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Summer Staff Archives - Bethany Birches Camp

Archive for the ‘Summer Staff’ Category

Shifting From Receiving To Giving… Yet Still Receiving

 

Having been a camper at Bethany Birches for six summers (and a Counselor In Training for one), I knew that I wanted to be a counselor eventually, and I finally got that opportunity last summer, as the youngest member of the 2019 summer staff. Camp had always been one of my favorite places in the world. At camp I always felt like I could connect with God. Interestingly, my first staff experience was a lot like what I expected it to be. However, “being on the other side” of camp helped me better appreciate how special Bethany Birches is. Even if I sometimes struggle with my faith while at home, I can always see how God is working at camp.

As a camper, the main feeling that I experienced was joy, regardless of what I was doing. During my time as a counselor, things were more topsy turvy than I remember them as a camper. I enjoy working with kids (one of the main reasons I applied!), and the skill I improved the most over the summer was patience. Whenever I was stressed out, I would take a deep breath and remember: I’m not just doing this for myself. I often remember that when I was a camper, I got a little sad when my counselor went on break. Now, even though I love being with my cabin, I get a little excited whenever I get to take a break, partially because I know that it gives me time to relax, making me better at my job once I go back. The further into the summer I got, I noticed how some of my campers reminded me of my younger self, which gave me great joy. It’s always good to know that whatever you are doing, it can ultimately have an impact on someone — and that’s what I think I enjoyed the most about working at camp. Being a camper was constant fun, every single day, but being a counselor still contained many of the great joys of camp. From the pig trough to hikes to the treehouses, many of my camp experiences remained the same, but being able to lead others made them far more rewarding.

 

~ Ryan “Michi” Smith, Assistant Counselor

Be Still And Know That I Am God…. even in the chaos

Hi. I’m Flora, or at camp I’m Gigi.

This summer I’m the Day Camp and Leadership Training Director. Every summer I’ve worked here I’ve seen God clearly in the campers, in nature and the community among the staff. This summer I’ve seen him in each of those places, but I’ve also been challenged by the scripture- “Be still and know that I am God” in Psalm 46. If you’ve never been here when there are campers, still is not the word you would come away saying. Camp is great with campers, and it’s energetic, and loud and a little crazy. Not still. During orientation Cheeks had us do a practice where we found somewhere quiet and repeated “be still and know that I am God”, then reduced the phrase to “be still and know that I am”, and then “be still and know”, slowly removing words until we were just repeating “Be” to ourselves. I really enjoyed this practice, but had trouble thinking about how that scripture could be true for me this summer. This scripture kept coming up for me the next couple weeks, friends would send it to me or it would come up in my devotionals but it didn’t seem possible. When I decided to listen to a sermon from my home church in Burlington, VT, and the sermon scripture was “be still and know that I am God” I felt like God was yelling at me to obey that scripture.

That sermon changed my idea on what being still looks like at camp. My pastor talked about the Hebrew word Rapha, which he described as a calm confidence in God. Being still became more attainable to me as he described peace coming from posture of Holy awareness, instead of what had been in my mind, which was being alone and finding long periods of time for God, which this job doesn’t always allow. Since then I have been able to find Rapha in some of the least still moments of the summer, by expanding on the scripture. During the many times when it feels like my patience is running low when I’m with campers who may require extra attention I remind myself to be still and know that God is God who provides patience and love. I don’t need to be all those things, because God is for me. And on the days when I get woken up by the radio in the night and don’t get the sleep I need to make it through the day I am reminded to be still and know that God is God who has energy and is the life in me. When I’ve had this posture I’ve seen myself being more full of what I should be empty of and more aware of God giving me what I need.

