Hiatus? - Sunday, July 24th

01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01000010 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000001 01000011 01001011 00100001!!! Philbot here.

I owe you an apology.

Last week I had the week off and I didn't let you know I was going to be gone!

I am very sorry.

Last week I had the chance to visit my family in Milwaukee for the whole week, and I took it! While I had a great time, never fear - I was delighted to get back to Camp and even more delighted to start talking to you again. I promise I won't leave again - at least until the summer is over, anyway. Can you believe there are only 3.5 weeks left of Camp Phillip programs this summer?! WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?!?!

Yesterday kickstarted another big week at Camp - Sonshine 4 and Pee Wee 2! It's hot and Camp is busting at the seams, but that's the way we like things around here. There are about 130 children here this week! WHOO HOO!

Last night we all enjoyed a hilarious campfire in which Matthew and Bretty got their acceptance letter to go to Camp Phillip - and as they readied to leave, ridiculous things happened. Like what? THEY RAN INTO ROBOTICKS ON THE MOON! (Roboticks?! Oh... robotics?! I get it...)

Our passage for yesterday comes from Matthew 4:10, in the section where Jesus was being tempted by the devil in the desert:

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

Camp is a great opportunity for people to grow closer to God. This doesn't occur because Jesus is more present here than He is anywhere else in the world, but because being surrounded by so many other people who want to love and praise Jesus with you is a highly encouraging thing. We might not necessarily be tempted to worship the devil at Camp, but there are plenty of things we may be tempted to place in front of God. We might want to put our pride, our desires, money, athletic ability, popularity, or career success in front of God at any point in our life. However, in this passage Jesus tells us to worship the Lord YOUR God and to serve Him only. He is the most important thing in our lives. It is vital to grow close to Him in faith. And He died and rose because He loves us so so so so SO very much!

Whether you are at Camp this week or if you are somewhere else in this wide world, be reminded that Jesus is the loving, living, Savior-King that we worship - God above all and God alone!

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Worm - Thursday, July 14th

CHECK IT OUT!

John German and his awesome catch!

Can you believe the size of that FISH?! I don't think I ever want to go swimming in the Upper Whiteriver Millpond if there are small SHARKS swimming in there! Well, that's not true... I love our dear little lake, and that's not a baby shark, it's just a Northern. But still! It is pretty darn impressive that the guys in fishing specialty caught such a HUGE fish!

Every morning this week, cabin 12 - led by counselor Kevin Worm (appropriate last name, no?) and junior counselor Brady Troeller - has gotten up at the crack of dawn to go fishing for two hours before breakfast! To make up for their missed sleep, this cabin gets to sleep from 10-12 every morning. They have learned different fishing techniques, what bait works best, and just got to spend time on the lake putting their skills into practice. Most of the fish in the Upper Whiteriver Millpond are pretty small - bluegills and such - but whatever larger fish that were caught during the week are going to be eaten on Friday when the fishing guys have a fish fillet party! I personally can't eat fish, being a robot and all - but the guys caught a ton of fish, so they should have a pretty big feast tomorrow!

Thursday's passage is:

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

John 3:8

Can you feel the wind? Yes, of course. But... what really is wind? Can you describe it? Can you fully understand it? Not at all! This is what the passage in John is attempting to express - the Holy Spirit is perhaps the most mysterious member of the Trinity, and while we cannot describe Him in the slightest, we know He is there because we can feel Him. We can see His work. We can see the fruits of faith that come from His residence in human hearts. And He says in the blessing of God's Word that He is who He is - "I AM who I AM" (Exodus 3:14) - and that "I AM" is an all-powerful, loving God that we can trust.

Do these campers REEALLY have to leave tomorrow? All 103 of them are such fun!

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Volleyball! Awesome! - Wednesday, July 13th

This week has been jam-packed and CRAZY! The two other specialties we are focusing on today are volleyball and awesome hour - which have been completely intense this week!

First of all, volleyball specialty is being led by the multi-talented Sy Vanissaveth, volleyball extraordinaire. Cabin 7, led by counselor Erin Scharenbroch and junior counselor Maria Schlect, as well as Cabin 3, led by counselor Keely Keese and junior counselor Valerie Lumsden, meet every morning for two hours and practice bumps, sets, and spikes! This week they have learned about proper stretching techniques and developed their playing skills through round-robin drills and fun practice games. Every time I squeak my way over to the courts, everyone seems to be smiling and having a wonderful time! The weather has been fabulous for volleyball specialty - and the people have been fabulous as well!

