the camp hammer blog

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.

Tags: blessing, camp, camp hammer, computers, family, forest, love, pour, rain, storm, talk, technology
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Hey Friends.  I hope this rainy day finds you nice and dry.  The weather has been so crazy lately!  Last weekend we had snow again!  It was 60 degrees yesterday, and today it is pouring rain!  What an interesting couple days it has been.

In other news, it is MARCH!  Which is insane!  As cheesy as it sounds, I just don’t know where the time goes!  March means that summer is only a few months away.  If you follow our Facebook or Twitter page you can track our countdown to summer.  At the beginning of every post we post how many days are remaining until our first week of Summer Camp.  We are almost down to double digits!

With all of that in mind, we are wrapping up interviews for Summer Staff 2011 in the next 2 weeks.  We have received over 100 applications this year, which, if I am correct, is the most EVER!  What an amazing thing to see so many young men and women interested in serving at Camp Hammer.  We could certainly use your prayers and thoughts as we attempt to hire the staff that God is going to use in 2011 here at Camp.  We know that wherever these men and women spend the summer of 2011, God has some incredible things in store!

Speaking of Camp staff, yesterday morning the current year round staff attended the annual board breakfast at Twin Lakes Church.  If you are unfamiliar with Camp Hammer, Twin Lakes Church in Aptos owns Camp Hammer, and has helped it run since 1965.  Anyway, we all went and had breakfast with the other members of the Twin Lakes Staff as well as the Board.  It was a great morning filled with encouragement, great food, and great company.  It is always a blessing spending time with so many men and women who love Camp and Jesus!  Not to mention a large portion of the Twin Lakes Staff have worked at camp over the last 45 years and have some incredible stories!  It was a great morning!

Thanks for reading, and we all hope you have and amazing week!  Check back next Wednesday for a new post!

Peace.

Andrew aka Liger

Tags: board, camp, camp hammer, facebook, hammer, Jesus, March, rain, snow, staff, Twin Lakes Church, twitter
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Hey Friends and Family!  Hope all is well on this cold and rainy February morning.  Even though we would love to see the sunshine, the rain is always a welcome guest here in the woods for a few reasons:

1. It helps replenish out water supply!

2. It will help fill the pond a few months from now!

3. It keeps everything nice and green!

So, although the sunshine gives us hopes of summer, the rain is a friend of the redwoods!

Three By Spring

Camp is busy, busy, busy these days!  Our maintenance team is working hard building and creating drainage for all the rain that has come through.  Let me be the first to say that our maintenance crew here at Camp Hammer are all-stars.  They are two of the most servant minded people around!  God has truly blessed Camp Hammer with our maintenance team!  I would also like to give a shout out at this time to the Twin Lakes Men’s Ministry who have devoted countless hours, and continue to in hopes of making Camp Hammer a better place!  Thanks guys, you too, are incredible examples of what it is to serve!

Ok, so what are these guys doing at Camp you might ask?  Well, they are helping Camp Hammer move forward with a campaign we like to call “Three By Spring.”  This 3BS campaign consists of three very specific needs that Camp Hammer has: Re-roofing buildings, Replacing/expanding the Apostle Lodge Deck, and scholarshipping students to attend Camp this summer.  The TLC Men’s Ministry is helping by donating the time and skills needed to complete these tasks, but there is still much more to be done!  We have begun to move forward on some of these projects, but we are still in need of funding and prayer!  In the month of March we are focusing primarily on the Apostle Lodge Deck!  This is a very exciting project because it will allow Apostle students to have more space of their own for meeting, hanging out, and storing personal things.  If you would like to partner with Camp Hammer and lift this project up in prayer, pray that God would continue to provide the funding and resources to complete this project before the end of March!  If you feel led to give financially, check out the “give” section of our website for specific instruction, or call our front office at (831.338.3200 x10).  We are incredibly excited for all of the amazing things God is doing here at Camp in this season!

Recruiting Recap.

Mossi, Noobie, and I (Liger), just returned from our Southern California recruiting tour.  We met a lot of incredible young men and women looking to serve at Camp this summer!  After all of the people we have met, it is clear that we are going to have another incredible staff devoted to serving the students who attend Camp Hammer in the Summer of 2010!

Well, I think we have given you enough to chew on for this week, so as you go through the next few days, please remember to lift Camp up in prayer!  Keep checking back to the blog for news and updates on the 3BS Campaign, and also other cool things to come!  Peace.

Camp Hammer Staff.

Liger.

Tags: camp, camp hammer, February, friends, give, hammer, hope, pond, rain, spring, Summer, three by spring, time, TLC, Twin Lakes Church
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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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