Category Archives: Camp Tallowood

Wednesday morning at breakfast, students were surprised by a message from Scot. No organized worship service on Wednesday – just fellowship. And that was the topic of the morning. As we all finished up our meal together, Scot spoke about Acts 2:42. He defined fellowship as “enjoying God’s life together,” and reminded all of us that we don’t have to be at Camp Tallowood to enjoy fellowship. Our friendships and relationships should go deeper than the surface and be based on our relationship with God.

Each church group then went on a morning hike up “Mount Moriah,” a hilltop at Camp Eagle that has served as the place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac and where last year we witnessed a reenactment of Jesus’ crucifixion. We went up the “mountain” to remember as a church, which was later the focus of our evening service.

After lunch came another round of Rec games. At Camp Tallowood, the games are used as another way to incorporate and teach scripture.

“Scales on the Eyes” is based on Acts 9 when Paul is headed to Damascus. Paul is struck blind and after an encounter with God has scales fall off his eyes. In the game, students run through an obstacle course blinded by a bucket over their heads. After completing the course the buckets (scales) are taken off, then they jump in water and are “baptized” by a teammate.

In “Get Baptized,” teams compete in a relay to fill up a bucket of water first. One team member kneels on the ground with a bucket on their head while their teammates fill it up – with another bucket that has holes in it. The kneeling team member gets drenched (baptized).

In another game, wet squish balls are slung through the air like “Tongues of Fire” from Acts 2. As some team members shoot the balls with a three-person slingshot, others use pillowcases to try and catch the balls for points.

After several hours of free time and another delicious dinner (fajitas!), we headed to the evening service for the Lord’s Supper. Scot turned our attention back to Acts 2:42 and reminded us what exactly we are doing when we eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine – worshipping. The Lord’s Supper is an act of worship that leads us to the foot of the cross as we partake in these symbols of Christ’s sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). In Scot’s words, “The Lord’s Supper is participating in the greatest day in history!” When astronaut Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on what was said by many to be the “greatest day,” he took part in the Lord’s Supper with his flight mates before stepping out to a place no man had been before. He showed the world THAT day was not the greatest, but that the day Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins was THE GREATEST DAY IN HISTORY!

Students then had the opportunity to take part in the Lord’s Supper and pray together.

Parents, how will you remember and recognize the greatest day in history as a family?

-Laura

This video starts out with footage from Tuesday night during Church on Fire! Students acted out their churches’ stories in one-minute skits – with some intermediate fun from interns Joel, Chase and Leslyn.

Also included are the highlights from Wednesday as church groups dug into the meaning of fellowship and remembrance and then went on to compete in Rec games.

Debbie Boedecker, another one of our fabulous youth leaders and long-time camp sponsor, has been leading the charge for the camp prayer ministry. Debbie has taken the time to offer a few suggestions for parents, grandparents, church members and others who are lifting our students up in prayer this week. Many of you received an orange wristband and committed to pray for the student whose name was written on that band. Please use these specific requests as a guide of how to pray for your student and all of us throughout the week. Thank you for your commitment to pray!

• Pray for the health of everyone at camp. Several kids were sick to their stomachs yesterday, but today is a new day! While a few are still sleeping it off, we’re excited to see the majority rejoining their groups!
• Pray for the Camp Eagle leaders who are investing in our students this week. Their energy and excitement adds a lot to the camp experience!
• Pray for the seniors as they lead out in their last full day of camp and during tonight’s senior celebration.

Here’s a look at everything from late Monday night through dinner on Tuesday. Be sure to check out the post below for many more details!

Tuesday morning started off a little slower than Monday. Sunburns and sore muscles had everyone getting to breakfast just a little slower, but still in high spirits. The blood began flowing as everyone joined Dave and Jess in song, and ears perked up as Duane Brooks, Tallowood’s pastor, stepped up to the mic.

Duane challenged the students to be like the believers in Berea, who received the word of God eagerly in Acts 17. These early Christians couldn’t get enough of God’s word and Duane reminded us to be like them – to memorize scripture like our lifes depended on it; to let scripture change the way we view the world every day.

Parents, will you challenge your kids to be like the Bareans and examine the scripture every day?

After unpacking the scripture during church group time, the students headed off to Rec for games. More details on Rec games to come later…

During free time, the seniors challenged the adult leaders to the annual Saints vs. Sinners softball game. The Sinners fought a good fight, but ultimately the Saints won the battle – 11 to 3, that is!

Each day, students also have a number of options for free time, including zip lining, swimming, sliding, Sherpa trecking, rock climbing, rappelling, three-man swinging and more.

Dinner was quickly followed by evening worship, where Scot reminded us that the church should be a family. He took us step by step through this week’s memory verses, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. This incredible passage speaks about reconciliation, which Scot defined as “winning back someone in exile.” We have been reconciled (won back from exile), so we as believers ought to treat our relationships differently that the rest of the world; We ought to reconcile ourselves to others; We ought to forgive because we have been forgiven!