Set that ball!

Stretching is a smart way to avoid injury

Also, Awesome Hour specialty has been, well - AWESOME! Counselor Kristen Carow and junior counselor Katherine Van Alstine of cabin 6B along with counselor Matt Werner and junior counselor Alex Vanissaveth of cabin 10 have led their campers in some wild activities this week, including (but not limited to) egg tosses, music video-making, dumping food on each other from the tree deck, and even possibly taking part in a flash mob (this is a neat one of the Hallelujah Chorus). Come to the closing program where awesome hour specialty will show off some of the crazy stunts they did this week! It has been exciting to see what awesome thing they will do next!

Wednesday's passage is from I Timothy 1:12:

 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service.

Jesus is just great. So many times in our lives we try and do things all by ourselves - we try and save money for a car by ourselves, we try to make a relationship grow stronger by ourselves, or we try and face grief or problems by ourselves. When we go at the world with our fists up but without God's counsel, we will ultimately fail. We cannot do anything by ourselves - for it is Christ Jesus our Lord who gives us the strength to face each new day's trials and struggles! He loves us deeply. Unconditionally. And unfailingly! More than that, (if that's possible) to those who have the Holy Spirit in their heart, He has given a commission to tell others about Jesus and the saving message of the Gospel. His service is all we live for - and that is more than enough!

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A-list - Tuesday, July 12th

Specialties have been extra-busy this week! Two cabins I am going to focus on today are our "A-list" specialties - Art specialty and Archery specialty!

Art specialty is led by the amazing adult volunteer Rena! And they have been getting into all kinds of crafts. The first thing they did was embellish Camp t-shirts with felt, embroidery, and I think I even saw a little bit of puffy paint in there! Counselor Emily Sebald and junior counselor Ashley Stellmacher (who is quite crafty herself!) encourage their campers to add color to everything, be in on a canvas or in their own lives. There's also one boy in art specialty from cabin 10! Whoo hoo!

Rena and Ashley Hard at Work

Our other "A-list" specialty is archery specialty. Cabin 5, led by counselor Kate Zabrowski and junior counselor Megan Voss, and cabin 11, led by counselor Adam Cox and junior counselor Greg Strommen, team up every morning for two hours and learn all there is to learn from the knowledgeable Sarah Sherod about the art of shooting arrows. By now they are getting quite good at it, but there's more in store for them then just shooting arrows all day - rumors are going around that archery specialty will be making their own quivers later in the week in addition to shooting arrows through flaming hoops at night! Parents, get ready for to deal with your own little Robin Hoods when they come home on Saturday...

Our passage for today comes from I Corinthians 12:9 and says,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

 Even though we all go through problems and trials in our lives, God tells us His grace is sufficient for us. We, with our flawed and limited human judgment, may think that God should do x, y, and z in our lives, just as we see fit - then we'll be happy in this life, right? Wrong. Whereas we can only see the here and now, God has a clear view of our hereafter - and it's being spent with Him in heaven. His plans and thoughts are so much higher than our plans and thoughts, and His grace can get us through anything! We may think we need something more than God, but God is enough for us. Always. When we realize this fact, we can more easily rejoice in our difficulties because we can see that God is only strengthening our faith through the adversities we face in life.

THE BERRIES ARE GETTING CLOSER TO BEING RIPE!

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The Massacre - Monday, July 11th

Laurrine Lightning. Got. Killed.

Evening games are always a pretty intense activity at Camp Phillip, but Monday night's game far surpassed the usual intensity level we see around these parts.

Paul Ball, short for Paul Bunyan's Basketball, is a game routinely played at Camp Phillip. It is played exactly like basketball, except the ball used is GIGANTIC! In Triad Paul Ball, there are three teams competing in a triangle-like fashion. Each team can only score in one hoop and only needs to defend their own hoop. With the large number of campers here this week, this matchup was looking promising. The teams were the Brason Brawlers (dressed in blue), the Rojo Rambos (green and black) and Laurrine Lightning (yellow and white). We were set to play in the disc golf fields by Malachi (a big tree by a campfire pit we often use in the evenings). We had three large inflatable hoops set up. Kids were getting pumped. Face paint was involved.

