Hump Day in Ancient Egypt

It was a beautiful Wednesday, 23°C and just the right amount of sunshine. Unfortunately, here in Ancient Egypt, we’re not doing so great – it seems as though the students got lost in the tombs. It happened so quickly while hunting for the lost treasure that now they have run into pharaohs, tomb raters and the authorities. How will the students get back on the right path? Will they find the lost treasure?

On the hunt they go, kicking things off with an eggcellent breakfast – a variety of cereals, breakfast cake, yogurt, fruit, and hard boiled eggs were enjoyed by all. Each cabin raced to the underground following breakfast to pick some great activities for later on. The cabin clean-up fairies were generous this morning leaving a few cabins with high scores.

We then moved into the Big Top for our morning session. Songs like “Amazing Grace” and “O Happy Day” had all campers and staff singing their hearts out. After our session last night, 25 campers committed to following Jesus and accepting Him. Today, our fearless speaker, Emily, discussed the importance of worship. She talked about how there are many different forms of worship and how God sees your heart through it all.

Just like that, first activity was off with a boom. Many enjoyed water sports (knee boarding is always a big hit), ropes, canoeing, kayaking, crafts, gaga ball, sports, maker space, archery and cookie baking. At 12:30 p.m. the lunch bell rang and camels from all across the Kahquah valleys cantered up to the lodge. Happy hump day to all!

Everyone here had a jam packed afternoon – activities were full, free swim was enjoyed, crew was busy preparing to lead campfire tonight and cakes were baked as we celebrated Uncle Butter’s birthday!

Following a delicious dinner of chicken, potato wedges, beans, salad and fresh, homemade cookies our camp wide game commenced. “Diamond Smugglers” is a game all about strategy. The campers were divided into three separate groups of cops, robbers and residents. Each group had a “diamond” they were in charge of getting back to their team. It was a complex but well enjoyed game to say the least.

Campfire tonight was a hit! Our very own Crew did an amazing job – they brought out the ‘Banana Song’, ‘There Ain’t No Flies On Us’ and ‘The Martian.’ They included some wild skits consisting of ‘Soap and Water’ and ‘The Toothbrush Skit,’ definitely some Camp favourites, that’s for sure.

BUT – just when everyone thought our great day here in Ancient Egypt had come to an end, Aunt Samantha and Aunt Hannah surprised us with a night game! The purpose of this game was to find all the glowing eggs hidden throughout the Kahquah valleys in order to find their way back to the right path.

Will the students find there way back to the path? Tune in tomorrow and Friday to find out!

Blessings,

Your Camp Kahquah Family

Treasure Hunting Tuesday

It was another warm day here at the second day of Blaze! The campers quickly polished off their breakfast (of egg breakfast wraps) after a busy morning of activities. After choosing their activities/majors for the day, they were off to the Big Tent for their first session with Pastor Emily! During this session, Emily had everyone go out and have some quiet time to listen to what God was saying to them. They had paper and writing utensils to draw out what they were feeling and shared it with their cabins. During the evening session, she talked about how God hung out with the people who were considered nobodies/sinners in society, and linked that with the story of the shepherd leaving his 99 sheep and going after the 1 that was lost. She explained how God wants each and everyone of us, no matter who we are or what we have done!

The afternoon was bustling all day long, with campers fervently going from activity to activity. Lunch consisted of subs and watermelon, helping fill the stomachs of campers who needed the energy for the rest of the day! The dress-up at lunch today was “Treasure Hunters”, so there were many different takes on this requirement, from many campers looking like Indiana Jones’ to campers literally dressing up as lost treasure. It was hard to choose who was the winner today!

For dinner, campers hustled back into the dining hall for some meatballs, rice, and some chocolate pudding for dessert. As soon as everyone finished, Aunt Samantha and Hannah quickly explained the premise of tonight’s game and sent everyone to put on their running shoes. Tonight’s camp-wide game was a coding game. Campers had to find 4 pieces of their treasure map that was hidden around Camp; once they found them, they received a hieroglyphic paragraph and had to decode it! Once everyone completed this task, they pulled on their campfire clothes and were entertained until dusk by the cabin leaders. It was another awesome day here at Camp Kahquah!

Blessings,

Your Camp Kahquah Family

A Royally Egyptian Monday

Blaze was off to a running start today, as campers had their chance to experience their first full day at Camp Kahquah! With a nice and early start, everyone was up and at ‘em at 7:45am for morning activities to get some blood pumping for the rest of the day. After a quick morning devotional, campers were able to fill their stomachs with different kinds of muffins, cereal, and fruit for breakfast, and they learned about what was to come for the day from their fearless tour guides, Samantha and Hannah!

