Bye, Besties!

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Happy Friday from Ox Lake!

Time flies when you’re having fun, and today was no exception. After brunch and Bible study, we managed to sneak in one final game of Mighty Mighty – in our classic purple and gold paints – to warm up for our closing worship. We had a great time singing and doing actions for all of our favorite songs with our families (and family pets) present. We loved all the energy our campers brought for the last day of camp!

Although goodbyes are always bittersweet, we’re so happy to send off this week of campers into the rest of their summer physically exhausted, but spiritually refreshed. We can’t wait to see them again next summer – maybe even on staff! As always, we welcome our campers to stay in touch with their counselors via snail mail. We would love to hear from you, especially about how you enjoyed your to-go canteen items, new camp swag, and your tie-dye!

Jumping for Joy

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Happy Thursday from Ox Lake!

After yesterday’s storms, we took full advantage of the nice weather by playing games outside all day. We started with Medic, where our campers invented an unbeatable shield strategy, and Doghouse. Later, we played a highly-requested game of kickball with the whole camp.

We spent our afternoon swimming, canoeing, and paddle boarding at Ox Lake. Our campers enjoyed making rafts on the lake out of boats, diving off the raft, and splashing around in the shallow water.

We finished our night with specialty worship, which included a performance from our counselors followed by a variety of prayer stations. Each station was crafted to encourage the campers to reflect on their time at camp and engage with their faith. Afterwards, our night ended with a cozy campfire, delicious night snack, and all-camp devo.

We can’t wait to see what our last day holds. With this group, it’s sure to be just as fun-filled and faith-focused as the ones before!

 

Lasers and Light Shows

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Happy Wednesday from Ox Lake!

Our day began with a fantastic french toast breakfast, complete with eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Afterwards, our campers launched right into our first activity of the day: laser tag! They had a blast navigating our custom-made course at 1st village, teaming up against their cabinmates, and challenging their counselors for free canteen items (and bragging rights)!

During free time, our campers had the opportunity to tie dye their shirts – and their hands, as well as one unfortunate shirt in the splash zone. Campers also spent their free time lounging in the hammocks, playing cards, and making friendship bracelets. We took advantage of the cool weather in the evening and played two field games: Rat-a-tat-tat and Snakes. Canteen time consisted of snacking and outdoor games such as spikeball, gaga, and volleyball. So far our canteen favorites are birch beer, pineapple jarritos, Hershey’s cookies and cream bars, and Kempswiches (affectionately dubbed “campswiches”).

As the storms rolled in, we sheltered in Earth Chapel and had a build-your-own campfire full of songs requested by our campers, followed by a movie night. We watched Monsters, Inc. (as well as the light show happening in the sky) and indulged in popcorn – with fun seasonings! – plus a selection of pops to complete the cinematic experience. With the storms behind us, we can’t wait for the beautiful weather that tomorrow holds. All signs point to a perfect beach day out at Ox Lake tomorrow!

Bubbling with Excitement

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Happy Monday from Ox Lake!

To kick off our first full day at Ox Lake, we hopped into knocker balls for rounds of sharks and minnows, gladiator, duels, and battles against our counselors for free canteen items. As a creative way to combat the heat, our cabins created snowmen out of the bubbles! Between rounds of bubble soccer, our campers were content to lounge at the picnic tables with ice water and sway in hammock village. We even jumped in the Balsam branch, a small river on site, to cool down in the afternoon! Our campers had a blast picking river weeds and splashing around in the cool water. As the sun began to set and the temperatures dropped, we played a classic camp field game – Mighty Mighty Scoop Noodle Challenge. Everyone had a blast dodging tags, chasing down items, and throwing balls across the line. At the end of the day, we still had energy to spare and had a great campfire full of fun actions, dancing, and laughter as well as worship. To celebrate our last day, we all enjoyed making choco-tacos over the fire before diving right into devotionals.

