Monthly Archive for June, 2007

Senior Camp 2007 Post Mortem

Posted June 30, 2007 at 9:23 pm // 0 Comments

After a good five and a half days of Senior Camp 2007 and a good few hours of Young Adult camp, I am finally home.

We had a great Senior Camp this year. Final tally was 104 campers and 38 staff for a total of 142. The campground we rent out has a capacity of 155. I was so happy to be given the opportunity to work Senior Camp — I got much more out of it as staff than I ever did as a camper.

What I was impressed with was how fluid the staff was in working together, and also working with the kids. Most of the kids, if not all, seemed to have something really positive to say about Camp.

I was also impressed with the kids’ spiritual maturity — on the final night during altar call, some of us staff weren’t feeling led to pray for any of the kids — instead we felt God saying it was their time to step out in faith and touch God for themselves. We as staff can only push them along so far until they have to step out on their own and they did an awesome job with that.

It was so good to see people I haven’t seen in five years. Seeing old friends I grew up with in camp and are now working it alongside me, is the biggest blessing I could have asked for.

I also loved meeting new people. New staff, new campers. The face of our camps is ever changing and we’re doing a great job adapting.

I’ll have photos, audio and video up ASAP.

UPDATE: Photos are now available in my Multimedia section. Click here to view them.

The photos were all shot by Debbie Parker and thus are used by her permission. Redistribution of the photos without Debbie’s permission is a copyright violation.

Out For The Week

Posted June 24, 2007 at 8:02 am // 0 Comments

Gone to Camp

Today is the big day. Excitement has been building for the largest event of the year in Washington State COGOP. Senior Camp 2007 is upon is in only five hours.

I’m heading out in a couple hours in order to be at the campground early at 1 PM. The registration starts at 3 but we have to get everything set up, that should be interesting.

At last count we had 85 campers registered (that’s up from last year already), and with 20+ staff it makes for a year of over 100 total again. I’m proud of my brothers and sisters here in Washington state showing up the other states in terms of camp size. For a region so small, we do really well and I attribute that to a wonderful staff year in and year out.

Pray for a safe trip for everyone across the state who will converge on Millersylvania State Park today. We want everyone to make it safely, and everyone to have a great time and be blessed of the Lord while we’re all down there.

I’ll be offline for a few days, so you won’t see any new posts until Saturday or so. In the meantime, God bless and keep me and the rest of the WACOGOP crew in your prayers.

Thanks!

My #1 Camp Memory Of All Time

Posted June 23, 2007 at 1:01 pm // 1 Comment

And the Countdown to Camp concludes with a great memory that will always stay with me no matter what. Memory #1 is just that — my first Camp ever.

Memory #1: Pee Wee Camp 1989

Who could ever forget their first Camp?

The first Camp I ever attended was in 1989, and I was only four years old. Pee Wee Camp was for ages 4-7 and it was held over the course of a weekend in between Senior and Junior Camp until the late 90s. It was a great time for the small fries to get out of the house for a weekend, enjoy the great outdoors and learn about God.

Surprisingly, this Pee Wee Camp is one of my earliest memories of my life and I remember it well. I can remember Dad driving me up to the campground in his old pickup truck, and us stopping at K-Mart in Chehalis for some toiletries.

I also remember that I wasn’t too bad off that weekend — I had my own Dad as my camp counselor. Karla Baker was the camp director, and I remember some of the other guys group leaders: Don Horton, Chuck Hyatt, Marty Emerson.

I remember the church services, in which we would sing really simple choruses about Jesus and then learn about Him (we’d sing songs such as “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart” and a personal favorite, “I Wanna Be Like You-ooo-ooo”, a take-off of the Jungle Book theme song).

My most vivid memory was us playing Roadrunner vs. Coyotes in the big field behind the lodge during the Saturday afternoon. Somehow I escaped all the Coyotes and won. I remember Dad chasing me and the other kids around, and it was a grand old time. Sprinting back and forth between the two ends of the field, trying to reach the trees and be called “safe.”

That first Pee Wee Camp for me was 18 years ago. I would end up attending Pee Wee, then Junior, then Senior Camp from 1989 until I left for the U.S. Air Force in 2002.