Campers quickly filed downstairs in order to choose their activities for the afternoon, before heading to their first session under the Big Top. Pastor Emily spoke on how God has a plan for us. Emily talked about the use of a staff and how this is what a Shephard would use to defend, protect, and lead sheep. She then made the connection of Moses and how God showed him how to use his staff to do these things. She then wrapped it up by talking about how Jesus is our great Shephard and defends, protects, and leads us!

After the Big Top session, all the kids were able to head to their first activity! It was a scorching day outside, so everyone kept cool in different ways. This was accomplished from a range of staying in the shade while practicing archery to chilling in the water in the canoes! Our lunch dress-up theme today was “Egyptian Royalty”, and the dining hall was packed with the Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt, eating a regal lunch consisting of baked potatoes, chili, and watermelon for dessert. Once lunch was finished and the campers had a bit of rest in their cabins to enjoy some Tuck, everyone headed back into the sunshine to complete their other two activities (with water breaks in between of course!).

Around 4:00pm, campers all headed back to their cabins to change into their bathing suits, as free swim commenced! Everyone enjoyed a bit of a cool off before supper was served. Today’s dinner included chicken burgers, salad, and jello for desert. Following this satisfying meal, the camp game quickly got underway! Campers had to visit ten different stations, complete each task, and gather facts about Ancient Egypt and memorize them for points for their teams. There was lots of laughter echoing throughout the Camp as marshmallows were thrown into mouths and many counselor’s faces were hilariously painted!

Once the game came to a close, the campers headed to their second Big Top session of the day, followed by a campfire to finish the day off! We are so excited to have had such a great first day and we look forward to see what is to come for the rest of this week.

Blessings,

Your Camp Kahquah Family

 

 

 

Campers are here – Blaze – Day 1

The bus rolled in right on schedule at 4:30 p.m with a handful of staff and many crew members and campers itching with excitement for the week ahead. Not too long after a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, caesar salad and garlic bread was served and enjoyed by all. Following dinner swim tests were conquered thanks to our great waterfront team.

Our Program Directors and Tour Guide’s for the week, Aunt Samantha and Aunt Hannah, have been working very hard and have planned an amazing week in Ancient Egypt. We will be on a journey throughout the week as we learn about the history and the mystery within Egypt. But wait… a lost treasure you say? In hearing an old story of the lost treasures of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the search is on and the journey is taking a detour.

This week our incredible Leaders in Training (LITs) have officially graduated from the training component of our five week program and have been placed in cabins as they discover the “dos and don’ts” of cabin leading alongside an experienced counselor. Some LITs have requested an ‘alternative placement’ for a week and have been assigned to maintenance, kitchen, tuck, ropes or waterfront. Matt and Amanda Reist – our LIT Directors – strongly believe that Kahquah benefits from all leaders; not just cabin leaders. We all have many different gifts and talents to bring to the table, thus developing an ‘alternative placement’ option was seen as a valuable addition to our program.

Today was also the day we welcomed a new group of Crew members for the next two weeks. 13 eager individuals arrived and will begin serving tomorrow morning on one of three ‘mini-crews’ – kitchen, hospitality and programming.

We finished off our night here in Ancient Egypt with a brief session under the Big Top led by our Camp Speaker for the week, Emily Windsor. Many songs and skits were sung around the campfire, however it was not a real fire due to extreme fire ban :(.

Just like that, the first night of Blaze has come to an end.

 

Blessings,

Your Camp Kahquah Family

 

 

 

Quest – Day 5 – Mousetrap!

Birds could be heard on the banks of the lake soon after 5am this morning and I was sure it was bound be yet another splendid day at Kahquah.

Though the day began with grey skies overhead, it did not slow us down from gearing up for our final full day of Quest!

Morning activities were happily attended, the flag was raised and breakfast enjoyed. Today featured some delectable apple and blueberry pastries.

Activities were selected for the day and once cabins were tidied (all are now old pros at cleaning up by now) we headed down to the Big Top to hear Christina share about practical ways we can be love in our personal lives at home as well as in our communities. In small groups cabins discussed practical ways they could each act in love at home. Many had wonderful ways they could engage better with friends and family in their neighbourhoods.

Activity one ensued and campers at the high ropes worked hard to leap off the high post. Campers attended crafts and made some crafty turtles that looked spectacular! Other activities continued in full swing: watersports, canoeing, kayaking, beach, mad science and so on!

The lunch dress up theme was “Mousetrap” and many creative cabins came down to the lodge for lunch with giant mice traps, creative get-ups and even some skits to depict catching a mouse. Tuck and Bunk followed in cabins before afternoon activities began.

Gaga ball was a happening hive this afternoon, with competition (and dust) in the air!

