On the last day of camp, the kitchen workers presented Mr & Mrs Krueger with a gift of a new Vitamix which we know will be well used in preparing nutritious meals at HQ.
Since the unit hadn't actually been delivered yet we gave a card with our pictures and signatures and a picture of the unit the would be getting. Mrs Krueger was so delighted she went around and hugged everyone. It was truly our privilege to be able to assist with camp and learn some cooking techniques in the process!
The workers had a blast singing our PYC version of "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer. The original song is really positive and upbeat so we just adapted it to fit the PYC theme and encourage the campers as they go back home to "Seek perfection, Remember what you learnt at PYC!".
I Just got in from the Awards night. Here are the awards given for camp and the Teen Talent Contest.
Firstly Mr Malone was the toastmaster, having selected the best speeches from class. The speakers were:
Laurie Hochstetler - "Lessons from the Mac shack". Lessons from her first job at McDonalds
Jonathan Mansour - "How badly do you want it". 3 benefits from being coachable.
Austin Williams - "Loss in order to gain". About his experience last year when he missed camp due to an accident.
Bandi Davis - "Not just a hobby" How our talents can be used for the work.
Jessica Brandon - A lesson of Olympic Proportions Courage of athlete enduring through pain
Albert Clarke - "Space within space" Benefits of studying the universe.
It's amazing how the speakers were able to get up there in front of about 300 people and give excellent speeches with pertinent life lessons. Well done to each one of these campers.
Mr Turgeon then proceeded to give out the following awards:
Archery - Katie Schow, Justin Wainwright
Basketball - Dogan McKoy, Katie Smythe
Canoeing -Nick Irwin, Joella Tolis
Cycling - Lane Schultz, Rishanna Cheek
Flag football - Brandon Gray
Soccer - Joshua Miiler, Lori Hochstetler
Dance - Bradley Smithies, Ariana Eames
Softball - Dogan McCoy, Cheyenne Chaney
Swimming - Evan Fraser, Brianna Weeks
Volleyball - Steph Cocomise,
Water polo - Gavin Fraser, Rohanna Tracey
Speech - Austin Williams, Lori Hochstetler
Teen Talent Contest
Writing - 1st place: Aebra Hayes, 2nd Jesse Zoellner, 3rd Brandon Gray, Hon Mention: Caleb Heerma,
Writing - 1st Darby Carter, 2nd Caitlin Eames, 3rd Stephanie Cocomise, Hon Mention: Darby Carter
Art - 1st Melissa Barreiro, 2nd Jessica Brandon, 3rd Jessica Brandon
Art no first place - (no 1st place), 2nd Parish Turgeon, 3rd Elisha Lancaster
Photography - 1st Jennifer Hancock , 3rd Julia Goddard, 2nd Caleb Heerma, Hon Mention Jesse Zoellna,
Photography - 1st Bianca Wilson, 2nd Nancy Avalos, 3rd Jeff Dilbeck, Hon Mention Karleisha Lorenz,
Performing arts - 1st Alexa Turgeon, 2nd Brandy Davis, 3rd Callie Cocomise, Hon Mention Jessica Brandon,
Most Enthusiastic campers - Miguel Guillar, Catherine Bancroft
Most improved campers - Harvey Powell, Amanda Scott
Camper of the Dorm
Dorms 1 - Tolils, Cord Smedley
Dorms 2 - Cassie Verbout, warner
Dorms 3 Melissa Barreiro, Justin Wainwright
Dorms 4 - Rishanna Cheek, Zac Bush
Dorms 5 - Rachel Culpepper, Tyler verbout
Dorms 6 Lori Hochstetler, Albert clarke
Wow, this weekend was jammed full of activity for the final weekend of PYC. Friday we had a bunch of dorm songs which you can check out in the video section.
Some parents arrived on Friday, a few days early to stay a while and wait to pick up their campers who will leave on Tuesday. There were some happy camper reunions!
Mr Rumler, Regional Director has been visiting since the Track meet and gave a very stirring biblestudy with a bit of an unusual aspect of showing video clips from some of Mr Armstrong's sermon.
On the Sabbath morning we were witness to a very moving baptism of David Brandon, the eldest son of Mr & Mrs Roger and Leanne Brandon and Grandson of Mr Ron Fraser. Mr Brandon helped baptize his son and Mr Fraser performed the laying of hands. There were quite a few tears of rejoicing shed.
After the baptism the campers and some others enjoyed a hymn sing in the Field House with campers getting the opportunity to song-lead. Prior to this there was a short break when I was able to get group picture of each dorm. You can view these in album 17.
After the hymn sing we were all ready to enjoy the sabbath brunch. Volunteers from the congregation take on the kitchen duties to give the kitchen staff the Sabbath off. We feasted on delicious sweet-potato pancakes, zuchhini bread, eggs, beef patties and other tasty items.