Here I am getting ready to work my first Senior Camp ever as a staff member in 2007. After a five-year hiatus that included extended stays in Portugal, Virginia, Texas and Iraq, I’ve come full circle, back home.

Back home, to work in the single greatest life-changing event of my life. It’ll be an emotional homecoming, I’m sure — the people have changed, but the place and the reason for us being there hasn’t.

And I want to do the best I can to ensure I pass along each of my treasured Camp experiences to everyone attending Senior Camp this year.

Countdown to Camp: Memories #3 and #2

Posted June 23, 2007 at 12:25 am // 0 Comments

As the list winds down, here are two more outstanding camp memories for me…short but sweet.

Memory #3: The Church Service, Junior Camp 1994

Junior Camp 1994 was an interesting year. Weather-wise, we broke all sorts of temperature records for the camp with it being over 100 degrees for three days.

The weather meant we had a bunch of campers and staff get sick. We prayed for them one day during the class session after lunch, and two of the staff members who had been laid up sick in the nurse’s cabin all day were perfectly fine come church that night.

Shane Pooler was the camp evangelist and that night at service, after we sang a few worship songs, he had Aaron Bear pray a prayer of thanks that the Lord had healed the group leaders (Aaron had laid hands on his group leader earlier and he had been healed, I think it was Jerry Becker).

Aaron was praying, and all of a sudden a couple staff members felt a wonderful move of the Holy Spirit and before you knew it we were all praying, campers were receiving salvation and the Spirit was moving freely. It was rambunctious, yes, but at the same time it was a wonderful spiritual experience for many of us.

The church services of the next two nights were great as well, but I remember that first night where Shane had Aaron pray as being one of my favorite church moments at Camp.

Memory #2: The Softball Game, Senior Camp 2001

We had only started holding an annual softball game in 1999, and it grew to include a full 10 players for either side in 2001.

I don’t remember too much about the early goings-on of the game, but I do know we were getting walloped 17-4 heading into the home half of the final inning. We got a few runners on base and slapped a few hits, and before you know it the score was 17-14 when I stepped up to the plate, thanks to Jason Weisenhaus and Kevin Seebeck hitting mammoth home runs with two men on.

With the bases loaded, I laced a triple down the right-field line that the right fielder had trouble picking up. The hit cleared the bases and tied the game at 17 apiece. I decided to break for home, but somehow the fielder had thrown a laser to Al Kenning at home. I knew I’d be out by a mile but I decided to try to take Al out and knock the ball loose.

He was waiting for me as I dove headfirst toward the base, and I didn’t even try to avoid contact with him. I crossed my arms and gave Al a big shove as I jumped across the plate, and he flew backwards. I think it was the hardest hit I’ve ever delivered on the sports field.

I missed the plate initially, but I looked over and saw that Al was writhing on the ground with presumably the wind knocked out of him…I thought he had still held on and I was out. Everyone on his team cheered and gave each other high-fives. Al took the glove off his left hand and let it fall to the ground, and tried to stand up.

I watched the glove fall to the ground. So did everyone else.

Nothing fell out of it. I reached back, slapped the plate, and the game was over — we had completed one of the craziest comebacks you’ve ever seen or heard of, with a 18-17 victory — we scored 14 runs in the final inning and 9 with two outs.

Joel Senior and Caleb Alexander found the ball later, about 15 feet behind the backstop. Seebeck told me that as I hit Al, he tumbled head over heels and the ball went flying out of his glove, over the backstop and partway to the bat barn.

As for Al, he would be okay.

Incredible. Best sports memory I have of camp. Bittersweet though, because of what I shared in an earlier post regarding Al.

Now stay tuned for tomorrow, when I share my #1 Camp memory of all time.

Three Options When August 31 Rolls Around

Posted June 22, 2007 at 12:42 pm // 0 Comments

On August 31, my apartment lease ends. Since I only signed a 6-month lease, it means my time in Hillsboro is over. Well, not really…there’s three options I have when it comes to my future living situation.

  • Move up to Vancouver and get a roommate.

