the camp hammer blog

Camp is a Body

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:05:19 +0000

Faye with (from L to R) Gonyo, Arturo, and Munda

This is the crew that cleans up after our weekend groups. Gonyo and Munda are married and have been working at camp for 3 years now. They work hard and always have an incredible attitude. Today Munda shared with Faye how God has been faithful to bring her family out of a rough situation. Munda, Gonyo, and Arturo are an important part of maintaining a healthy camp and are a reminder that “…God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Whether we’re vacuuming cabin floors, handling camper registration, or being a camp counselor: our faithful service is an important part of keeping camp alive and well so that Christ can impact more and more lives.

the Camp Hammer Kitchen

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:04:02 +0000

What is the Camp Hammer Kitchen? Welp, I suppose it’s a place where the food is “cooked”. I looked up the Etymology of the word “kitchen” itself, and the only results I found traced back to the German, Danish, and even Latin roots of the verb “to cook”. See for yourself (courtesy of etymonline.com):

kitchen (n.)

c.1200, from O.E. cycene, from W.Gmc. *kokina (cf. M.Du. cökene, O.H.G. chuhhina, Ger. Küche, Dan. kjøkken), probably borrowed from V.L. *cocina (cf. Fr. cuisine, Sp. cocina), variant of L. coquina ”kitchen,” from fem. of coquinus ”of cooks,” from coquus ”cook,” from coquere ”to cook” (see cook (n.)). The Old English word might be directly from Vulgar Latin. Kitchen cabinet ”informal but powerful set of advisors” is Amer.Eng. slang, 1832, originally in reference to administration of President Andrew Jackson. Kitchen midden (1863) in archaeology translates Dan. kjøkken mødding. Surname Kitchener (“one in charge of a monastic kitchen”) is from early 14c.

Boring!

I wasn’t satisfied with this. The Camp Hammer Kitchen is so much more than a place to cook. If I could define our kitchen, I’d say it was “one of the [many] important places around which our community centers.” The fact that it is where a hungry camper can find Sunday Chicken Dinner or Camp Hammer Cookies gives it an unfair but honest advantage to say, the yurt (although I LOVE the yurt).

The Camp Kitchen is a hallowed place- a place where summer staff frantically work against the clock day in and day out but STILL find the time to dress up like the Tapatio Man and surprise the kids with churros post-burrito bar.

It’s the place where Apostle campers serve in the afternoons, washing hundreds of dishes so they can be turned over for the next meal. A few hours later, Apostle staff congregates here for an hour, reflecting on the happenings of their day and lifting up in prayer the very campers that washed our dishes earlier.

It’s the place where staff members and campers discuss the teachings of the week’s speaker, junior campers concernedly inquire about whether or not their food is nutritionally sound (true story), and the silliness of the Sunday night “Making Eggs” skit ensues. The kitchen is SO cool. Yet, I’ve definitely experienced times where I’ve felt bummed because I feel like I’m working in a box or a fishbowl, viewing camp behind glass. I know other people feel that way too, that because they aren’t on the “front lines” counseling they aren’t doing something of great significance.

But I’m certainly not isolated to this box, and neither is anyone else who has or will work in it. People often come to the kitchen with a need- to have a conversation, to find food, to ask a question, or to join in on a Justin Bieber dance party. My involvement in camp is my own. If I feel disconnected from staff or campers, I ask myself, “what am I doing to change that? How am I engaging others, either in the kitchen or out of it?” Am I going to night games? Do I attend breakfast if I’m not working? Do I ask campers if I can join their shenanigans, or do I just assume they don’t want me to because I’m an adult?

To my upcoming summer kitchen staff, I say this: I am so excited for you. God has you serving HERE, and that is a wonderful thing. To the rest of you future staffers, I say this: We as a kitchen staff are SO glad to serve you and we can’t WAIT for you to join us in our dance parties whenever you have a free moment. Don’t be a stranger to the kitchen.