The Sabbath continued with services in the Auditorium. Mr Brad Macdonald gave the sermonette, all the PYC campers performed special music and Mr Wayne Turgeon, Camp Director, gave the final sermon of PYC. As usual there was a lot of fellowship before and after services and I took the opportunity to get some pictures of the siblings and cousin campers - there are quite a few and it's suprisingly difficult to get them together! The ones I have so far are in album 18.
Mr & Mrs Nash invited a group of kitchen volunteers over to their home for cheese and wine after services. We had a very interesting time viewing their decor and we learnt a lot of details about the behind the scenes activities of the concerts and, the new feast site in Tampa, Florida. Mr Nash and I enjoyed reminiscing about the first time we met at PYC in England in 1995.
As I write, the All-Stars Basketball is taking place at the auditorium and those games will be the main activity of the final days of camp. Awards night is on Monday evening.
Well, what can I say to describe the awesomeness of the Jeremiah musical that was performed this evening! I think the fact that it was developed by our own people makes it just that much more special and seeing the campers perform so well, especially given the limited amount of practice time they had. It was just outstanding.
All the campers were involved in the production whether it was in the chorus or solo parts. The songs were inspiring, dramatic and melodic. I especially like "The Unstoppable Word". The musical alternated between narration and singing. Each girl/boy dorm performed in one act (chorus, solo, narrators). The rented backdrops reflected each scene well, along with the props which were made in house. Mr Ryan Malone composed the music and David Brandon did the lyrics, Paris Turgeon choreographed the Irish Dancers and Mr Turgeon was the Costumer, Brooke Davis and Paris Turgeon worked on the art designs, Mr Roger Brandon, David Brandon and Cecil Burks worked on constructing the scenes. Thanks to everyone else that helped in the production.
It truly was a wonderful performance and I cannot wait until you all get to see it. There will be another performance of it with professional singers during the ministerial conference on December 30. In the meantime you can get an idea from the photos in album 15 and this video of the finale courtesy of Mrs Hilliker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttBj7oPapK8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
As we get near the end of camp the dorms start to have their dorm songs ready as the deadline is this Friday. So expect to see quite a few more dorm songs this week. Here is 2B's effort.
This afternoon I took the time to visit the Jerusalem Exhibit in the foyer of the Auditorium.
When I arrived Shane Granger and Edwin Trebels and were just finishing a escorting a VIP visitor and his wife. Mr Trebels told me that the exhibition had had 38 visitors just today (including tour buses). The church has recently sent out 6000 mailshots to the local area which has borne fruit in increased visits to the Exhibit.
After the VIP visitors, I had the exhibition all to myself so browsed through leisurely asking Mr Trebels sundry questions about the locations shown on the maps and how they excavate and then reconstruct the artifacts found. It's quite inspiring to be talking to someone with firsthand knowledge of what a dig entails. Edwin was at the first dig in 2006 and had he role of photographing all the finds.
The exhibition is attractively laid out around the front part of the auditorium foyer. It fits in seemlessly with all the decor and you wouldn't believe that all the boxes, backboards and glass cases were built by students and staff from the church.
Above the exhibition there is a timeline which goes all the way around to the end with a narrative from the Exodus to 2010. As you go around information is displayed in a number of ways to keep you engaged - there are beautifully illustrated maps, an iPad encased in a frame with a custom-made app that gives you details of various areas of Jerusalem - just tap the screen to go to details of the area of interest and also video presentations on TV screens with a comfortable bench to sit on while watching.
iPad - tap yellow dots to get more details
It really was moving to go through and see the reality of these rare artifacts from the City of David that God has allowed all of us to view right in God's House. Also to know that we are continuing to dig and anticipate even greater finds. If you possibly can make it to HQ it's well worth the effort to get a first-hand view of a part of the work that we are all supporting. The Exhibit is open from Tuesday to Thursday 10am-5pm.
You can view more pictures in album 14. These are a small selection to give you an idea of what's in the exhibition.
A very successful Track Meet took place this evening. The weather was great - cooler temperatures and a breeze. This year the events were held by age group which gave more opportunities for the campers to participate. Check out the pictures in Album 13.
When I arrived Shane Granger and Edwin Trebels and were just finishing a escorting a VIP visitor and his wife. Mr Trebels told me that the exhibition had had 38 visitors just today (including tour buses). The church has recently sent out 6000 mailshots to the local area which has borne fruit in increased visits to the Exhibit. 
The exhibition is attractively laid out around the front part of the auditorium foyer. It fits in seemlessly with all the decor and you wouldn't believe that all the boxes, backboards and glass cases were built by students and staff from the church. 
Above the exhibition there is a timeline which goes all the way around to the end with a narrative from the Exodus to 2010. As you go around information is displayed in a number of ways to keep you engaged - there are beautifully illustrated maps, an iPad encased in a frame with a custom-made app that gives you details of various areas of Jerusalem - just tap the screen to go to details of the area of interest and also video presentations on TV screens with a comfortable bench to sit on while watching.