    • This is the best option I can think of. I’m getting absolutely throttled by Oregon state taxes and I am more than willing to finally give up my 22-year-long status as a resident of this great state.

    However, I absolutely can’t afford to live by myself…it’s drained my resources down to almost nothing (yeah, my fault, I moved to expensive Hillsboro). If I did live by myself, I’d probably have to live somewhere in which half the residents don’t habla Ingles, or there’s some sort of consistent illegal activity going on. And I’m definitely not willing to move to a bad area just to save some money.

    Thus my only option is to get a roommate. With two people sharing the rent, obviously it’s going to make it a bit easier to live in a decent part of town. That being said, that’s what I am really aiming to do. I don’t want to leave the Portland metro area but I’m being forced out of Oregon by taxes, so I am going to try to enlist a roommate to live with me in Vancouver.

  • Move elsewhere in Washington state.

    • This is another option. I’ve explored the possibility of moving to Tacoma or Tri-Cities (probably Kennewick or Richland), where the living is a bit easier. Like I said, I’d be exempt from a hefty state tax, but I’d gladly pay a sales tax. Tacoma and Tri-Cities both have great COGOP churches I could get involved with, and I have a ton of friends in both places as well. I’d only do this option if my job opportunities in Portland fell through, though.

  • Move to Springfield, Missouri, as I originally intended.

    • This is an option that I definitely can’t rule out, as it was my original intention once I got out of the military. Now that my main reason for being here in Oregon fizzled out on me in the clutch like the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter of Game 7 in the 2000 Western Conference Finals, I’m open to this idea more and more.

    What makes Springfield so appealing is the job connections I could have over there, my family and some good friends living there, and the potential for helping out with a new multimedia ministry at Crimson House Ministries.

    I have nothing but good things to say about Crimson House — they’re the first COGOP I’ve seen who does it all right. Just from talking with their pastor, John Pace, he’s gotta be the guy I respect most in COGOP leadership. He’s got his head screwed on straight, he’s got a great vision for the church and ministry in the community, and he’s even detailed his vision and is working to get every single person in his church involved. The folks there are great too — I’ve only visited there four times and every time I’ve been there I felt like I was at my home church. They only run about 40-50 people per service, but their services are relevant and relational, not screaming and shouting at you for over an hour. The fact that they want to start up a multimedia ministry is very appealing to me as well.

    Obviously things here in the Northwest would have to completely fall through for me to move to Springfield in two months, but hey…over the next year or so, don’t rule out a surprise announcement from me that I’ve given up on the Northwest.

    Whatever direction my life takes, I pray it’s God’s will, not mine. I didn’t heed His call when I left the Air Force in November and he made me pay dearly for it.

    Rainier School District: Fire Michael Carter NOW!

    Posted June 21, 2007 at 10:58 am // 26 Comments

    I read an article on the Daily News website yesterday that I absolutely couldn’t believe. Having been a Rainier High School student from 1998-2002 and it being a relatively decent environment to attend school at (and I can only guess, to work at as well), it’s amazing to see how fast the morale there has deteriorated.

    And it has all happened during the reign of the Rainier School District Superintendent, Michael Carter.

    Let’s take a look at the past few months in the Rainier School District:

    A few months ago, Rainier disciplined — and the county indicted — a former teacher’s aide for having sex with a young student.

    Then shortly ago, Laurie Kash, who just happens to be Carter’s wife, was investigated by state police after students reported her kissing another student.

    From the Daily News article about a heated recent school board meeting:

    In recent months, drama teacher Laurie Kash — Carter’s wife — was investigated by the state police after students reported seeing her kissing a 17-year-old male student. Law enforcement declined to prosecute, but the district may forward the matter to the state Teacher Standards and Practices Commission.

    So as if teachers not being able to keep their hands to themselves isn’t enough, read the rest of the article:

    Several people present said concerns have been building throughout the school year. The matter came to a head Wednesday, though, when Superintendent Michael Carter abruptly placed long-time teacher and counselor Jay Davies on administrative leave.