Right before free swim we all had the opportunity to watch the Bravo campers present their play performance. The group of Bravo girls have been working hard all week to prepare their act to present to campers. They did a wonderful job, and the crowd gave a standing ovation at the end!

Before dinner campers headed down to the beach for some time at Free Swim. Afterwards campers dried off and enjoyed a delicious ham and potato dinner together, topped with an ice cream sundae bar!

Post Dinner, cabin photos were taken and thus began the camp wide game. A series of board games were played around the grounds.

Campers are now preparing for the final campfire of the week, and you’ll have to wait til they come home tomorrow to hear about the outcome of what happens to the sneaky mouse from the week!

Thank you for staying tuned to this week’s activities, hopefully you got some good snapshots of what Camp Kahquah was up to during Quest 2018 🙂

 

Quest – Day 4 – Battleship

We can hardly believe it is already day four of Quest! Activities and majors have been in full swing and all of camp was revved up for today! Last night at campfire, Aunt Linda and Jordanne introduced us to the board game for today, Battleship! A naval officer arrived on the scene and was looking for the maps for his ship, when he discovered he did not have them! Turns out we all witnessed the sneaky mouse run away with the maps!

The morning proceeded as usual, with morning activities, flag raising and activity selection with  a decadent delicious breakfast consumed. Campers scurried to cabin clean up to compete for the most points for their teams. It’s always great to see how campers work together to make their cabin the most neat, tidy, and crisp.

Morning activities were attended, campers enjoyed kayaking, beach, ropes, and more.

The leaders in training had an opportunity to go tubing this morning, and really seemed to enjoy the process.

The lunch theme today involved getting into the lodge without being noticed. Many cabins succeeded the challenge while others found themselves outside still when the bell rang for lunch. So much creativity exuded from the various cabins!

After lunchtime and many rounds of fantastic lunchtime songs, cabins enjoyed their tuck before heading to afternoon activities. Crafts had some really creative work happening and all seemed to be intently working on their individual projects.

Free swim was a blast with lots of splashing, and many sand-projects happening on the beach as well.

After dinner, campers geared up for the camp-wide game which involved a three part extravaganza.

Phase I:  Campers collected eggs around the grounds which granted them a specific amount of balloons to use during phase III.

Phase II: Campers sat on the hill above the lake watching leaders and counsellors battle each other on a giant water pad. Many prevailed, while others, not so much!

Phase III: A giant round of life-size battleship was held using waterballoons and a cabin leader catapult. It was a pretty incredible game!

Campers then headed to their cabins to get ready for another adventure filled campfire. Many laughs were had, and the campfire challenge was a tough one with cabin leaders holding buckets of water over their heads releasing a finger at a time until the bucket of water fell over. We found out tonight that the mouse had snuck into another area of camp, the kitchen and while we were being told by the kitchen baker, the sneaky mouse came up from behind and dumped flour and water on the baker. The crowd broke out in frustration with the mouse and we are anticipated a great catch tomorrow during the theme of the day: MouseTrap!

Stay tuned for the unfoldings of the final full day of camp tomorrow!

Quest – Day 3 – Monopoly

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

The theme of today kickstarted last night at campfire when our mother-daughter duo, and Program Directors for the week, Jordanne and Linda shared the new board game for today. Monopoly! As I write, cabins are scurrying around the campground looking to buy properties for the best deal in town at the camp wide game.

While at campfire yesterday, we met Mr. Monopoly and found out that his money had been taken by our sneaky rodent friend.

(Pictured above – cabin leaders drinking a can of soda pop through the filter of another leader’s sock!)

Morning activities were busy today, and the air was crisp … but that didn’t stop a handful of people from dipping in the lake today!

A great breakfast was enjoyed by all, daily activities were selected and cabins were cleaned up until they glistened in the morning sun. Campers participated in some great worship songs this morning led by Linda, Jordanne and Aunt Kayla. Everyone listened closely as Christina shared from a Max Lucado book “Because I Love You” and highlighted how much God pursues us even when we wander. After small groups and first activities, cabins geared up for lunch dress up.

Monopoly characters flooded the lodge and smiles were shared all around as various pieces from the famous board game were represented.

During our afternoon rehydration station Popsicles were enjoyed by all and helped to cool down everyone between afternoon activities.

Dust lifted during the afternoon dodgeball activity as campers took on two leaders in a challenging round of ball.

The craft of the day was wind chimes, and several campers crafted personalized chimes to cherish and ring.

After free swim, dinner was enjoyed outside by all, a welcomed treat!

The camp wide game is still happening and soon after we will convene at the campfire to surely sing some great songs, and likely watch some hilarious skits.

Who knows what sort of mouse mischief might happen around the fire tonight!