Archive for the ‘Summer Staff’ Category

Staff (spritual) Saturday: Sonny

Are you guys ready?!?!

Campers of 2013; are you READY?!?!

I am! I am so thrilled to be coming back to camp, for the WHOLE summer!! Spending time in the beautiful mountains of VT, leaving the flatlands and humidity of Delaware. I am so ready to meet all you new campers and reconnect with the campers I met last summer! To be back in the woods, on the hill, in the tree house or the lake or the pavi; is more exciting than any of the plans little ol’ Delaware could offer. Why? -Because there is no place like camp.

Why do I love camp so much anyway? Why am I traveling all the way from Delaware, by train, for camp? I have been coming to camp for years! The thought of summer without camp, isn’t summer! Growing and learning about God, getting messy, singing, slip n’ sliding, and so much more! The atmosphere at Bethany Birches is acceptance and fun. Not making new friends is IMPOSSIBLE!! Coming to camp now as an Assistant Counselor (rather than intern) will be much more fun because I get to meet ALL of you!!

Don’t miss out on all the spectacular fun and silliness of camp this year!! I hope to see you there; I can’t wait to meet you!

-Sonny

Spiritual Saturday: Buoy is Excited for Camp

Dear campers,

I’m coming back to BBC and I am excited!!  I was unable to be at camp all summer last year and that has made me even more excited for group games, GAGA, the water trampoline, Wet n’Wild Wednesdays, the slip n’slide, cooking over a fire, and so much more. Fun is everywhere at camp!

Along with the fun I am looking forward to the serious relationships that camp builds. My hope is that I can grow the relationships that I have started already while creating new, meaningful, ones with all the campers I am going to meet for the first time this summer. I have learned so much in the last year and a half since I was last at camp and I can hardly wait to share what God has been doing in my life. I also look forward to all the things that you all as campers will teach me.

All of you campers should come back too because everyone at camp is important. That is another reason that I could not stay away from camp for another year. Everyone is welcome at camp. I have never been another place that was as welcoming/accepting as camp.

You should also come to camp this year because we have one of the coolest themes ever. Mission Possible! I think I have a little bit of a bias opinion because the theme relates to one of my favorite bible verses, Philippians 4:13 “for I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” You should come back to camp because we can do everything through Christ so who knows what might happen this summer. Whatever mission God give us is possible. The theme also makes me think of mission impossible one of my favorite games to play at camp.

Lastly I know I will not be alone there is a group of staff coming to camp that I am sure are great.  I have already started to ask that Christ give me the strength that it takes to play games and talk about God, so that we can make this summers’ mission possible. I’m excited to see all of your smiling faces at camp summer.

Buoy

Happy New Year from BBC

Happy New Year from Bethany Birches!

I (Cheeks) took a few minutes to reflect on the past year. 2012 was another year full of learning and challenge. The various challenges and uncertainty left a lot of room for God to work. As God moved and worked here on the hill I learned a lot about prayer. All summer long we tell campers to pray when they are in trouble, when they are thankful, before meals and any time they want to connect with their Creator. We teach them a variety of ways to pray. We encourage them to pray for each other. Staff pray for campers all throughout the year. And yet this topic has alluded me of late. But as I reflected on 2012 the resounding theme was ANSWERED PRAYER. I was so aware of God answering prayers consistently throughout the year. Read on for my recollection of the top 5 answered prayers of 2012:

Bobcat Campers enjoying the snow

1. SNOW for SNOW CAMP: The week before Bobcat snow camp there was a vital ingredient missing: SNOW! I called my mom and told her we had no snow on the ground for snow camp and asked her to please pray for SNOW. I started planning for a snowless snow camp while praying snow would come. We could see grass on Thursday afternoon, but by Friday afternoon the hill was covered and night time sledding was a blast! I don’t know if God changed the weather pattern specifically for a BBC Snow Camp, but I learned to trust more in God as the snow covered the ground.

Lynx snow-campers with Marlin and Guppy in the middle. (This was just before we got the bad news from the fire marshal.)

2. SHEPHERD for SNOW CAMP: Two weeks before the 2012 Lynx Snow Camp camp was shepherdless. Person after person turned down the offer to come teach Jr High campers about Jesus. One night after exhausting the last person I knew to call I prayed – “God who will shepherd these campers?” The next day Marlin and Guppy called up saying they wanted to make room in their life to drive 12 hours both ways from VA – VT to help at a snow camp – did I still have any needs? YES! Marlin and Guppy shepherded for Lynx Camp and a good time was had by all. I continue to learn that God will bring people to do God’s work.

3. FIRE MARSHAL RALLY: You may have heard the story of the cabin upgrades required by the fire marshal in March (If not, scroll back to earlier blog posts). The whole fiasco was so discouraging at times. And yet, in each discouraging scenario we prayed. Prayed for God to bring funds. Prayed for God to bring volunteers. Prayed for God to bring materials. And each time God answered. One time God answered with a generous donation from the First Congregational Church of Woodstock. Another time God answered with 2 of Tuna’s Aunt and Uncles coming for a week to do all the electrical work. Another time God answered with camper parents who were willing to volunteer their carpentry skills. Another time God answered prayer with a 10K check from an individual supporter. God answered each prayer and I learned to trust him for all my needs.

Summer 2012 Staff

4. STAFF SHORTAGE: Going into March there were only a few applicants to counsel for summer 2012! We had recruited at colleges. We invited past staff to return. I had sent out emails. And still, the applications did NOT come. Finally, I committed staffing to prayer. Every day I diligently prayed for young adults to be drawn to BBC. By the end of March we had an excess of male and female counseling applicants. God does not always answer prayer on a timeline that I’m comfortable with but I’m learning timelines are overrated!

