What can I say?  What an Awesome Weekend!  Food, fun, friends, Winter Worship, camp fires, amazing weather, amazing help…and an amazing group of campers!  God has been great to Cold Snap and everyone had a blast.

No doubt… it is a lot of work for everyone involved… counsellors, kitchen staff, directors and of course… the camp managers (and what great help we had!!).  But there is one thing that makes it all worth while… and that is the complete joy on the faces of everyone involved.  This picture says it all… and I just had to share. 

That is what I love about Cold Snap…and the camp in general… simple moments like this of pure joy.  This was not a chance moment or a rare find during the weekend…check out the photo gallery and you will see it was a weekend full of moments just like this.  I have to also mention the rink… Alan has spent hours upon hours getting it ready – flooding, blowing, shovelling… all the hard work paid off when you see the kids on the ice just having a complete blast and asking for more opportunities to skate!

We had a great time on Saturday with fun and games in the snow… and we had a great time inside as well throughout the weekend with team building challenges, memory work, trivia, worship and camp fires.  The campers were totally into the times of worship and singing their hearts out… and I was amazed at how they hung on Jeremy's every word as he brought a practical message at the campers level.

In the end… I think everyone had a blast… and I know that seeds were planted and memories were made that will never be forgotten. 

All the credit goes to the God of Wonders, The God of All, The God of Me!

Dont forget to take minute, and soak it all in like a sponge… God's amazing creation that is winter!  If you need a hand with that… drop by the camp some sunny afternoon… go for a skate on the rink, slide down Mount Slushmore or just stand by the edge of the bank and look at the beach, the water, the ice and the skyline…hard to ignore how truly Awesome our God is!

I had the privilege of sitting in on the final staff debrief for the 2010 camp season this afternoon. It was an opportunity to hear the staff discuss what worked best and what needs to be improved, and I could see what a tremendous bond our staff have forged over the summer. God has blessed us by putting these people together at the right place, in the right time, to serve His purposes at this camp. What a feeling, being in the presence of such a fine group of young people!

I have heard it said, by a number of people this summer: “We have a great staff this year.” “The staff are awesome!” “What an incredible staff!” I couldn’t agree more. From the Program Directors, Brenton and Kerry Dickieson (and Nicholas), to the Assistant PDs, Jim and Samara Midgett, the full-time staff, volunteer counsellors, speakers and musicians, Kitchen Coordinators MariLynn Darrach and Lise Thomsen and the host of Kitchen Servants this summer, God has indeed made this a successful camp season, touching many hearts and souls through His staff.

Words seem trivial when trying to express the immense pride I feel for this wonderful group of people. I know they’re going home tired, but I hope they feel that they’re leaving with a sense of satisfaction in the work they have done this summer. You all have reason to be proud of your efforts this summer. May God bless you in everything you do.

Thanks for everything you’ve done to make our campers’ summer as outstanding as it possibly could be!

Wayne Peters
Chairman, Board of Directors
Canoe Cove Christian Camp, Inc.

I had the privilege of sitting in on the final staff debrief for the 2010 camp season this afternoon. It was an opportunity to hear the staff discuss what worked best and what needs to be improved, and I could see what a tremendous bond our staff have forged over the summer. God has blessed us by putting these people together at the right place, in the right time, to serve His purposes at this camp. What a feeling, being in the presence of such a fine group of young people!

I have heard it said, by a number of people this summer: “We have a great staff this year.” “The staff are awesome!” “What an incredible staff!” I couldn’t agree more. From the Program Directors, Brenton and Kerry Dickieson (and Nicholas), to the Assistant PDs, Jim and Samara Midgett, the full-time staff, volunteer counsellors, speakers and musicians, Kitchen Coordinators MariLynn Darrach and Lise Thomsen and the host of Kitchen Servants this summer, God has indeed made this a successful camp season, touching many hearts and souls through His staff.

Words seem trivial when trying to express the immense pride I feel for this wonderful group of people. I know they’re going home tired, but I hope they feel that they’re leaving with a sense of satisfaction in the work they have done this summer. You all have reason to be proud of your efforts this summer. May God bless you in everything you do.

Thanks for everything you’ve done to make our campers’ summer as outstanding as it possibly could be!

Wayne Peters
Chairman, Board of Directors
Canoe Cove Christian Camp, Inc.

Last Friday we were grilling hot dogs and marshmallows at the campfire with the kids. Despite the mysterious nature of whatever may actually be in hot dogs and marshmallows, it was a great way to end a good week.

As the staff were hanging with the kids, spontaneous water fights and marshmallow browning contests broke out in the fields beside the fire pit. The tide was rising, and as some of the campers and staff went to look at the great blue Northumberland Strait, they noticed wild strawberries growing along the fence. The sun was warm, the sky was bright: it was a beautiful day at the cove.

As I was watching the scene, one of our campers staggered up to me. He was wearing 3D glasses–not the blue and red kind from the 80s, but a newer version from a comic book. He walked around, arms outstretched, as if he was reaching for something. Then he looked up at me and said, “Wow! Everything is in 3D!”

It took me a minute to explain to him that, actually, everything you see is 3D. I watched his plasma-screen trained brain try to understand what I was saying. I wanted him to understand that out here in camp, life is 3D. Unlike his rec room, the real action takes place in front of him, and around him. The people sitting next to him at chapel or in team time are real, flesh-and-blood people, not just images on a screen. This, I said, pointing to all the activity around him, is real.

