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New Year-Round Staff!

We’ve been getting busier at camp the last couple years. There have been more campers, more programs, more volunteers and more work! Many hands make light work, right? This year we budgeted for some extra staff time. Though part time, Sparkles (Katelyn Golding) and Big Wade (Andrew Moyer) have been getting their hands dirty here at camp this year and helping make light of the extra work.

Sparkles is the Assistant Program Director and off-season works part-time in the office and on special projects. She is from Weathersfield, VT and started in the winter of 2012-13. She recently graduated from Eastern Mennonite University. She now lives at camp.

Big Wade is the Facilities Manager and started in September. He is looking forward to helping with the Pavilion Project as much as he can. Wade was on staff in 2005 and 2006 and is finally back. His full time work is for Bontrager Fine Carpentry based in Bridgewater, VT. Wade recently moved into the apartment that was constructed at camp specifically for this position.

Sparkles leading a game in the pavilion this past summer

Big Wade and Dutch the Dog - maintenance facilities

Big Wade and his puppy dog, Dutch

Construction in summer 2012 to build the apartment for the facilities manager

Summer 2013: #WithGod All Things Are Possible

Mission Possible All Around: #WithGod all things are possible…

…#WithGod BBC used Mission Possible as the summer-long theme based on Matthew 19:26. Campers were challenged to be #WithGod both at camp and at home. The Mission Possible theme also explored how we can be #WithGod and why it matters. Shepherds invited campers to be #WithGod in all aspects of life.

…#WithGod BBC created a new week of camp this summer: Mission Possible week. Campers were invited on a week-long mission to prove BBC is achieving its mission. Campers participated in the traditional version of their favorite game multiple times and were surprised with MI versions adapted especially for this first time BBC program…

…#WithGod BBC created a new program this summer dedicated to teen campers who want to be at camp more than one week of the summer. Mission Possible Crew week allowed 14-18 yr old campers to come to camp to help with clean up and program while continuing to enjoying the perks of camper life. BBC Crew campers enjoyed setting up and guarding for Mission Impossible games. One crew member enjoyed it because “we got to help make the campers time at camp better while having fun at the same time!” (Erianna, ’13 Crew Member)

…#WithGod BBC is working towards a new pavilion. Each Friday night campers shared with their parents various reasons why camp needs a new pavilion. Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project is building momentum with 1.2 million of the 1.8 million dollar goal committed.

International Flare

My camp name is “G” from Goliath. I am from Indonesia and I came to US with MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) in the International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) in September 2012. BBC was my second placement during a year with MCC. Working at BBC was so meaningful to me because I worked in nature a lot! I really felt God working through nature and camp activities. The summer theme “Mission Possible” fit with me, since in the US I worked as a volunteer far from my real “world”, but I finished the assignment because it was possible #WithGod.

Working at BBC really opened my heart and mind to God. I enjoyed both work as a maintenance support and counselor assistant. In my sight, I believed that kids were not wasting their time at BBC, surrounded with good counselors, staff that are really energetic and full of passion in sharing about God’s love. I was excited to play guitar at fireside when I was there, hear the kids and all staff singing together to make a joyful noise and powerful praise to our God.

G (David Ardiles K Hadiyanto)

Summer Intern

The Vibe of the Auction

Apple cider, maple syrup and donuts, oh my! Have you ever experienced the BBC auction? Let me give you a glimpse into the things that touched me this past weekend:

Campers come and help sell the items on the live auction by presenting the items to the audience – little do they know what an impact that has on the sale of the item!

Counselors and staff return with donated items- or they are like “mystery shoppers”, proxy bidding for those online bids that have been submitted.

People travel from places far & wide to come spend a day in the beautiful countryside and support camp.

A fabulous auctioneer from PA (Sandy Alderfer of Alderfer Auction Company) comes with his entourage to most definitely get more money per item with his perfect blend of humor, compassion and philanthropic encouragement.

Items are baked, chopped, squeezed, pressed, fried, ground, and cooked with loving hands to provide nourishment for the crowds and yummy additions to the sale!

Oh yes, and then the money…. People pay crazy amounts for everyday items. 15 people chose to simply donate $200-$400 each to send a camper to camp. And a wonderful “matching donor” (Glenn and Diane Moyer) agreed to double what was raised per dollar for any amount raised between $20,000 and $40,000.