    Davies said he spoke with Carter in person about a contentious situation, and Carter told him his proposed actions could be illegal and asked him to reconsider. Davies would not say what the disagreement was about. When Davies failed to change his stance Wednesday, he said Carter summoned him to the office and gave him a letter placing him on paid administrative leave for the rest of the year. Davies came out of retirement to mentor new counselors and said he now doesn’t expect he’ll be back next fall, though that had been discussed earlier in the year.

    Mr. Davies was one of my favorite teachers and one of the most honorable men I knew at Rainier High School. Him being placed on administrative leave didn’t sound right to me.

    I was, fortunately, tipped off as to why he was placed on leave, by a friend who showed me another Daily News article:

    Rainier School District Superintendent Michael Carter put a counselor on paid administrative leave because he did not invite Carter and his wife to a party, the counselor said Monday.

    Jay Davies, who was placed on leave Wednesday, said the disagreement between him and Carter had to do with a staff party to be held at Davies’ house this year. The party is an annual event and invitations were sent by a third party to all staff in grades 7-12 through the district e-mail. Carter’s wife, drama teacher Laurie Kash, received the e-mail.

    But, Davies said the party was not district-sponsored or district-funded, with teachers bringing food potluck style.

    As such, Davies said he felt it was his right to ask Carter and Kash not to attend. Davies said the staff tensions concerning Carter and the investigation into an allegation Kash kissed a student would have made the party uncomfortable for many employees.

    The article goes on to say that Mr. Davies asked the school board to reinstate him and them give a public apology. The school board hasn’t replied yet, and from the looks of it Mr. Davies won’t be back next year.

    Michael Carter’s never ending witch hunt against people who go against his personal agenda, whatever it is, has reached a boiling point and it’s frustrating the community, his peers, and those he works with. Even the RHS principal, Jeff Gilbert, said the “family-like atmosphere” among staff is being threatened by Carter himself.

    Carter’s strong arm tactics have affected more than a few staff, including former band teacher Nathan Parker who left the district after a disagreement with Carter. Now it’s hitting really hard with his unfair suspension of one of the district’s most beloved and longest-tenured teachers.

    Here’s my personal message to the Rainier School District, in the unlikely event anyone from there reads this:

    You must fire Michael Carter now. Your schools are suffering, your community is suffering, and it’s bringing negative press to the city of Rainier. How much longer are you going to let it continue???

    If I lived in Rainier still, I’d show up to the next school board meeting and initiate a no-confidence vote against Michael Carter.

    Please, someone, save the Rainier School District. Fire Carter NOW.

    Countdown to Camp: Memory #4

    Posted June 21, 2007 at 1:16 am // 0 Comments

    Tonight’s memory is short but sweet.

    Memory #4: Senior Camp 1999

    Senior Camp 1999 – the entire camp – stands out to me as the best camp I’ve ever attended. Many different reasons contribute to this…ranging from Aaron Bear and I becoming good friends, to finally being put in the same cabin as Joel Senior, and the church services being so timely and the Spirit moving in each one.

    It was also Rainier Camina’s last year directing Senior Camp, and he had carried on the theme from the previous year, “More Than Conquerors.” We had a guest speaker each night share with us how we can become conquerors through Christ’s power and grace. I remember the altars being packed with kids seeking God’s blessings and receiving them in a mighty way.

    SC99 was also huge in number — we had over 100 teens for one of the few times anyone can remember.

    Most of my friends from that era have moved on to other churches, other states and other stages of their lives, and I rarely hear from most of them. I think that’s what also helps to make me miss everyone from Senior Camp in that era so much…the fact I’ve lost touch with a bunch of my friends I grew up with.

    You can’t keep everyone around forever.

    Countdown to Camp: Memory #5

    Posted June 19, 2007 at 11:54 pm // 0 Comments

    Before I post tonight’s Camp memory, I’d like to say how saddened I am to hear the news of this morning’s tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina where nine firefighters died battling a huge blaze at a furniture store.

    Today while I was working at Apple we had a few firefighters from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue stop in and chat for awhile while looking at MacBooks. It was pretty neat to talk with them about their jobs and how close of a camaraderie the guys in the firehouse build up over time. They sounded kinda sad when we talked about the tragedy in Charleston, and they said it would be unimaginable to go through what the guys down there are going through.