He scrunched his nose, pushed the glasses up on his face, and worked his way back to the campfire for more nitrates and mystery sugars. I, though, was left with that moment, and thankful that at Canoe Cove, life is in 3D.

Last Friday we were grilling hot dogs and marshmallows at the campfire with the kids. Despite the mysterious nature of whatever may actually be in hot dogs and marshmallows, it was a great way to end a good week.

As the staff were hanging with the kids, spontaneous water fights and marshmallow browning contests broke out in the fields beside the fire pit. The tide was rising, and as some of the campers and staff went to look at the great blue Northumberland Strait, they noticed wild strawberries growing along the fence. The sun was warm, the sky was bright: it was a beautiful day at the cove.

As I was watching the scene, one of our campers staggered up to me. He was wearing 3D glasses–not the blue and red kind from the 80s, but a newer version from a comic book. He walked around, arms outstretched, as if he was reaching for something. Then he looked up at me and said, “Wow! Everything is in 3D!”

It took me a minute to explain to him that, actually, everything you see is 3D. I watched his plasma-screen trained brain try to understand what I was saying. I wanted him to understand that out here in camp, life is 3D. Unlike his rec room, the real action takes place in front of him, and around him. The people sitting next to him at chapel or in team time are real, flesh-and-blood people, not just images on a screen. This, I said, pointing to all the activity around him, is real.

He scrunched his nose, pushed the glasses up on his face, and worked his way back to the campfire for more nitrates and mystery sugars. I, though, was left with that moment, and thankful that at Canoe Cove, life is in 3D.

I woke up early this morning because I had to work. I know, I know, everyone has to work, and my teaching is no different. But when you are at camp, everything else seems to slip away in importance. Campfire and tuck and chapel and hurtling down a 100-foot slip ‘n’ slide seems to encompass my entire reality, and everything else is an interpretation.

But here I am, pounding on keyboard just before dawn, trying to get a lecture ready. It really is an exceptional place here. I walked out of my cabin into the hazy light before the sun was to rise on the other side of the Main Lodge. But the morning smelled like camp. It felt like camp. And as I sat at a picnic table, and watched the sun rise and felt the mosquitoes nipping at my ankles, I felt the crash of realities fall in on me: I need to be here, but I need to be “out there” as well–out in the real world, paying bills and learning and making money and everything else.

I guess that’s a bit how life is, how the really important things get lost in the urgent. But camp is really important, and I’m glad I’m able to be here at least a little bit.

Brenton

I woke up early this morning because I had to work. I know, I know, everyone has to work, and my teaching is no different. But when you are at camp, everything else seems to slip away in importance. Campfire and tuck and chapel and hurtling down a 100-foot slip ‘n’ slide seems to encompass my entire reality, and everything else is an interpretation.

But here I am, pounding on keyboard just before dawn, trying to get a lecture ready. It really is an exceptional place here. I walked out of my cabin into the hazy light before the sun was to rise on the other side of the Main Lodge. But the morning smelled like camp. It felt like camp. And as I sat at a picnic table, and watched the sun rise and felt the mosquitoes nipping at my ankles, I felt the crash of realities fall in on me: I need to be here, but I need to be “out there” as well–out in the real world, paying bills and learning and making money and everything else.

I guess that’s a bit how life is, how the really important things get lost in the urgent. But camp is really important, and I’m glad I’m able to be here at least a little bit.

Brenton

A soft mist of rain has driven us indoors during our staff orientation week at camp. I am hidden away in the old Chapel, stealing an internet signal from the Cottage, and watching a squirrel try to bite plastic chairs. He scurries from chair to chair, testing to see if the blue one is more edible than the red ones or the gray ones. They are all pretty much the same.

Despite the rain, a minor inconvenience at worst, orientation week is going swimmingly. We have seven Paid Counselors, four Program Directors, and four Jr. Counselors who are spending the entire summer at Canoe Cove. There is also Nicolas, and the kitchen staff, and Alan and Mary, our intrepid managers. For us, it is a mammoth team–great and a lot of fun to work with–but there are some name problems.

• J names: Jim, Josh, Josh, Jeremy, Jeremy and Jordana
• ck names: Kerry, Caylin, Kaitlyn, Kathleen

It’s a tongue-twister. How are we supposed to keep them straight? Should be an interesting summer (if the rain will stop)!

A soft mist of rain has driven us indoors during our staff orientation week at camp. I am hidden away in the old Chapel, stealing an internet signal from the Cottage, and watching a squirrel try to bite plastic chairs. He scurries from chair to chair, testing to see if the blue one is more edible than the red ones or the gray ones. They are all pretty much the same.

Despite the rain, a minor inconvenience at worst, orientation week is going swimmingly. We have seven Paid Counselors, four Program Directors, and four Jr. Counselors who are spending the entire summer at Canoe Cove. There is also Nicolas, and the kitchen staff, and Alan and Mary, our intrepid managers. For us, it is a mammoth team–great and a lot of fun to work with–but there are some name problems.

• J names: Jim, Josh, Josh, Jeremy, Jeremy and Jordana
• ck names: Kerry, Caylin, Kaitlyn, Kathleen

It’s a tongue-twister. How are we supposed to keep them straight? Should be an interesting summer (if the rain will stop)!

Check out the new Camp Tour video… please forgive the wind… someone needs to learn to use his camera!