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”

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

If you couldn’t tell from the title of this post, Camp Hammer is hosting 2701′s (Twin Lakes High School Group) 2nd Annual Mock Rawk.  What is Mock Rawk, you may ask yourself.  Well let me tell you.  Mock Rawk is a crazy competition where groups sign up to lip sync and dance to music of their choice!  Why is Camp Hammer hosting this event you also might ask.  The answer is that anyone who knows Camp Hammer, knows that no where on earth does crazy fun competitions like us.  The event will take place on March 27th at Twin Lakes Church!  Come watch some incredible students perform some incredible acts!  Bring your friends and family, and learn what Camp Hammer is doing this summer!  It will be a great time for anyone who attends.  We hope to see you there!  Peace.

Camp Hammer Staff