Surf City 2015 - Day 5

We’ve got a really busy morning packing up so, I don’t have a lot of time to share details…but it’s been a great week. Yesterday morning we had the annual Surf City Regatta! Each team builds a boat out of basic materials and then races it across the lake. The mighty Green Hulk Sharknados gave a valiant effort and finished second in the race!

In the afternoon our students spent time at the waterfront tubing and playing on the battle barge. We also had some students go horseback riding at the ranch.

Later that night we listened to Wayne share with us that we could all have super powers! Galatians 5 talks about the spiritual super powers that we can acquire like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. We ended the night with a climb up the dunes for some snacks and stargazing! It’s been a great week, but I think we are all ready to come home! See you late tonight!

Surf City 2015 - Day 4

It’s another beautiful day here at Surf City. We’ve had amazing weather this week and the temps have been perfect! Yesterday we got to really enjoy the sun on our beach day. We spent the morning at Lake Michigan playing in the sand and jumping off of the dunes. It’s absolutely beautiful out there.

In the afternoon, we played at the waterfront with more tubing, battle barge and of course, the blob. McKenzie and Alexis even got up the guts to test their courage at the zip line.

Last night at club, Wayne continued to tell us about how Jesus wants to have a relationship with us and His unconditional love surpasses all of our understanding. We sent the students out last night for a camp tradition called twenty minutes of silence. This is a time when students go off by themselves outside for twenty minutes to really spend some intentional time thinking about the things we’ve been talking about this week at camp. It’s always an emotional night because students tend to really open up about what’s really going on in their heads and it leads to some real authentic conversations about their future hopes and dreams.

It’s crazy that today is our final full day at camp. We’ve got a lot of fun stuff going on today. I’ll report back tomorrow! 

Surf City 2015 - Day 3

It was another great day here at sweet Surf City. Yesterday we started out our day with a friendly competition of students versus leaders. I say friendly very lightly because I’ve already been referred to as “old” a dozen times here at camp and so I was happy to finally put those comments to the test. We were challenged to games like dodge ball, water balloon fights, gaga ball and even an American Gladiators favorite, Power Ball! It’s pretty much a game of doing whatever it takes to slam-dunk a ball past defenders for points.  This ended up being my favorite activity of the day because although we were severely out numbered, out of shape and slow…the leaders DESTROYED the students. The smell of victory is so sweet.

We spent the afternoon in the sun at the waterfront taking turns on the tubes! Tubing is almost always a camp favorite of the students…except for those who lose their bottoms…which definitely happened yesterday.

Last night, our speaker Wayne continued talking about God using the right people at the right time and shared the story of Joseph. Wayne explained to us that even though Joseph endured some incredible hardships in his life…God had a plan for him and used his experiences to ultimately do amazing things. Joseph had no clue what God was going to do with his life and had plenty of reasons to be angry with the cards he was dealt…but instead he remained faithful and trusted God and because of that was able to make an impact in the world around him. We can learn a lot from Joseph. Our life’s journey will be difficult…we will experience pain just like Joseph, but God is faithful and will help us to be the right people at the right time and if we remain faithful He too will do amazing things in and through our lives. What a great message of hope.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Check back tomorrow to here more!

Surf City 2015 - Day 2

We are having a great week already here at camp! Yesterday we started the day off with a cabin challenge complete with sword fighting, log throwing, syrup chugging and sweating to the oldies with Richard Simmons. Each cabin ran around camp completing different crazy challenges for points. It’s hilarious to watch what these kids are willing to do for points for their team!

We spent the afternoon climbing the beautiful sand dunes and riding the “boatercycles” out on the lake. It really is amazing how stunning the landscape is here at camp. It’s always fun to see how big the kid’s eyes get when we get to the dunes and see the magnitude of the climb. It’s a reminder of how out-of-shape we really are!

In the evening Wayne spoke to us about how amazing it feels when we get chosen for something. We all remember the time when we get picked for a spot on the team or we get the part in the musical we were hoping for. These moments echo in our lives and leave lasting impressions of being “good enough”. Wayne talked last night about how each and every one of us are chosen by our Creator and called by name to be His handiwork. What we often don’t realize is that we have the ability to impact the lives of those around us. We can be part of the problem for the world or part of the solution. Our hope and prayer is that each one of these students realizes their potential as His workmanship and live it out.

Check back tomorrow for more updates!  

Surf City 2015 - Day 1

Just wanted to let you all know that we made it safe to camp and we hit the ground running! The fun began as soon as we got off the bus. Once we got to our cabins and unpacked, we took our swim tests and devoured some dinner!