XOXO

Erin (Trufflehunter)

Fun with Twenty-Seven O-One

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:29:13 +0000

Some students from Twin Lakes Church’s high school ministry: 2701, spent a day of their Spring Break helping out around camp. Thanks to their hard work Saw-Zaw was able to complete projects on the “Things to do before summer” list. The nurses office and craft shack were cleaned, debris from tearing down the set was cleared out, the old balance-log was replaced, and many Camp Hammer cookies were consumed. It was refreshing having the unique charisma and energy of Nitro and Curlee up in the forest.

Living lives of service motivated by the character of Christ is what the Summer Apostle Program hopes to teach. It was encouraging to see Nathan, Parker, Sean, Matt, Brittany, and Katelyn choosing to serve with their free-time. Come back soon 2701!

Taking care of the little things is a big thing

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:36:44 +0000

Though often behind-the-scenes, our facilities team works hard to keep camp open, safe, and accessible to the hundreds of youth that flood the forest in the summer months. The Facilities Director, Dennis (a.k.a Mr. Clean/MC), has a Family Circus comic posted outside his office that says, “Taking care of the little things is a big thing”. He’s been faithfully taking care of the little things at camp for 20 years, letting his work ethic do the talking.

In addition to day-to-day duties, there is always some kind of project going on to renew and improve camp. Dennis is the first to give praise, thanks, and credit to the many volunteers that donate their time and skill to help out. The Twin Lakes Church Men’s Ministry has been a consistent blessing, coming up every month and helping on numerous projects. The pictures below document one of the recent bigger projects: redoing the walkway beneath DK Hall.

Pray for Camp

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:05:24 +0000

At Twin Lakes Church this week the message was about prayer; how it changes things, opens doors, and involves us in what God is doing. In Colossians 4:3 Paul writes, “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ…”. Our Food Service Manager, Erin (Trufflehunter), organized a camp prayer walk with the year round staff this week. Coincidence? (Providence). We walked to different places around camp and prayed for the summer staff, the campers, the speakers, the apostle program, and for all that still needs to be done before summer.

Please join us in prayer as we set our eyes on showing kids Christ’s love this summer.

2012 Summer Camp Postcards

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:18:28 +0000

We just sent out a series of postcards with the 2012 dates! We are so exited to already be counting down to our summer season! Just a couple of things we need to clear up:

Registration will open on January 1st, 2012. Simply, visit our website to register online. We apologize the Post Office UPC sticker is apparently covering that information up on some of the cards!

The other thing is some of our cards got mis-labeled and were sent to the wrong campers. So if you got a Junior Camp card and you know this is your first year of Junior High Camp, we apologize, our age groups haven’t changed we just sent you the wrong card. I will post the correct info below. I do want to remind the Freshman (9th grade) that you do have a choice to attend one of our Junior High Camps AND/OR High School Camp.

I also would like to highlight that we are offering 3 Junior Camps this year as opposed to only 2 from 2011, so check out the new dates! And don’t forget about the Early Bird Special for all camps, register before February 15 and receive a discount!

I am actually putting the finishing touches on our 2012 brochure this week! That contains all our prices, dates and important information for all of our programs. I have been going through all the pictures of last summer and seriously, cannot wait to see you all. You have been missed!

Rooted in Love,

Jeff

aka Sawzaw

Junior Camp (Entering Grades 4-6)-

J1: June 17-23

J2: June 24-30

J3: July 1-7

Jr High Camp (Entering Grades 7-9)-

JHA: July 8-14

JHB: July 15-21

JHC: July 22-28

Apostle (Entering Grades 10-12)-

A1: June 17-30

A2: July 1-14

A3: July 15-28

High School Camp (Entering Grades 9-12)-

July 29 – August 4

Hellos and Farewells

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:37:07 +0000

Hey Friends! I hope this blog finds you well! As I have been saying for the last few weeks, Camp is busily preparing for what promises to be the best summer in Camp Hammer history. Amongst all of the things going on around here, there are some exciting transitions coming up! This blog will give you a glimpse of who is leaving and who is coming in!

