers were scattered around camp looking for infinity stones and had to safely return them to their teams bucket without being caught. Thanks to their sneaky campers, team Spider Man retrieved the most stones.

We wish you all could have joined us for tonight’s session. Hearing the campers sing their loudest was a memory for the books. Nolan shared with the campers the epic story of Jesus on the cross and how it was the ultimate “Endgame”. The message was impactful and many students joined Nolan in praying.

Quickly after session, the students headed down for campfire before a special surprise night game…. (to be continued)

Some of the many faces of Summit…

Summit Day 3

We’ve officially hit the halfway point of Summit! With all the fun that’s been had, the time seems to be flying.

The kitchen Crew team was busy this morning making sure everything was ready to feed the masses of Kahquah campers, while the rest of the camp was working on waking up and participating in morning activities. After fuelling up on croissants, fruit, oatmeal and cereal, campers made their cabins spotless and attended morning big top session.

Campers played a game of clap, clap, boom to get the wiggles out before Nolan continued with chapter 5 of the HIStory series- the Exile. Nolan overviewed a large portion of the Old Testament and summarized the harsh reality of what happens when we turn from God through the stories of the exile of Israel.

Today for lunch the theme was super powers. Our creative campers and leaders didn’t disappoint. We saw powers of invisibility, teleportation, flying, parting the Red Sea, Samson’s strength, the fruits of the spirit and the armour of God. Lunch isn’t just about dressing up and eating though.

Lunch is a time when you can hear song after song calling out other cabins or leaders to do entertaining things. There were calls for love songs, gun shows, sand from the beach in less than 30 seconds (not an easy challenge), and lots of running around the lodge. Crew camper Ella and Uncle Hayden were called out for elbows on the table and had to sing songs in front of everyone. Thankfully, the whole camp backed them up and sang along. Lunch is also a time for announcements, including who won for cabin clean up and best lunch dress up.

For this morning’s activities we visited the beach, canoeing, kayaking, makerspace and visual arts where campers were working on water colour paintings and clay sculptures.

This afternoon we got to enjoy the warm and gooey cookies baked by the baking group and watched as they competed in a pudding and jello eating contest. Our campers and program staff, Natalie, cleared two whole trays in a matter of minutes and thankfully they managed not to get sick. Camper Wyatt was the only one to tackle the pudding and took the approach of no spoon. It was certainly entertaining!

Following activities, campers took the chance to cool down. You could find campers taking the plunge of the main dock, paddle boarding and soaking up the sun.

Today was Outdoor X’s canoe trip to the waterfall. The group had a great time and got to see a snapping turtle having lunch, caught some crayfish and of course enjoy a swim at the water fall. They are certainly ready for their camp out tomorrow night.

For dinner campers enjoyed chicken burgers and fries to fuel up for tonight’s camp wide challenge- capture the flag. Crew worked quick and hard to clean up after dinner to join in on the game where cabins were combined into team Captain America and Iron Man. The competition was fierce.

For evening session, Greg and Caleb got the campers jumping and the leaders introduced some actions to the songs. Nolan then talked about the time before the Old and New testaments and how God still works in the silence. Nolan shared some of his personal story of how he waited for God in the midst of some difficult times in his life.

Following session, Crew took on leading campfire and certainly brought the fun and volume!

Summit Day 2

Before filling up on breakfast wraps, you could find the Summit campers participating in morning activities including aerobics. After making sure their cabins were spotless for the cabin clean-up checks, campers made their way to big top session.

Greg and Caleb were joined this morning by a special musical guest- Summit camper Andy! Andy joined in on the keys sharing his musical gift with the group and did an awesome job. Following a quick round of rock, paper, scissors, Nolan continued taking us through the Bible and shared about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how God called Abraham and promised to make his family into a great nation. We learned how this nation ended up in Egypt for 400 years before God rescued them from slavery.

The artifact for morning session was mummy beads from an actual Egyptian mummy. Nolan had fashioned the beads into a necklace and bracelet which Ely modelled for the group- she even got to keep the bracelet!

During cabin small groups, the inquisitive minds of Retreat Lodge sat with Nolan and asked questions from a list they had prepared.

Campers then got ready for their morning activities. We were able to capture some archery pros and the ropes team conquering the rock wall this morning.

For lunch we were joined by a variety of villains including members of Hydra and Cruella de Vil and her Dalmatian puppies.

After lunch some campers took to the water for tubing, while others mastered their balance on the paddle boards. They made a far trip out to the island before returning for beach time with the rest of the camp.