This summer I had the opportunity to lead a three day backpacking trip with seven campers, and two other staff. The morning we were leaving for the trip I woke up at 4am with every worst case scenario running through my head. Thunderstorms. Medical emergencies. Behavioral issues. No logic could solve the stress I was feeling. I had solved these problems when I was planning the trip earlier that summer; we had extra tarps, I have wilderness medical training, and I know how to deal with campers, yet I was still stressed. I was physically still in bed, but my mind was not still. As I laid in bed I knew what I needed wasn’t more backup plans, but rather the peace of Christ. That week as we hiked along the Long Trail I experienced God not just in the stillness of nature, but in the conversations and riddles that kept us hiking. As I led with a calm confidence in God I found myself knowing that He was there, and providing for each need of each person on that trip.

Flora “Gigi” Dewar

Staffing crises point to the Body of Christ

Greetings friends!  Been a while since you’ve heard from us via the blog.  That’s because in April, our Program Director, Courtney, fell ill and could not continue her duties!  Please pray for her health and healing.  Where did that leave us at camp?  Restructuring!  In terms of the summer camp leadership team, the restructuring seems to have worked.  We were able to shift leaders around and call Amber “Cheeks” Bergey back into service as Camp Director.  She is mentoring some newer leaders including the Day Camp Director and Resident Camp Director.  All are learning and growing and doing good work.

Come June, it started to feel like we were going to make it through the summer excelling and hosting the many campers as good as always.  As that feeling set in, a second crisis struck in the male counseling team.  We lost an assistant to a broken leg, another to a change in heart.  We lost a male counselor to anxiety and another to a concussion.  We are still down all four of those guys.  How could we go on?!

Many summer staffers talked with friends and one of those friends came to BBC for the first time and did a great job the first week of camp (and will be back twice this summer).  We reached out to other Mennonite Camps and uncovered two brothers who were trusted counselors and could give us a few weeks.  A long time counselor said he could return for a week or two.  Our facilities manager who used to counsel, said he could counsel as needed.  Things are starting to look up!  I was reminded of the “Body of Christ” and how together we can function as a cohesive community and in so doing Jesus would meet us and help meet our need for “daily bread” (in this case, having qualified counseling staff for each camper).  Keep an eye on our youtube channel this weekend for how we made the picture of a body at the top of this post.

Personally, this pair of crises stretched me and my family quite a bit.  I found early morning wake ups common, some tears in talking with God, and challenges at home as the kids got used to their nanny (so thankful for her and my strong wife, Cheeks, who is leading the program team in her third pregnancy!).

I find myself stretched, challenged, thankful and looking forward to uncovering who the next camp director will be.  If you know someone who would be a good fit, tell them of the opportunity to live and serve in the Green Mountains!

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

The BBC Engine

Just the other week my father took me to the Deleware bay to fish for tautog. (Don’t ask me what tautog look like… because we didn’t catch any). Unfortunately, our trip was cut short because of a problem with his boat’s engine. We ended up going through three sets of spark plugs throughout the trip and finally decided to head home in fear of being stranded without any more spark plugs! Sitting in the car during our three-hour drive home I thought about how prepared we were for this trip (boat, rods, tackle, bait, etc) and yet the trip was derailed by a faulty engine.

I think summer camp is quite similar. All year long I work hard to prepare campers for an amazing week of camp. I plan fun games, create great schedules, research new activities, etc. And yet, without an “engine” all of that work is totally useless. At camp, our engine is our staff and volunteers: Counselors, cooks, maintenance, shepherds, program, and more. Without these people, camp doesn’t work.

I wanted to share with you some opportunities to be our “engine” this summer. Below is a list of available positions. All of these positions provide real opportunities to love campers, serve God, and grow in life experiences. If you know young adults who would benefit from a summer working at camp please share with them about BBC! This link is a great place to find more information about each of the available jobs.

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We are also working to hire more assistant counselors than ever before! These positions provide older high school students a chance to grow, mature, learn about working with kids, and learn about God. It also makes a great statement on college applications!