Parents, will you memorize these verses this week alongside our students?

Tuesday night featured a late night treat of Church on Fire, a competition among the church groups to act out their church’s story in one minute or less. The hilarity went on for over an hour, with hijinx from interns Joel, Chase and Leslyn at the breaks.

-Laura

Debbie Boedecker, another one of our fabulous youth leaders and long-time camp sponsor, has been leading the charge for the camp prayer ministry. Debbie has taken the time to offer a few suggestions for parents, grandparents, church members and others who are lifting our students up in prayer this week. Many of you received an orange wristband and committed to pray for the student whose name was written on that band. Please use these specific requests as a guide of how to pray for your student and all of us throughout the week. Thank you for your commitment to pray!

• Pray that our “churches” are becoming of one heart and one mind.
• Pray that we compete in rec games with courage but – more importantly – with encouraging attitudes.
• Pray for our adult leaders as they pour themselves into our students.

Thank you for praying with us!

Bright and early Monday morning, students were dressed and ready long before breakfast. I guess the excitement had them raring to go! After breakfasts were eaten and lunches were packed, we headed off to morning worship. Scot taught out of Acts 2:1-4. What is the greatest gift that God can give? Himself! When God sent the Holy Spirit to his followers during Pentecost, it came with a violent wind and tongues of fire. Can you imagine?

The students then met up with their church elders and headed to their site. All this week, students will have the opportunity to meet together with their entire church group, meet as small groups divided by gender and meet one-on-one with one of their group leaders. Monday morning’s quiet time dove a little deeper into the Holy Spirit, pointing out that it has been around since the very beginning (Genesis 1:1-2)! To quote the quiet time outline: “The Holy Spirit is NOT a feeling; He’s not your conscience; He’s not a wise little Jiminy Cricket inside of you that you just need to discover within yourself. He is nothing less than the very Spirit of God!” (Read about it in 1 Corinthians 2:12)

After some get-to-know-you activities, small group discussion and lunch, students headed off for their first Rec time. During the two hours of Rec each day, students will compete with their church group in feats of strength and mind-boggling puzzles.

Next up: Acquire the Tire! Everyone’s favorite messy game consists of mud, sweat… and pickle relish? Yep, that’s right, we add a little flavor to the tires. Each church group is lined up in a circle around a stack of inner tubes of varying sizes. Each inner tube is worth a certain number of points for your church’s Rec score. As the students are called out by grade, condiments are added to the tubes – everything from mayonnaise to Lucky Charms and from ranch dressing to baked beans. Students get progressively nastier as the game rolls along. Thankfully, our prayers were answered and there were no serious injuries!

As free time began, most students jumped in the river to rinse off, and a lot of them stayed there to enjoy the cool water. Micah, Rebecca and Jerome headed to Camp Eagle’s newest attraction, the mine, for a youth staff three-man swing!

Dinner featured delicious chicken fingers and was closely followed by the evening worship service. Scot reminded us of our morning’s focus on the Holy Spirit and asked what was next. What did early believers do after they heard about Jesus? Acts 2:37-41 tells us they were called to action – accepting His message, repenting of their sins and being baptized. In fact 3,000 believed and were baptized in one day! We need God’s grace, which is a gift that’s too good to be true. Scot challenged all of us to place our faith in God because grace IS true and IS available!

Parents, will you encourage your kids to respond when the Holy Spirit moves in their lives?

Worship ended with Scot directing the students to the dining hall for a surprise treat – ice cream! What a nice way to end a long, hot, wonderful day.

-Laura

We had a request via Twitter to post an outline of the daily schedule to help all of you at home pray more specifically about what our students are doing each day. This is a fantastic idea, so we are more than willing to accommodate! Although each day varies somewhat because of special events like Acquire the Tire, Church on Fire and the senior celebration, this will give you a rough idea of what we’re up to:

• 8 a.m.                   Breakfast
• 8:45 a.m.             Morning worship
• 9:30 a.m.             Church group time (personal quiet time, small group time, activity, scripture memory, lunch at church site)
• 12:30 p.m.           Rec
• 2:30 p.m.             Free time
• 6 p.m.                   Dinner
• 8 p.m.                   Evening worship
• 10:45                     Late night devotion in rooms
• 11 p.m.                  Lights out!

Thank you so much for your prayers!

-Laura

Monday was an incredible day at Camp Tallowood! Here’s a little glimpse via video and we’ll give some more details later.

Debbie Boedecker, another one of our fabulous youth leaders and long-time camp sponsor, has been leading the charge for the camp prayer ministry. Debbie has taken the time to offer a few suggestions for parents, grandparents, church members and others who are lifting our students up in prayer this week. Many of you received an orange wristband and committed to pray for the student whose name was written on that band. Please use these specific requests as a guide of how to pray for your student and all of us throughout the week. Thank you for your commitment to pray!

• Pray that we all stay hydrated.
• Pray for Dave & Jess Ray and the band as they lead us in worship each day.
• Pray that hearts and minds are being opened to hear and believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light.