the camp hammer blog

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”

Tags: 2011, 2701, Apostle, camp, camp hammer, God, hammer, liger, noobie, okra, pray, program, Summer, transition
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Hey Friends!  Happy New Year!  What a great opportunity a new year brings to praise the Lord for all that he has done, is doing, and is yet to do!  2010 was an amazing year at Camp Hammer, full of growth, blessings, and love.  After such an incredible year, we have no choice but to be beyond excited for what 2011 will bring!  With that in mind, we wanted to take a bit of time to tell you some of the amazing things that are happening at Camp right now, and some things to get excited about for the upcoming year!

Staff.

Camp has undergone some staffing changes, and we would love to let you know who has left and who has arrived.  Our Office Administrator, Michelle (Picadilly), has moved into Santa Cruz to intern at Vintage Faith Church, begin a Master’s program, and work with the Youth Theater.  She was an amazing blessing to Camp, and we are sad to let her go, but are confident that God has some amazing things planned for her!  Taking over for Michelle is our new Office Administrator Andrea!  Andrea joins us with an amazing background in camping ministry, and a heart to serve!  We are beyond excited to welcome Andrea to our community, and believe God will do amazing things through her!

In the Maintenance/Guest Relations departments, we welcome Tim!  He will be assisting our facilities director Dennis with general Camp maintenance, and will also be hosting for our weekend retreat groups!  This is Tim’s first year at Camp, and we are excited to have his fresh perspective and willingness to partner with Camp!

Lastly, we want to welcome back Katie (Copper), who will be a Kitchen Lead for us this year.  Katie has been around Camp for years, and we are excited to welcome her back in a year round position!  She is an amazing addition to our kitchen staff and camp community!

Recruiting/Summer Camp Jobs.

Like I mentioned above, we are beginning summer preparations, which means recruiting and interviews!  If you are interested in working at camp, make sure you check out the link on our main page for working at camp!  Applications must be submitted by March 15th, so don’t wait!

Registration.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!, and you know what that means!  Summer is just around the corner!  Although it seems a bit far off, we are beginning summer preparations already, and cannot wait for all of the amazing things that will take place here in 2011!  If you haven’t already, when you are finished reading here, go back to our main page and begin the registration process!  If you register by February 15th you receive $50.00 off the cost of registration. High school students, you can get a total of $200.00 off the total cost of registration if you register for Apostle and High School Camp before February 15th!  That is the biggest discount we have ever given!  Take advantage now, space is limited!

Once again, all of us here at Camp Hammer hope your new year has started out well, and if it hasn’t, remember that each day is an opportunity to begin fresh.  We look forward to seeing you soon, and hope you will continue to pray for our ministries here!  Much Love.

Andrew. aka, Liger.

Tags: 2011, Apostle, blessing, camp, camp hammer, February, hammer, High School Camp, jobs, liger, love, New Year, recruiting, registration, staff
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Rain

Hey Friends and Family!  Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.  Like many of you, we have had constant, or near constant rain for the past 10 days.  Power has been out twice since last Monday but thankfully it is back on now.  Mini Waterfalls, leaves, and branches litter the mountain roads as you drive to Camp.  It is gray each day, but beautiful.  We are so thankful for the rain!  Our redwood retreat thrives on it, not to mention our pond will appreciate it when we begin to fill it in the Spring.  As you walk through Camp, it is amazing to see just how green it will get!  It’s also incredible how well you can hear our “roaring” creek that runs through the forest!  Needless to say, we are thankful for the rain!

Recruit

Mossi and Liger (Eric and Andrew) just returned from a Northwest recruiting trip.  They visited George Fox University in Newburg, Oregon, and Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington.  They reconnected with old staff, and met many young men and women who could end up at Camp this summer!  In a few weeks, Camp Hammer will head to Southern California to complete the second half of recruiting.  They will be visiting Azusa Pacific (Feb. 8th & 9th), Point Loma (Feb. 10th), and Biola (Feb. 11th & 12th).  If you are in the area be sure to stop by and say hello.  If you are thinking about working at Camp and live in Southern California, be sure to take some time in the next few weeks and get your applications in!  We look forward to seeing you!

Write

Finally, we are just mere days away from launching our “Camp Hammer Love Stories” campaign.  Starting next week we will be posting a new story each week on the website for your viewing pleasure.  To view the posts, all you have to do is check out the camphammer.com main page.  The stories will be there for you to enjoy.  Remember, these stories aren’t reserved for specific people!  In order to submit one, you just need to have your very own story to share.  We want to share the stories of all who love Camp Hammer.  Check out other blog posts to see more specifics!

