It seems as though things have been a bit busy around camp lately, and so you may have noticed we haven't posted anything in a while. Now that we're getting back to business-as-usual, it's time for some updates from us to you. This post is all things summer camp! Although the past weekend didn't feel too much like spring, there has definitely been a change of seasons in my mind. While winter seems to be all about preparing to prepare for camp, spring is when I feel I can finally start concrete planning... And that has begun! We already have over 20 campers registered for camp and all of our counsellors have been hired! Hiring is a mix of emotions: there is something so unique and life-giving about reading applications, meeting with people for interviews, and hearing the wonderful things each reference will say. But it is also a bit of a stressful time for me, as it's important to and affects a lot of people. I'm often uncomfortable with the pressure and responsibility I have... And so I pray. I pray that God is with me, and with the applicants. I pray that God will guide me to hear each individual through the process and the needs of staff and campers. And at the end of the process (both this year and last), I reflect to see that God is with us, working through time to provide camp with a variety of skills and passions needed to run. And then there are always the accreditation's that are needed. With a smaller staff, it's always been a worry of mine to find a certified lifeguard. This year, we're blessed to have one applicant with her NLS certificate. A new thing we need counsellors to be certified in is our climbing wall and flying fox. You may remember last summer we were unable to offer our zipline as an activity because we were preparing to build a new one, along with a new climbingwall. They were both built at the end of last summer, and 3 of our returning staff are already certified to operate both activities. This training is something we offer to our staff, however scheduling is sometimes difficult to coordinate, making this a puzzle to work on in my mind. But enough about the process, I'm sure you're all interested to know who our counsellors are for summer 2015! So here they are:
Nora Pederson (3rd summer), Meghan Wiens (3rd summer), Jenae Funk (2nd summer), Brita Pederson (1st summer), Matt Schellenberg (3rd summer), Ryan Wiens (1st summer), Dylan Longhurst (1st summer), and Brandon Janzen (1st summer).
Saying that I'm excited for everyone to come to camp is a slight understatement. I want so badly to see the staff and volunteers working and having fun together. But before counsellors can come to camp, there's still a lot more preparation that needs to be done. So, I keep working on the preparations, but I've been letting myself pause between tasks to picture in my mind what this summer might look like with this new group. Interestingly enough, I can picture every staff member out here, using their individual talents for camp.... Regardless of how many times they've been to Shekinah, or how many years they came to camp, I can just see it being good.
-Katie
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