Maybe it is because I didn’t grow up going to auctions that I am just awed by it all. Maybe because I truly love BBC – the place that it is, the kids, staff and counselors, and all that it represents. Maybe it’s because I know that there is something bigger than me out there, and He always shows himself to me when I’m there. Whatever the reason, I left the 2013 BBC Auction with a thankful heart and a happy soul. And the icing on the cake is that through all of this we keep making progress towards this wonderful goal of keeping the camp alive and thriving for generations to come. With the additional money raised, we have now raised well over $1 million towards the goal of $1.8 million for a new pavilion at camp.

For more information on that project (Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project) see the website or sign up for emails or text updates.

Flo

(aka Beth Goshow)

Mission Possible Communications Manager

Summer 2014 Dates

Summer 2014 Dates are here!

As usual, there will be all sorts of good things to follow. Updates on special features, blog posts from counselors, videos and more.

But for now, here are the dates (https://www.bethanybirches.org/summer-camps/):

2014 Summer Camp Schedule

Program (pages with specifics not yet updated)	Length	Age	Date
Friendship	1/2 week	6-8	7/13 – 7/15
Pioneer	short week	7-9	7/13 – 7/17
Pilgrim	1 week	9-11	6/22 – 6/27
Voyager	1 week	10-12	6/29 – 7/4
Voyager Extended	2 weeks	11-12	6/29 – 7/11
Discoverer	1 week	11-13	7/6 – 7/11
Favorites	short week	11-14	8/3 – 8/7
Explorer	1 week	12-14	7/20 – 7/25
Sojourner	1 week	14-18	7/27 – 8/1
Favorites Crew	short week	15-18	8/3 – 8/7
Internship	2 weeks	16-18	6/29 – 7/11

Experience The Auction

Apple cider, maple syrup and donuts, oh my! Have you ever experienced the BBC auction? Let me give you a glimpse into the things that touched me this past weekend:

Campers come and help sell the items on the live auction by presenting the items to the audience – little do they know what an impact that has on the sale of the item!

Counselors and staff return with donated items- or they are like “mystery shoppers”, proxy bidding for those online bids that have been submitted.

People travel from places far & wide to come spend a day in the beautiful countryside and support camp.

A fabulous auctioneer from PA comes with his entourage to most definitely get more money per item with his perfect blend of humor, compassion and philanthropic encouragement.

Items are baked, chopped, squeezed, pressed, fried, ground, and cooked with loving hands to provide nourishment for the crowds and yummy additions to the sale!

For more information on that project (Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project) go here. To read about the auction totals go here. Photos of the auction day go here.

If you like what you see here, share it with others! “Like” us on Facebook! Repost a blog! Tweet about it (@BethanyBirches)! You can use #MissionPossible, #WithGod, #ThePaviProject Tuna loves to use the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. This was so evident this gorgeous, amazing weekend in VT. Praise be to God, thanks be to all of you and blessings to all the kids who continue to develop their relationship with God.

Flo

(aka Beth Goshow)

Mission Possible Communications Manager

————————————————-

THE $1100 GOLDEN SHOVEL

Benefit Auction 2013 Gross Totals

Greetings Friends! Here’s a message I wrote internally just now (to board, staff and auction committee). It’s so exciting I just HAD to share it with everyone!

————

I just did the math and here’s what it seems we’ll receive (gross) when all payments are made. This of course does not include any further rounding up people may do ( or any mistakes I’ve made!). I’ll publish the net when we finalize that and receive outstanding payments.

Source	Amount
Cashier including (live and silent bidding and raffle tix paid cash/check)	24500
Bidding (live and silent NOT paid to date)	3830
Bidding (live and silent paid by Credit Card)	9146
Snowmobile Raffle sold BEFORE auction	980
Cash Box From food/beverage	540

TOTAL = $38,996.

When we add the match to that we’ll be pushing $60K raised from the day!!! As a German-speaking friend of mine says: “awe inspiring”

Thanks to each of you for your part in making the day a success and for your commitment to helping young people develop their relationship with God!

Brandon

————–

To God be all praise, honor and thanks! And to many who gave items to be sold and who bid on those items. As the saying goes, “it takes a village.” Here at camp, we say it takes a community of love. And how fun to be part of that community!