Lastly, if you are looking for a way to serve this summer but are only able to work one week, please check out these volunteer opportunities: Shepherd, Nurse, Kitchen, or Maintenance. If you have any questions about these volunteer opportunities, please email Amber at amber@bethanybirches.org

“During my summer at Bethany Birches, I made close friends, I got to know myself better, and most importantly, I got to know God better.”
~ Scoop

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you up on the hill this summer!

Dan “Chick” Laubach- Program Director

Awesome Friends

Awesome Friends

Summer Staff Preview: Benji is Back!

For the third straight summer Benji will be behind the camp camera! If you’ve seen any BBC Videos over the past 2 summers you know we are fortunate to have her back. Since last summer she’s spent a semester in LA, taken plenty of selfies, graduated from Gordon College and is still psyched to be back at camp. Read on for more details on why she’s glad to be here and why you should come join her!

“Rahn (aka Benji) is BACK for a third summer! I am SO excited for…everything! Building fires, playing games, swimming in the pond, eating baked oatmeal, hanging out with cabins, and making videos! Oh, and avoiding the mudpit 🙂 I’m also excited to learn more about God (God is everywhere here!), and share about God with all the campers. Speaking of campers…I am most excited for campers to get here!! Camp is waaaay more fun when you guys are here- three weeks can’t go by fast enough!”

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Staff Sneak Peak: Introducing DAN as Interim Program Director

For the first time in a decade someone other than Cheeks will hold the role of BBC Program Director. While Cheeks is learning how to take care of a newborn, Dan will be leading the BBC Summer Program. Both people are excited for the summer ahead of them. Read on to find out more about Dan and why he’s excited to be at BBC this summer:

“The Lord’s hand was clear in guiding me to this place. After spending months looking for jobs at a camp, the Lord brought me on a trip from Pennsylvania to Virginia where I heard about this job in Vermont. I’ve been on site for just a few days now and have already fallen in love with the camp; the rustic atmosphere, my loving and godly co-workers, and of course the gaga pit! I’ve already sat down with Cheeks and done some major planning for this summer, and let me say, it’s going to be AWESOME! I’m so excited to present some amazing new games and activities that I’ve learned at my other camps, while bringing back some classic BBC camp games!”

Dan has a host of experience in camping. He spent the last 6+ summers working at camps and he grew up at camp. He recently graduated from Cairn University with a double major in Bible and Music Education. He’s been at BBC since Wednesday and already he’s seen most of camp, eaten at Ramunto’s and played games with Nanuk. COME JOIN US on the hill this summer to meet him in person and find out his camp name!

Dan Laubach as Interim PD for 2015

Dan Laubach as Interim PD for 2015

Cheeks is Pregnant!

Yes, it’s true. Her due date is June 26. We’re posting here to make sure the whole Bethany Birches family knows this exciting news.  This will be our (Tuna and Cheeks) first child.  We were so busy with camp for many years that we didn’t consider children.  One day, Cheeks turns to me (Tuna) and says by the time I’m 30, I want to know if we’re going to have children. I said OK.  30 came and went.  So did 31.  By the time we were 32 we were ready for a child.  And in our 33rd year, we will have a baby, Lord willing.  It’s amazing how God works in our hearts and adjusts our perspectives over time.

As you know, June, July and August are the three busiest months of the year here at camp.  Probably not the ideal time to welcome a new person into the world.  But, we are.  And we are thankful for the opportunity to have a child.  So the camp started looking for an interim program director since Amber will not be able to do her job this summer.  We offered the position to Dan Laubach and he accepted.

The full story on staffing at camp, in case you’re wondering:

  • I (Tuna) will continue to be the Executive Director
  • Cheeks may or may not return to her post as Program Director (she is allowed a little more time to decide that)
  • Dan, the interim Program Director, is committed through October at least.
  • Many of the summer staff are returning from prior years.

If you’re at camp this summer, you will recognize many of us from past summers.  And you might even see baby Tunacheeks!

Hope to see you at camp soon!

Tuna

(aka Brandon)

 

 

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