Junior High Winter Blast is one of our favorites here at Camas Meadows.
This is such a fun age-group to host.
Junior high campers have the incredible energy and capacity for adventure of children.
But their thought processes are maturing and they are able to hold deep conversations about life, the Bible, God, and of course snow ducks!
Or rubber duckies, depending what kind of duck is available.
This camper brought ducks with her this year because … ducks! Later, her cabin was delighted when Boo Boo found a snow duck maker and gifted it to them. More about that later.
But as was mentioned earlier, ducks are only one of the topics that junior high campers can wax eloquent about! Here, the campers worship God together with song. It was so delightful to have a quick visit from Choco and Partake as well as the joy of listening to Choco lead us in worship again. These kids know how to sing and they rattled the lodge with their voices. So lovely!
Faramir was our speaker this weekend. His topic: Uncomfortable Jesus. What Jesus doesn’t make you uncomfortable with what He says and does in the scripture? Perhaps, you should take another look!
Ah, yes. The gifting of the snow duck mold. These campers were ready for duck adventures!
One of the activities at Jr. High Winter Blast was the snow sculpture competition.
Wait a minute … that isn’t a duck is it???
Oh, my! A large duck, holding both a heart and a loaf of French bread, with smaller ducks perched upon his back! That’s a lot of ducks folks. So many!
What is this determined camper up to?
She crawls across the ice-covered meadow, on a quest to bring a helpful shovel to her cabinmates so that at long last they can construct …
The grand canyon! Plus, assorted viewing platforms and cairns. Yes, this was indeed modeled after the lovely image on a camper’s t-shirt. Great job, girls!
What is Gamgee up to here? Boo Boo was told that he was being a bear, crawling around in the woods, doing bearish things. He was also gathering sticks to use in the cabin snow sculpture!
Behold! A snowman lounging in the bathtub in shades with snacks!
This cabin put some deep spiritual thought into their snow sculpture. This is Jesus’ tomb with the hill of Golgotha complete with crosses pictured above. Notice the very nice sarcophagus inside.
Later, these campers went above and beyond to create Mt. Sinai. Their Mt. Sinai even spoke, answered questions, and entertained passerby with quips about the state of the world. Yes indeed, there is someone inside the mountain. Don’t worry, Boo Boo quizzed him sternly about his ability to breath freely.
Sometimes, it is hard to get the campers going on the snow sculpture. Especially, when a snowball fight is so easy to arrange.
However, they finally had success and this awesome snow castle was the result!
This has been a great snow year at Camas Meadows. Here, campers and counselors are climbing the icy pile that the snow sliding off the lodge roof created right in front of the back porch.
But snow sculptures are not the only outdoor activity enjoyed during Jr. High Winter Blast!
There is always the famous Camas tube hill or The Hill as we call it!
This awesome tube run sends campers zipping! Often, they come back with faces full of icy powder!
Time to take a break for puppy snuggles with Princess Leia Freyja.
Back to more tubing!
Or even sliding without a tube! These campers wanted to form a train. We do not allow trains of tubes (due to the broken collarbones of Christmas past) but when they just slide down, campers don’t get up to the same speeds and can do trains safely.
It’s always good to get a group photo before the weekend finishes up.
The ladies of Sasquatch.
The gentleman of Robin’s Roost.
The gentleman of Owl’s Perch.
The ladies of Eagle’s Loft.
And finally, the gentlemen of Bear’s Abode.
It’s not just the kids who make goofy faces for photos, ha!
Princess Leia Freyja tries to get in a quick doggy kiss before Boo Boo snaps the picture.
Children who were totally new to the camp experience sang alongside kids who grew up coming to camp with their families long before they were old enough to be campers. The lodge shook as they sang together, played rowdy games of Sit Ball and Grog, and made friendships that may well last a lifetime.
Seven kids made decisions to follow Jesus and so many more were encouraged in their walk with God or even simply shown God’s love for them and that they are deeply valued no matter what they choose to believe.
We were able to walk away from the weekend knowing that we fulfilled our call. Love kids as they are, give them a delightful weekend of fun, offer them the words of life, and give them a chance to choose Jesus.
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” I Thessalonians 2:8