    I thanked them for what they do to help us every day and wished them peace and safety in their line of work, and told them I’d be praying for them.

    Let’s hold our nation’s rescue workers and firefighters up in prayer, because they definitely do have a dangerous job…as evidenced this morning by what happened in Charleston.

    Now, onto the memory…

    Memory #5 – The Ultimate Camp Prank (Senior Camp 2002)

    My very last year of Senior Camp was one of the best shenanigans ever pulled at Camp. Caleb Alexander and I brought some miniature mirrors and a battery-powered strobe light, and with Joel Gibby’s (our group leader that year) blessing we headed down to the Bat Barn after church service on the very first night.

    We set up the mirrors everywhere…one on the far left side of the field, one on the right, two in the middle…and it looked crazy once we turned the strobe on. It looked like light was coming from everywhere. My brother Jason was in on the prank, and he started getting the kids in his cabin riled up by telling them there were people down by the bat barn and having them go out to look at the lights.

    Caleb and I hid in the trees and threw pinecones at kids who came out to investigate. Unfortunately (or, was it actually fortunately?), Al Kenning, who led the investigation, ran out into the field and started screaming at the top of his lungs, “INTRUDERS!!! SOMEONE CALL JOHNNY PARKER!!!” In no time, the deans, my uncle and aunt Johnny and Benita, would be on their way. We had to get everything done quickly so we had to change our plan — we couldn’t run into the bat barn and scare anyone. We had to scare everyone then and there.

    When the kids started heading back to their cabins, Caleb and I started mouthing off to some of them on the way back…we were still hiding in the trees and we started to whisper stuff like, “Hey kids, I’m the spirit of fear, you’ll never make it out alive” and “I am a spirit of doubt.” A bit over-the-top but it really riled them up. They ran, freaking out, and some of them crying, to their cabins and some of them were pleading the blood of Jesus over their lives and praying for safety on the way back. Joel Senior even got into the act, wailing and singing a crazy tune while hiding with us. Al joined us as well and had some fun, whooping it up and saying weird stuff about walking around with a samurai sword and calling the cops.

    For some reason we ran out of good names of spirits and Caleb looked at one kid and said “Hey, I’m the spirit of Nike. Just do it.” When the kid ran back to his cabin, he told the group leader he had been oppressed by the spirit of Nike. The group leader had some good laughs and threw a Nerf football into the trees, beaning me in the head and eliciting a big “OW!”

    We stepped out of the trees and got pelted with pinecones from all the kids. Johnny Parker came down to the cabins to a surprisingly calm setting, but after he was told what happened, Caleb and I got a good talking to.

    The next day, we won the Clean Cabin Award with a good bribe for Uncle Johnny…a nice big tub of Tootsie Rolls in the middle of the floor with a sign that said “JOHNNY PARKER IS THE MAN, AND BENITA IS BENITA-FUL.”

    Gotta love the Camp atmosphere.

    I’d like to dedicate the memory of this post to Al Kenning, who tragically died last November in a car accident in which alcohol was a factor. Miss you man, as crazy as you were.

    Countdown to Camp: Memory #6

    Posted June 18, 2007 at 10:08 pm // 0 Comments

    Today marks the beginning of crunch time. One week left until camp, one week left of major fasting and prayer, and one more week left of devotion and sermon preps.

    Yes it’s the toughest week for us camp workers, the week when we frantically rush to get everything done in preparation to make Camp go smoothly. It’s especially tough on our director, Shelly Symonds, who does a great job each year to make sure Senior Camp is well-enjoyed by all. Join me in keeping her and the rest of our staff in prayer for spiritual guidance and peace throughout this week.

    And join me also as I present memory #6. We’ve reminisced through a few sports games and revisited the memory of Kelso sending a bunch of kids to camp. Now it’s time for a little mischief.

    Memory #6: The (Highly “Illegal”) Pillow Fights, 1993-2000

    A few years ago, those of us male campers that were not too faint of heart participated in a long-running tradition that is one that was enjoyed by most who participated, but loathed by those in authoritative positions. After church would let out and the snack bar closed, the bell would ring and it would be time for all campers to head down to their cabins. Then the shenanigans would begin.