After dinner we gathered to find out what team we would be on all week. Our team name… The Green Hulk Sharknados! Yes! You read that right. The judges loved it so much that we took first place for the best team name!

After some friendly competition…we headed to club where we sang some songs, cheered the brave Robin Hood for showering the students with Little Debbie snacks, and listened to a great message by our speaker Wayne. Wayne talked to us about how we feel the struggle to fit-in to multiple social groups to feel value in this world and it can be exhausting. The good news is that we have a Creator who values us beyond our understanding because we are His handiwork. What a great truth for our students to wrestle with.

We ended the night with some epic glow-in-the-dark dodge ball. It looked like chaos…and it was exactly that…but it was awesome chaos.

Check back tomorrow for some more updates!

Surf City 2014 Day 5

I can't believe it's already Friday and in just a few short hours we will be packing up and heading home. It was an incredible week and I'm sure these students will come home with lots of stories to tell.

Yesterday started out like all the others with Bible study, breakfast and then our morning seminar. After that we headed out to compete in the longest standing tradition in the history of Surf City...the Regatta! Teams come together to design and build a boat. Teams then plan out a parade to show off their creation and finally we compete in a race. It was a great time and we had FUN! It doesn't matter that we came in last place...because we had FUN! :) Although I will say...I did see some cheating...but it doesn't matter because we had FUN!

After a break for lunch, some of our group went horseback riding and the rest spent some time at the waterfront playing some full-contact water basketball or getting a final ride on the tubes. After a long day in the sun, we had a delicious dinner at the dining hall that was interrupted by the announcement that it was Justin's birthday and the group proceeded to pick him up, take him outside and then throw him in the lake. It was especially hilarious watching Justin run out of the lake after everyone to give wet hugs.

Later that evening we went to club. We were all excited to see that Putt and Putt were able to rescue their caddy, Cups from the gopher and in front of the x-games commissioner...they were able to sink the most incredible and extreme trick shot any of us had ever seen! Mark also shared with the students last night the fact that Jesus didn't just die, but rose again so that we could experience the life He wants for us...and because of that we can choose whether or not we let things get in the way. We have the ability to live an extraordinary life because we have been rescued. What great news!

The evening ended with an over-the-top lip-syncing competition where a lot of our students took the stage and rocked it! Austin got up in front of camp and did his own lip-sync version of Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Gone" and Corey did a killer version of Fall Out Boy's, "Light'em Up."
I had no idea that so many of our students had the nerves to get on stage and act as ridiculous as they did. It was quite a sight to see.

That's all for now, we will be headed home to all of you this evening. Thanks for your prayers and support. It was an amazing week.

Surf City 2014 Day 4

Good morning from Surf City! It's 7 o'clock in the morning here at camp and it's absolutely silent. Students are wrapped up in their bunks, virtually passed out from yesterdays shenanigans. The day started out like all the others, Bible study, breakfast and seminars. We were greeted after seminars by the mighty Surf City Gladiators who were willing and ready to train us to join their ranks as epic mercenaries. Think old school television show American Gladiators meets Wipeout! Our Yellow team competed in rigorous tasks like running a gauntlet lined with Gladiators who have come before them and competing in a hard-fought tug of war. We did well...but only time will tell if he have what it takes to be Surf City Champions.

After lunch and some free time at the waterfront, it was our turn to take our crew out on the Waverunners...or affectionately called the "Boatercycles." We spent a few hours out on the lake zooming around on the water and giving students a thrilling ride. I've always prided myself in being very responsible on the Waverunners and making sure I don't toss any students off during the ride... well, I guess in my old age I'm beginning to loose my ability to hold on tight. Only a few rides in, both Hannah Steffey and Madi Doty took a swim...and took me along with them. Didn't count on that!

After Dinner and a few power naps, we went to club. Unfortunately our worst fears came true last night because that pesky gopher officially kidnapped Putt and Putt's caddy named Cups. And when I say "kidnapped" I mean that animal literally pulled him into it's gopher hole. It was very traumatic for the two rising stars. I really have no clue as to what they are going to do now. Maybe their passion for mini-golf will finally be extinguished. I guess we will find out tonight.

Last night at club Mark talked to the students about the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for each and everyone of the students. Mark shared with them the truth that Jesus came to this earth not just to show us how to live, but to die on a cross so that each and every one of us can experience true life. We then sent students out to be on their own for 20 minutes in silence to think about the sacrifice their  Savior made and give them the opportunity to talk to God. It's always a powerful tradition and it's always interesting to see how students respond to it. We ended the evening with a campfire and snacks. It really was a great day.

I can't believe it's already Thursday and we will be packing up to leave tomorrow. I can't wait for our students to share with you all the great moments from the week. Check back tomorrow for our final update!