First off, as I, Andrew, write this, my mind is flooded with all of the incredible memories my wife Lori and I have made at Camp Hammer. I say that because this summer will be our final summer at the place we love. Last fall Lori and I felt that God was calling us to step out in faith and leave the place that we have called home for nearly 5 years, as well as 2 summers before that. In August, the Bradford’s are headed to Portland, Oregon. It will be a crazy transition to say the least, but an exciting one as well. Lori and I are expecting a new addition to our family this summer, and that is a big reason we decided to move. We want to be near family as we start this new chapter of our lives, and Portland will allow us to do just that. Please pray for us as we pack and plan over the next few months. We are confident in what God is doing, and feel unbelievably blessed by the time we have been able to spend in the redwoods. Also, we are so excited for one final full summer here at Camp. We are determined to make it the best ever!

Ok, so enough about me. Let me tell you about three amazing people who will be joining us in the next few weeks! First, coming back for his seventh summer of service at Camp, and his 2nd summer as the Apostle Director is Will Witt aka “Noobie.” Will is going to be running our Apostle program which is our two week discipleship program designed for high schoolers. We are incredibly blessed to have him back for another amazing summer in the redwoods. Apostle will continue to foster authentic growth in our campers with Will heading up the program!

Working alongside Will beginning in May is Rosemary Conn aka “Okra.” Rosemary is joining us as the Apostle Female Lead. This summer will be Rosemary’s 5th summer on staff at Camp. Last summer she served as an Apostle Counselor, and we are so glad she will be coming on board to work with Will to make this the best summer of Apostle ever!

Finally, I wanted to let you guys know who will be taking over for yours truly. Starting next Tuesday, Jeff Neckers will be coming on full time at Camp to train in as the new Program Director. Jeff is a dear friend and will be an amazing person to fill the Program Director position. Jeff has spent the last few years working for Twin Lakes Church, more specifically 2701, the High School group at TLC. It is always a scary thing turning over something you love to someone else, but I am confident that Jeff will do an amazing job and that Camp will flourish with him serving here!

So, needless to say there is a lot of transition happening! With all of that in mind, please take time to pray for all of the people coming and going! We are excited for what God is doing, and hope you will share in that by praying for camp! Thanks for reading. Check back next week!

Peace.

Andrew aka “Liger”

Mock Rock 2011

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:00:59 +0000

Hey Friends! I hope this blog post finds you well! Camp is busy, busy, busy! We have been working hard to move some big projects forward here at Camp, but I will save that for another post (let the suspense build).

This past Friday (March 26th) was the annual 2701 High School Group’s Mock Rock. “2701″ is the name of Twin Lakes Church’s high school group, and this is the 4th year Camp Hammer has participated in the event. Camp Hammer staff had the privilege of “judging” the acts that performed to determine who the best Mock Rockers were!

Some of you may be wondering what on earth “Mock Rock” is. Well I, Andrew, first heard of it at Biola University. It is basically a contest in which people lip sync and dance to the best of their ability, and the most realistic and creative group takes the title! Many schools and youth groups do something similar. It is truly a blast, and 2701′s version was no exception!

There were six acts total, and they were all amazing. From colorful outfits and awesome choreography to funny facial expressions and perfect lipsyncing, it was a difficult task to name a winner! Of the six groups, a group called “Rebels in Christ” came out with the win. Their performance featured jazzercise and colorful outfits. It was like something straight out of the 80′s.

Many of the participants have been campers who have attended Camp for years, and it was a blast to see them show their best stuff in this capacity. What a great night it was! Families and friends came out to watch, and the house was packed. All the groups were amazing! I have attached some photos to this blog so you can see the participants. I found picture of all of the groups except one. Hopefully I can track that one down and add it! Meanwhile, enjoy! Thanks for reading.

