Family Camp

     We had the opportunity to attend a family camp put on by our local ministry partners' church.  We thought it would be a good way to connect with them more deeply, connect with others from the church (which has "sent" us to Spring Village) and to have some time as a family.  While it was a very busy week with little free time, it was really refreshing to not be in charge of anything all week- a rarity in our lives!

The roads leading to the camp were almost unpassible!

     We lived in yurts (pictured in background), and each day was filled with seminars for adults, lessons for kids, and activities where kids and adults all worked together.  This is not something we see very often in the culture here, so it was very encouraging for our hearts.

One of the early morning activities was putting Bible verses together in teams.

We ate in this dining hall.  

 

Our kids are so cute how much they love camp food!

     Here's an example of a meal.  (I think we probably had soup, too)

Everyone took turns cleaning up after meals.

 

     There were several meetings each day, with the topic of raising and disciplining kids.  Something that struck me is that what happens 100 years before a child is born impacts them.  The things we implement now will impact future generations.  

 

The kids enjoyed their program and performed different skits and songs for us.

I loved how our kids didn't know many people there, but they jumped right in and had fun!

 

The kids were all a part of making this fun wall with jar candles.

It made a cool backdrop for photos later.

Singing songs of praise to God!  

Nailing worries to the cross.

 

Ike's broken arm didn't slow him a bit!

  

     It was cold all week, so we had to stay bundled.  It was a bit tricky to always fit his arm into the sleeve!

 One day we had a sand-city-making contest

 Ta-da!

 The kids had a snack time each day.

 There was a fun obstacle course in the woods.

     The Dads took the kids on a "hike" one afternoon with special father-kid activities to free the ladies had a meeting.  The fact that the fathers took responsibility for the kids was a big deal for the locals and an encouragement to many moms.

      One day we had a series of challenges to accomplish as teams.  In this one, we had to fit everyone on the board without falling off.

 Preparing for round 2 of getting onto the board.

 The ball had to go into the center indent by just lifting the edges with ropes.

 

Our whole team had to go through a different hole each, without touching any strings.

 

 

 The kids went through the top holes.

     On the last morning, we had time to spend with God alone.  I could see that many moms with young children were pretty tired by this point.  I stole this baby away to join me in my time with God on the beach.  

 We had a bonfire on the beach the last evening with a special program.

 On Sunday before we left there was a baptism for new believers!

 

This was my favorite part.

 

     This week was a special opportunity for our family and we are very grateful for it.  Later on, we learned that many people there were looking at our family as role models, which is a bit scary to think about!  We definitely have much to learn as parents and appreciate any chances we have to learn and grow.