Farewell for now.  Hope to hear from you all soon!  Summer 2010 is closer than EVER.  And remember, “Today is the day the Lord has made!”

Camp Staff

Tags: 2010, camp, camp hammer, creek, February, forest, hammer, leaves, liger, Lord, love, love story, Monday, mossi, rain, recruit, road, story, Summer, summer 2010, write
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Happy New Year!  2010 has arrived.  I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season, and are as excited for 2010 as we are!  The mark of the New Year means that Summer 2010 is closer than ever!  After a quiet December, Camp Hammer is back in full swing preparing for this upcoming summer.  Liger and Mossi will be venturing across the Northwest in weeks to come searching for this summer’s staff.  Registration is open, and Camps are filling up.  It is so exciting to think about all the young men and women who will be here in just a few months.  Until then, we have some great weekend retreats coming through!  We are definitely staying busy, and enjoying the promise of all the fun to come.  Now that the holidays are over you can count on the Camp Hammer blog being updated weekly!  Continue to check it out and leave us your comments!  We love hearing from you.  I hope this week that you will remember that you are loved by the creator of all.  Until next week…

Camp Staff.

Tags: 2010, camp, camp hammer, fun, hammer, liger, mossi, New Year, Summer
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Hello Camp Hammer Friends and Family!  I hope you are doing so well!  If you are a student, you are most likely awaiting the final school bell to ring, and Christmas vacation to begin.  If you are an adult, you are probably looking forward to some time spent away from the office this Christmas.  Whatever the case may be, Camp Hammer is so excited for this holiday season!  There is so much going on!  We just sent out our 2010 Brochures!  Look for them in your mailboxes.  Also, in just over a month, Mossi and Liger will be traveling around to find this the summer of 2010′s staff!  I love that summer preparations begin in December!  It makes if feel like summer is already getting closer!  Also, we are all excited for this time of year in which we celebrate the birth of a savior!  Christ’s birth is the reason for the season, and that is what Camp Hammer is all about.  We hope that this holiday season you are able to take some time and remember the baby that was born so many years ago, that saved the world!  How exciting!  Also, in these next few weeks remember that Camp Hammer loves you, and is praying for you this holiday season!  Have a great last week of school or work, and check out the blog next week!  Peace!

Camp Hammer Staff

Tags: 2010, Brochures, camp, camp hammer, Christ, hammer, liger, mossi, Noel, Prayer, Savior, Summer
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Hey Friends and Family,

I hope this wonderful fall day is treating you well!  It is cold here at camp, approximately 53 degrees, with a strong little wind chill, brrrrrr.  Well, I must apologize for the lateness of this entry.  It has been crazy around here lately.  Many of you who live in the greater Santa Cruz area probably remember the storm we experienced two weeks ago, well, it knocked out all of our power for over 80 hours!  It is incredible how different life is when there isn’t any electricity!  It was amazing to realize just how much time is spent on things like facebook, blogs, twitter, email, oh you get the point.  Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff.  What is going on around here?  Quite a bit actually, thanks for asking !  We recently said farewell to one of our staff members.  Sundance’s time at camp ended this week and he headed home to start the next chapter of his life.  We miss him already!  Widget has joined us here at camp to work on our website.  We are in the process of putting out the Summer 2010 Summer Brochure!  It is going to be awesome!  Look for it in the mail.  Mossi and Liger are looking at recruiting dates to find the staff for next summer!  So exciting!  Auger, MC, Mum, and Pickadilly are working hard to make sure Camp runs smoothly through the Fall!  Skipper, Optimus, and Bambi are working hard in the Kitchen for all of our weekend groups, and let me tell you, the food is incredible!

Lastly we are still working on this incredible new campaign.  It is called “Camp Hammer Love Stories,” and no it isn’t about people falling in love.  It is about why people love Camp Hammer.  Everyone, including YOU, will have a chance to send in their Camp Hammer Love Story.  You can write a paragraph or 5, it makes no difference to us.  We will  be censoring all entries, and every couple of days, or each week, depending on the number of entries, we will be featuring a new story on the front page of our Website!  So exciting.  so much great stuff going on.  Keep your eyes peeled for specific dates and more info on how you can send in your entries.  If you want to start writing one, feel free!  Here is a quick prompt: “What do you LOVE about Camp Hammer?”  Let the world know what Camp Hammer has done for you!  Have a great Wednesday!

Camp Hammer Staff

Tags: Auger, bambi, camp, camp hammer, campaign, email, facebook, hammer, liger, love, MC, mossi, mum, optimus, pickadilly, power outage, skipper, storm, story, sundance, twitter, widget
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