Rebels In Christ. MR 2011 Champs

500 Days of Summer. MR 2011 2nd Place.

Neckers and Co.

Sassy.

Return of "Bat Fight"

Peace.

Andrew aka. Liger

It’s Raining, it’s Pouring!

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:28:48 +0000

Hello Friends! I hope this blog finds you well (and DRY!). We here at Camp have been experiencing a ton of rain! There are brief moments when I am so tired of the rain that I forget just how beautiful this forest is because of that rain!

A few days ago Camp lost power for nearly 24 hours. It was one of the first times in a long while that we have been without power for longer than a few minutes. As dreadful as the power going out can be, I am forced to consider the amazing benefits of life without power. When the power goes out, life seems to slow way down. Because the power was out, instead of sitting around on our smart phones, computers, watching a movie or something like that, my family and I found ourselves sitting in the living room talking. Now, this may not sound so crazy, but it felt so interesting that no one had their phone in hand, instead we just talked. Even in a world with limited technology (I am speaking specifically of Camp of course), it is so easy to take for granted the small blessings we are surrounded by. I am beyond thankful for reminders that there is more to life than entertainment and “things to do.” What a nice break from the fast paced style of life that we lead. To just sit, talk, and enjoy each other while being surrounded by this amazing forest was a fantastic way to spend some time.

As I am writing this blog I am sure it is apparent that power is back on, and I am stationed in front of my computer. I hope this last power outage will be something I remember often as the days press on, and life continues with its business. Today I went out and took some photos of the storm we are experiencing here. I hope you enjoy them, and as you finish this, take some time away from the world of technology and spend time with people you love!

Peace.

Andrew aka Liger.

Camp Internet!

Rooted in Love - Grown in Truth — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:28:30 +0000

Hey Friends! This is an incredibly exciting post! It may not seem that way for those of you reading this blog from your homes, but let me tell you what has gone on at Camp recently.

For the past 4 years Camp has been working incredibly hard to improve our internet capabilities. For those of you who remember a little thing called “dial-up,” which was what internet was before Cable and DSL, we have had something like that, except worse. For the past several years our internet has been via satellite with a company based across the country. Although the word satellite may indicate some kind of decent signal, do not be fooled. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but in reality, internet has been spotty and slow at best over the best few years! With all of that in mind, Camp Hammer is happy to announce that we currently have a T-1 line up and running! The speed of our internet has increased dramatically, and our internet has been incredibly reliable the last week or so! Again, this may not seem like a huge deal to all of those who regularly enjoy relaible internet, but for us, this has been a long time coming and is an incredible blessing. Not only does this new line improve our internet, it also improves our phone system which has also been a thorn in our side for the last few years.

Believe it or not, this new improvement will benefit all of you as well! How you ask? Well, with these improvements we will be able to manage more from Camp. Online registration issues will be easier for us to tackle, and less time consuming. In all seriousness, it was not rare for Camp staff to wait minutes at a time for pages to load. You can imagine how frustrating that can become! With our phone issues worked out and internet capabilities surpassing our previous state, we are excited to see Camp continue to move forward! This blessing will also give us the capability to serve you better through our website. In the near future we will be improving our website and our plan is to update it regularly (not just when the internet will allow us!). Make sure to watch out for all of those great changes!

Much of the credit must be given to Faye Malone, who has worked tirelessly with many different companies to try and make this happen for Camp Hammer! What a blessing she is to Camp! We are also incredibly thankful to Barry and Jeremy who work for Twin Lakes (the church that owns Camp), and their commitment to helping us figure out all of the little kinks! Lastly, we are most thankful to God who loves Camp Hammer and has had his hand on Camp with or without great internet!

Thanks for reading! What a blessing you are to Camp! Be sure and check back next week at this time!

Andrew aka Liger.