After eating dinner outside, campers competed with their cabins in the camp wide challenge. Teams had to compete in high ropes, low ropes, archery, physical and messy challenges and even some embarrassment for the cabin leaders who were dressed by their campers.

Big top session worship time included some creative actions to Lion and the Lamb and Nolan continued the HIStory session by overviewing the kings of the Old Testament including their triumphs and failures. We learned that Jesus is our only King and it’s in our mistakes that we see our need for him. Our artifact for tonight was ancient pottery and the special helper Eric was given a piece to bring home.

CREW UPDATE

Crew has been working hard to serve on the various teams here at camp. Today the groups started their final rotations and continue to bring joy to the work they do. After dinner, Crew took a pontoon boat ride into town for some ice cream and after returning back to camp made some personalized pizza. After their game of mafia they will be heading off to bed with the rest of camp.

GOOD NIGHT!

Summit Day 1

And just like that the final week of kids camp has begun!

After arriving and setting up ‘home’ in their cabins for the week, Summit campers gathered together yesterday to get to know their cabin mates and counsellors over a spaghetti dinner with the most delicious homemade garlic bread. Following dinner, campers picked their activities for the week, took the swim test and met for big top where they were introduced to the series for the week taught by Pastor Nolan- HIStory.

“DA Bible is HIS story, it’s OUR story, it’s YOUR story”

To kick off Avengers week, all cabins were assigned to a “super hero” team and put together their team chants to close out Sunday night.

After kicking off the first full day of camp with morning activities that got the music pumpin’ and filling our bellies with breakfast, we headed to morning session where we were led in worship by Greg and Caleb. To wake us up, we sang about the JOY JOY JOY JOY down in our hearts. Pastor Nolan then spoke about Genesis 1 and the creation story. We learned that everything God had created was GOOD. We were encouraged to remember that we were intentionally created by God who knows us intimately. As part of the creation story, Pastor Nolan brought some fossils to show to the campers. Ivy, the camper helper this morning, was lucky enough to go home with a couple of the special fossils!

Before and after a delicious loaded baked potato and veggie lunch where the campers dressed up as their favourite superheros, campers had the chance to experience their first activities for the week. From kayaking to high ropes, water sports to visual arts, crafts to beach time and more, the camp was bustling with excitement.

After a cooler morning, the sun showed up just in time for free swim. Following dinner, the avengers assembled for their camp wide relay race game where one team excelled with a time of 6 minutes and 48 seconds!

The evening wrapped up with big top session. Pastor Nolan shared about how we all make choices in life and just like Adam and Eve we can sometimes make bad choices but God still meets us in those choices. After lots of laughs and singing around the campfire the Summit campers are off to bed!

Blaze – Day 5 – Medieval Times

Sadly we have come to the end of the week. But what a beautiful day to end it on. Campers are now used to their morning routine as they woke up and headed to morning activity’s, and then a breakfast of fruit parfaits to energize them for the day. Campers then headed to clean their cabins, which they had manage to make a mess of in one day of course. With cabins all clean they went to big top to learn about how God split the Red sea for Moses.

Since art major were done their paintings they got to make friendship bracelets for their friends. Canoeing went out on the lake today and got to practice tipping and learned how to help there friends get back into the boat. They’re all ready for the LIT canoe trip now!

Lunch dress up was medieval times and campers got out their crowns. Some campers were paper bag princess’s and others took a classic twist on it and crowned a kid king.

Second activity guitar major jammed in the nice cool underground and other kids sun tanned and swam like fish in the water. It looked like lots of fun. Kids and staff continued to hang out at the beach all throughout third activity and free swim. The beach today was a very popular place to be today to escape the scorching sun.

Everyone got all dressed up for last dinner of the week. Everybody looked so nice! Scalloped potatoes, ham and salad filled everyone up as we head out for another classic camp game, the quadrathlon. A realy race consisting of swimming, canoeing, kayaking and running.

It was another emotional big top session tonight as we learned that we are chosen by God, and have hope through God. There was lots of time left at the end for kids to get prayed over by leaders and for one last great worship session.

Campfire was run by our fantastic LIT’s tonight. All the kids had a blast watching their leaders become different people in funny skits like royal paper, and the movie theater skit. After campfire the 4 winning cabins headed to the lodge for a special snack of nachos!

What a good end to the day. And I know I say that at the end of every blog post but I don’t think there is any better way to end the day then spent in community with people who love Jesus and are here to love and support each other endlessly.