Then.

Well...

Once the dust settled, there was no contest as to who was the winner. The Rojo Rambos had scored 135 points. The Brason Brawlers had scored 90. And Laurrine Lightning?
23 points.
WOW!
Even though there was a huge discrepancy in the points, the fighting was fierce and the game was great - it was exactly what an evening game should be!

Our passage for Monday comes from Isaiah 30:21:

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Even though we may get slaughtered on the Paul Ball court and not know which way to turn, it is hugely helpful to note that God is always with us. He guides us in everything we do and when we get frustrated about what course we should take in life, He is always there, ready and waiting with answers to all our troubles! This passage doesn't mean that you'll hear an actual metaphysical voice in your ear, but instead that God will guide us, even when we don't know where to turn.

Maybe we'll have a Triad Paul Ball re-match?! LAURRINE LIGHTNING WILL PREVAIL SOMEDAY!!

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SONSHINE 2/SPECIALTY 2! THEY'RE HERE! - Sunday, July 10th

THEY ARE HERE!!! As the SALT staff bid adieu to their parents after church, Sonshine 2 campers started rolling in right on time. After some controlled chaos during registration, all the campers were settled in and the fun of this week could begin! Every week starts with a run-through of some ground rules pertaining to how Camp operates. We call them the GOSPEL rules and they stand for:

G = God! Respect God, glorify God, pray to God, trust God, and keep God as the center of everything we do, both here at Camp and in the "real" world
O = Others! Respect your fellow cabin mates, counselors, and program staff no matter what! Not only does God command us to love our neighbor, respecting others will make the whole week run smoothly.
S = Self! Respect yourself! Practice good hygiene habits, don't compromise your beliefs, and most importantly remember that you are a redeemed, beloved child of God - so don't worry! Live in His love.
P = Property! Respect the property here at Camp. We want to keep our grounds and buildings in the best condition possible, so don't write on the walls. Or burn the buildings down. Thanks.
E = Equipment! We use many different kinds of equipment here at Camp, from zoogles to tether balls to mattresses - be gentle! If something breaks, let us know so we can fix it. We won't be mad!
L = Life. Respect life here at Camp and everywhere! Don't pick the grass, only kill mean bugs like mosquitoes (which have been awful here lately), and remember that God made all things!

Knowing these rules from the get-go allows us all to have a much less stressful week. There's a great mix of fun going on in addition to the regular Sonshine cabins; this week we also have Archery, Fishing, Art, Volleyball, and Awesome Hour specialty cabins! Like the last week we had specialties, this week I will be highlighting different cabins and giving you a closer look into their activities.

The passage for Sunday comes from Acts 17:26-28:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 

How did you get to where you are today? I'm not just talking about how you arrived at Camp today to drop off your camper, or how you got to work, but what events in your life led you to the situation you find yourself in today? How did you get here socially? How did you get the job you hold? How do you know the people you know? God has a plan for every single person's life. EVERY SINGLE ONE of us! I say that frequently, but... think about it. There are a TON of people in this world. Yet God cares enough about all of us blighted creatures that He carefully orchestrates the grand spiderweb of the world just so to fit His will - and He has placed you where you are today for a reason. God has given you people to tell about Jesus. God has given you skills and abilities to do jobs here. He has set you in your current location so incredibly precisely! In Him we do all things - and today, I challenge you to look at where you are and do all things to glorify Him. Rejoice in whatever situation you find yourself in because He has a plan, and we are His children!!

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SALT Parent's Weekend - Saturday, July 9th

Hooray! The parents came to visit! After all the campers left on Saturday, Camp started filling up once again, this time with the parents of the full-summer staff here. We call the full-summer staff SALT staff, which stands for Summer Adult Leadership Team, and also alludes to the places in the Bible where Jesus calls us Christians the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).

Since the SALT staff gets very little time off, everyone appreciated the opportunity to spend some quality time with their families - and the chance to meet everyone else's families! The parents braved the challenge course, devoured some great burgers, played Red Dawn, and enjoyed a campfire in the evening as well.  What a wonderful weekend! We are all blessed to have some really amazing people caring about us  - thank you Lord for parents!

Hopefully you enjoyed your weekend as well - and now, here at Camp Phillip, we're excited and refreshed by familial fellowship, and totally enthused about the full week ahead.

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