We are living for the energy this group brings, from games to campfires to all the moments in between, it seems like they’re always bouncing around and finding something to laugh about. We can’t wait to see them do it all over again tomorrow!

Let It Shine

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Happy Sunday from Ox Lake!

We are so excited for this group of campers and all the fun activities we have planned for the week. To welcome our campers, we served a gourmet pasta dinner and introduced them to THE Ox Lake for swim test, which was very refreshing after our hot afternoon check-in. We finished off our night with campfire, where our top singles of the night were Feewah and Gospel Light.

What a great start to camp! We love the energy of this group already and can’t wait for everything else this week has in store.

Staying Cool

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Fee-wah Friday

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Happy Friday from Ox Lake!

Time flies when you’re having fun, and today was no exception. After brunch and Bible study, we managed to sneak in one final game of Mighty Mighty to warm up for our closing worship. We had a great time singing all of our favorite songs with our families present, especially multiple rounds of Fee-wah at the end. We loved all the energy our campers brought for the last day of camp!

Although goodbyes are always hard, we’re so happy to send off this week of campers into the rest of their summer, physically exhausted but spiritually refreshed. We can’t wait to see them again next summer!

Don’t Knock It!

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Happy Thursday from Ox Lake!

Our highlights today were knocker balls and laser tag. During knocker balls we played various games, from sharks and minnows to gladiator to an all vs. one match in the battle for a free canteen item. Although it was sweaty inside the giant bubbles, everyone enjoyed laying on top of the bubbles as they deflated – a perfect segway into some well-deserved quiet time. Laser tag was a blast as well, with teams ducking and weaving around our custom course while the rest spectated from the sidelines.

Free time was just as active, with groups playing endless rounds of gaga, kan jam, and spikeball. Today was also our tie-dye day! We are so excited about all of the color combinations and designs we saw today. After dinner, our camp split into two teams for a great game of wiffle ball followed by canteen time. We finished our night with specialty worship, which included a performance from our counselors followed by a variety of prayer stations. Each station was crafted to encourage the campers to reflect on their time at camp and engage with their faith. Then to top it all off, we all shared apple and cherry dutch oven desserts after campfire.

We can’t wait to see what our last day holds. With this group, it’s sure to be just as fun-filled and faith-focused as the ones before!

  

 

Adventures Indoors

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Happy Wednesday from Ox Lake!

Our misty morning began with a series of outdoor activities. We started with two field games – Doghouse and Snakes – then jumped right into cabin challenges. Our cabins competed against each other in New York Lemonade and ran a dodgeball gauntlet.

After lunch, we took cover from the rainstorm and spent the afternoon playing board games, arts and crafts, makeshift Gaga, indoor 9-square, team battleship, and noodle jousting. The rain dissipated in the evening, which allowed us to have an outdoor canteen with this week’s favorite games: spikeball and kan jam.

To round out the night, we had a movie night in Earth Chapel. And what movie night would be complete without popcorn! Each cabin shared a big bowl of popcorn while we watched tonight’s feature: Ice Age, Continental Drift.

We are so thankful for the energy and positivity this group brought despite the rain, and so excited for all the fun activities we have planned for tomorrow. Praise be to God!

Diving into Tuesday

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Happy Tuesday from Ox Lake!

We started off our day with some exciting cabin challenges. The cabins challenged each other in an intense human foosball match with the girls claiming victory. Next, we played medic and snoodles until lunch. In the afternoon, we were able to cool off with a visit to Ox Lake for swimming, paddle boarding, and canoeing. Our campers had a blast jumping off the raft, playing spikeball, kan jam, and relaxing in the sun. Even though the rain started to pour down, it didn’t stop us from having a fun time with minute-to-win-it games. Each cabin competed against each other in a serious of challenges to see who was overall the ultimate cabin. After that, the rain ended and we engaged in a high-energy campfire! To end our night, everyone was satisfied by our choco-taco night snack before devos.

Today was another amazing day and we pray that God will keep all our energy up and the rain away.