In case you missed out on the fun, you can do three exciting things from this post:

[button-medium color=”green” link=”eepurl.com/puW8r”]Get Camp Emails[/button-medium] [button-medium color=”green” link=”bethanybirches.org/wp-content/media/2013/09/2013-auction-lot-list-w_.pdf”]View Winning Bids[/button-medium] [button-medium color=”green” link=”bethanybirches.org/donate/”]Make A Donation[/button-medium]

Church @ Camp: 6 Speakers

This past Sunday was a lot of fun! We hosted over 100 people here at camp for a church service and a BBQ. Five staff and one past staff spoke during the service. Here they are!

Big Tuna (aka Brandon Bergey): Tuna Church @ Camp

Lourene Bender: Church @ Camp: Lourene Bender

Sparkles, Rex and Tex (aka Katelyn Golding, Matthew Crowthers and Jamee Eslicker): Church @ Camp: Sparkles, Rex, Tex

Newsletter 2013: Snow Camp Synopsis & Summer Highlights

The winter of 2013 was a busy one at BBC. Campers, staff and volunteers all enjoyed the endless snow, adventure and excitement that filled the hill from December 2012 – April 2013.

Polar Bear is Back: Polar Bear Camp returned as the third weekend long snow camp this winter. The weekend was exclusively for 6th – 8th graders. Jr. High-aged campers enjoyed being together for their own weekend with Middle School specific activities and topics.

The Game of Seasons: The benefits of hiring an assistant program director for the winter were numerous! One of the benefits included a creative new game that intertwined education about animals’ different needs during different seasons, utilized the space of the cabin and connected to our theme of changing seasons for the weekend. Lynx campers reaped the benefits of this new game and were requesting it be brought back for summer!

Valuable Volunteers: Each snow camp requires significant volunteer input for the weekend to run smoothly. The Franconia Mennonite Church Young Adult Group came to meet all the volunteer needs for the Polar Bear Camp. One young adult served as the shepherd, others cooked and others played the role of counselors. Together they made a great team, brought a ton of fun for campers and served as great role models of service for each of us. We hope they’ll be back!

Summer Highlights:

Summer 2013 Theme: Mission Possible. Matthew 19:26 says “With God all things are possible.” The theme this summer will aim to teach campers how to be WITH GOD and why this is the only mission worth pursuing.

NEW WEEK! Mission Possible Week! Every summer campers ask to play Mission Impossible more than once in a week. We finally caved. This week is all mission impossible all the time. The week requires campers to work together to solve the week long mission! Campers must have played Mission Impossible prior to this week in order to attend.

Cheeks

Newsletter 2013: Snow Camp!

A lot of snow + campers + BBC= SNOW CAMP!! Undoubtedly campers love going to camp: to see friends, to see the staff, and at BBC- to learn more about God. We (a group of volunteers) had a great time with the campers in a non-stop action packed weekend, but the focus wasn’t necessarily on snow – It was on God.

Something that stands out in my mind from the weekend was a conversation that a couple of us (volunteers and campers) were having. I remembered one of the campers – he has a brilliant mind but had a hard time processing the existence of one almighty God. He and his family tended to be polytheistic and as we talked about the story of Elijah found in 1 Kings in the Bible, he asked some really good questions – like, “Why did Elijah call upon Baal to bring fire down when that wasn’t Baals ‘gift’ or ‘power’? He wasn’t the god of fire so of course he won’t be able to send fire down on the altar.” Hmm, good point. We continued to go deeper, yet at some point he seemed to reach an impasse, to which he said, “I’m a skeptic…” as if he thought that by saying that I would stop asking questions. We pressed on. He said that it would take a REALLY BIG miracle to prove to him that the God of Abraham is real.

It was a blessing to be a part of that discussion. He was processing the Christian story. He was asking good questions. He has a deeper knowledge now than he had before – whether that translates into a trust in Jesus and eventual service of God’s Kingdom is yet to be seen. At least a weekend at camp filled his heart and mind with knowledge of the truth. Sometimes these conversations can be a challenge, but they’re the ones that can also bring about the most change and can give us the most encouragement to keep going, to keep proclaiming the message of the gospel to a world that so desperately needs to hear it, see it, feel it, experience it – and Bethany Birches IS all of those things to EVERY camper!

Scott Kratz, Volunteer

Archive for the ‘Program News’ Category

2014 Summer Camp Schedule

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Date