    The group leaders would be gathered outside by the campfire, thus allowing us kids to take over one cabin and turn it into an absolute war zone of hard hits and multiple injuries. Most, if not all, kids within the immediate cabin area ended up participating in one pillow fight a week, if not more. And some ended up taking home some souvenirs too…

    I call the Camp pillow fights of yesteryear illegal because the staff frowned upon us kids always holing up in a cabin and duking it out with our pillows for a solid half-hour — someone ALWAYS got hurt and they got hurt BAD.

    I remember the worst time was in Junior Camp ‘95, my friend Andrew always hid his candy he bought from the snack bar in his pillow, and forgot to take it out before the fight…I’ll leave the rest up to the imagination.

    My first year of Senior Camp was 1997 and I remember two guys throwing down their pillows and grabbing a mattress, bulldozing through everyone and spraining a couple kids’ ankles in the process. Then Don Blumenthal walked in the room and it was OVER.

    I do admit the pillow fights were fun. Who wouldn’t like bashing someone else over the head with a tightly packed apparatus of feathers or down? They were cool, but like I said someone always got a shiner or got the wind knocked out of them and someone always ran away gasping for breath or crying. Then again, that’s not so cool.

    After many years of camp pillow fights, Junior and Senior camp both began enforcing a strict “no pillow fight” policy in 2001 that created an atmosphere of relative peace and calm…and lo and behold, the camp nurse’s duties were cut in half throughout the course of the week. I worked Junior Camp in both ‘01 and ‘02 and there was nary a pillow fight to be partaken in.

    Kudos to the camp staff for enforcing a no-tolerance policy and ensuring the safety — and sanity — of all the campers from ‘01 on.

    Countdown To Camp: Memories #8 And #7

    Posted June 17, 2007 at 10:58 pm // 0 Comments

    Sorry I was unable to post Camp memories #8 and 7 last night, but I had a good excuse. A great one, in fact…I sold my iMac in favor of some extra cash and a MacBook Pro. This thing rocks…15″ screen, 1 GB of RAM and 100 GB of hard drive space. I love it.

    Anyway, on with the Camp memories…

    Memory #8 – The Volleyball Serve, Junior Camp 1994

    One of my favorite memories was Junior Camp 1994 — back in the early ’90s, all I can really remember about Camps was that they used to vote for a camp King and Queen (thank God they did away with that), and they had a sports competition each year in which someone would try to prove themselves the best in each competition.

    They had this one event called the volleyball serve where you had to stand a certain distance away and chuck volleyballs into a trash can…you got 10 chances, and five points for each throw you got in the trash can, and one for hitting it.

    Only thing I remember was me hitting four shots in a row (everyone else had a hard time hitting three), and I walked away the Camp Champ with 28.

    I don’t remember much else, but I do remember it well because I kept the blue ribbon they gave me until I inadvertently lost it during a move.

    Memory #7 – The Shot, Junior Camp 1995

    Another sports memory here. I apologize for my memoirs being laden with sports references, but you do have to admit that the Washington State COGOP has been known to have a few good sports matchups every now and then.

    One of them was our cabin of 10-year-olds going up against a cabin of the oldest Junior Campers, some of who had been harassing our guys all week. I had Lionel Bickham (who is now the children’s minister at New Horizons Church) as my group leader and he had done a great job of standing up for us all week, but we took on the “thugs” as we called them in a game of basketball without him knowing about it.

    We played street rules, and it was a game to 15, win by 2. Any shot inside the arc was 1 point and outside it was 2. We ended up getting knocked down a few times but I remember Aaron Bear and Nick Wilson hitting a bunch of shots, and us winning by four or five points. I think I even hit a couple shots. I shot from the hip in those days and was horrible at basketball, so I don’t think I contributed much, but we WON and that was all that mattered.

    I don’t remember the score, but either we had earned the older campers’ respect or they were so embarrassed that they lost to a bunch of small fries that they didn’t want to mess with us again. They were cool with us for the rest of the week of Camp.

    We never got picked on again after that, and I never dealt with any oppression from any older campers from that point on at any camp. Amazing how something as trivial as that can have such a profound effect on the future Camp experience.