MORE CAMPERS: We can only have camp if campers come. When it comes to camper attendance, “the more the merrier!” is always true. Since the end of Summer 2011 I had been feeling like camp should have more campers. At the beginning of 2012 I started praying for more campers. God, bring more campers to camp! And God did. One week God answered by having one camper family invite their entire basketball team. A worker at a social services agency used to attend BBC as a kid so she sent every camper she could. Word got out. BBC was the place to be this summer. Camp saw over a 12% increase in camper attendance during the summer of 2012. God brought more campers and through each one, more of himself.

Join me in praying for BBC in 2013. Don’t be surprised when God answers.

– Cheeks.

Boating on the ice!

We didn’t take the dock out until nearly thanksgiving! Here’s how that went:

Introducing: Kelsey Zimmerman (Camp name TBD)

Kelsey is new to Bethany Birches but NOT new to being at a camp! Read on to find out more:

I am so excited for camp to begin this summer! My name is Kelsey and I live in town called New Holland in Lancaster County, PA. I am a junior at Eastern University and am studying Early Childhood Education. I have never been to Bethany Birches before this summer, but I went to a similar camp near my home many times over the years. Camp has always been a wonderful experience for me and I am sure that this year at Bethany Birches will be just as great! I am very excited to get to know my fellow staff members and all of the campers that I will have the privilege of meeting this summer. I am still friends with many people that I have met at camp years ago and am looking forward to building new friendships like these. Some of my favorite memories have been made at camp and I know that many more will be made this summer. I can’t wait to begin all of the swimming, hiking, games and other fun adventures that this summer will be filled with! I am also very excited to have the opportunity to learn and grow in my relationship with the Lord alongside everyone at camp. Camp is always a great place to see the amazing ways that God is working in your life and discover new ways to get to know him.Being a camp counselor is something that I have always wanted to do since I was a young child and I feel very blessed to have the chance to do so this summer! I hope you will be able to join me and the rest of the Bethany Birches staff this summer!

See you soon!

Kelsey

Kelsey Zimmerman

Introducing Amelia DiSabito (camp name TBD)

After hearing from some of the returning counselors earlier this spring, I thought it’d be fun to introduce a few of the first time staff members joining us this summer:

Amelia DiSabito is originally from Vermont but currently attends college in Florida. She found out about BBC through her brother James and friend Daniel “Dapper Dan” Appelt. Read on for more about Amelia and what she’s looking forward to this summer:

Hey everyone!

Because this is my first summer at BBC  I don’t have tons of tales to tell about camp, except for the wild stories my younger brother (James) shared after he got home from one crazy week at BBC.  I can’t wait to let the games begin and see all the campers having a blast! I grew up on tag, capture the flag and kickball. I love to kayak, rock climb, walk around in the woods, and eat Spaghettios! After being away at school for the year I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to come home to the most beautiful place ever, Vermont! To spend a whole summer praising God for His wonderful creation is such a blessing. On top of that, I look forward to learning to serve those around me better and to love others with the same love that God has for us.  Hope to see you this summer!

Come meet Amelia this summer!

Welcome Amelia!

Counselor Quinzy is Returning!

Hey Guys!

Quinzy playing Messy Twister

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be coming back for this summer!  Between all the fun activities and just spending time getting to know the campers, camp is without a doubt, the best place to spend a summer.  Year after year I return to camp and it just gets better and better!  Meeting new campers and seeing the familiar faces of old campers is one of the most exciting things for me because I remember how much fun BBC was when I was your age.  Camp has something for everyone and people of all ages.  We play games, do arts and crafts, theater, and archery.  We also have an entire day dedicated to getting messy and an entire one dedicated to the water!  And that is just the beginning!

With all of the games and other things aside, the best experience at camp, hands down, is building a relationship with God.  Camp has always been a place where I could feel God and I’m hoping you guys will be able to feel him too here.   I hope those of you who have been here before continue to learn new things about God and Jesus and grow with them (as I do when I am there).   I also hope that people who have never heard about God or don’t know about the story of Jesus get to see how great our God truly is, and that everyone can see God’s love through others around them.

If you like eating delicious food over a campfire, singing and dancing, playing games, swimming in the pond, meeting awesome people, and just plain old being ridiculous, camp is for you.  The relationships you build here, with others and with God, will continue with you for the rest of your lives.

I hope to see you there!

-Quinzy

The Return of Sparkles!

Sparkles is coming back as Program Extraordinaire for summer 2012. Read on to find out why she’s returning and who/what she’s bringing with her!

Dear campers,

I’m coming back for another summer because I love camp!

Sparkles at the Coop Course

I love camp because it is a place where I found myself and felt accepted. It is a place that God opened himself to me in a way that I could feel. I love singing praise songs as much as I love singing silly songs.

When I first arrive at camp there is an anticipation of all the fun that’s going to happen: swimming, slip n slide, group games, crafts, sleeping out, and the list goes on and on. Along the way these amazing friendships begin to form. It is these relationships that last throughout the year and keep me coming back.

I keep returning to camp to have the chance to see old friends as well as create new ones. It’s a community of people that all work together. I cannot wait for this summer to meet many new faces and grow into a tightly knit opened armed extension of God’s love.

Some may remember the infamous Dew the Bear, well he is coming back too, and he is going to be bringing his friend Dew the Hippopotamus. I invite and encourage you to return to camp and bring a new friend as well! See Dew, meet his new friend and experience a piece of, in my opinion, the best place on earth.

See you this summer!
Sparkles

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