Another great week just concluded this afternoon. Only a few short hours ago the qrok Tower was pumping out tunes, and campers were running around in the summer sun after finishing our last meal together. It was an incredible week filled with so many great stories and memories. It’s hard to say good-bye at the end of  a week… but I have to say one of my favorite parts of a last day is being in Q-Town one last time and watching all our campers give one last giant “cabin hug” to their counselor and all their cabin-mates. To those who have been campers – do you remember those hugs?

What makes Qwanoes so special? There are too many things to count! But I can tell you a few things that made this last week so special!

We just love kids! And Qwanoes is built from the ground up for kids to experience an unforgettable life-changing week.

Last week was filled with life-lasting and life-changing friendship! Something very special happens in a week at Qwaneos. A certain bond that’s hard to describe… but even harder to forget. Campers experience real love and acceptance by people who really care, all in a safe place where kids can be kids!

Last week was filled with adventure! From wakeboarding and archery to mountain boarding and the Sky-Scraper… there’s over 75 activity options that were in full swing. Crazy games, and great music, wild action and pure fun… and this all happens in a spectacular setting – the West Coast of Canada! There is nothing quite like it.

It is so quiet now as I hear the wind whistling through the trees and really nothing else… but soon, yes very soon those buses and cars will come rolling in again, and the sounds of kids having fun at camp will be all over from the front gate down to the waterfront as campers challenge the swimming test. We can’t wait!

It’s always an adventure walking out onto the main field at Qwanoes during activity time! You never know who you might run into and what campers are up to…but one thing is for sure, Juniors Campers know how to have fun!

Today I came upon a group of campers all mesmerized by one of our summer staff strumming on his guitar and teaching how to play. The camp counselor would show a few chords and then all the campers would try together… it was so cool to watch the kids learning and trying new things. One of the campers yelled out, “I think I have it!” It was quite fun to watch the camper strum one chord over and over and then after a few successful attempts spontaneously break out in a rock star performance for the whole group to laugh and play along.

Off in the distance across the field I can see a big game of Ricochet going on! Ricochet is our newest addition to our land activities and it is extremely popular with our campers. As I walked up I saw scrambling, cheering and some healthy competition happening amongst a group of boy campers. One camper told me that this is the “BEST GAME AT QWANOES!” I asked a camper what the basics were of the game and he gave me the gist: “Well, it’s like dodgeball but way more fun and there is only one ball, you can’t double touch, and you have to always hit it with your hand, I love it! I have played like a million times!” Maybe next time I’ll have to jump in and see how long I last… but by the looks of these campers skills I wouldn’t last very long! I asked one boy on the side what he was learning this week in Q-Town and this is what Adam had to say: ” I am learning about how God loves me and really cares no matter what. That God will forgive us even if we do bad stuff.” That’s some pretty big things to be learning… and the neat thing about camp is that you can learn about God while having a blast playing Ricohet!

Whoa!!!! Who is sneaking up behind me? It’s some girl campers coming back from the beach! Emma, Kaitlyn, Madison, Mikela, Agusta, and Jayden just to name a few. “So what were you girls up to? It looks like fun at the beach!” It was hard to capture all they were saying, as they were all talking at once, but I heard: “The blob! I fell off the Rocket! So amazing! Tons of fun! I went on the Aqua Park the whole time!” One girl made me chuckle as she looked up at me after all of her friends were done and said with a straight face: “There are no words to describe the fun I just had.”

Oh Summer at Qwanoes… it truly is life like no other! That was just 10 minutes of my day…it is incredible to think about all that happens in the life of a camper in just 6 days and 7 nights.

On Sunday we had our first full day of summer camp 2011! Many campers had been waiting months and months to finally roll into Qwanoes. It was so fun to see kids come barreling out of cars and buses with big smiles and anticipation in their eyes for an amazing week. The Squirrel was back in the qrok tower pumping out the summer tunes… and just like that, it was summer at Qwanoes with everything rolling once again! It has been a long time since last summer… but many have said it’s like the campers never left. It is just so natural to have kids here! The laughter, the Qwanoes “GONG,” campers in the cabins, chasing their counselor, eating on the Sky Deck, singing in Q-Town, playing carpetball, and the list goes on!

I was just down at the waterfront and boy is that the place to be! “Castaway Castle” is all connected to “Pirates Pyramid” and you can walk the multiple planks to both towers and even make it over to the floating trampolines… of course only if you have good balance and can make it past others. Many do make it all the way around, but often there is lots of laughter and fun as someone loses their balance and “SPLASH!!” right into the nice refreshing water.

I ran into a big group of friends on the “Super Totter” rocking back and forth and holding on with all their strength. I yelled over and asked their names and got to know a little of how their day had been going so far. I met a few of the boys as they shouted back their names – Ben, Brandon, Alan, Zack and Graham. Here’s what a few of them had to say: “I love the Aqua Park! I love riding on the Rocket, Ben fell off 3 times… it was soooo cool! Camp is so much fun! I love being here with my friends, my counselor is cool, it is so good to be back!!” It was Ben’s first time at camp, and he loved Q-Town and the Aqua Park the most… and then went on to say: “everything is just so AMAZING” and couldn’t choose what has favorite part was so far, which is always great to hear!

Down at the end of the dock I met 3 girl campers – Daryl, Laura and Katie. Daryl said she looks forward to camp every year and that she loves being back, loves the beach, but I was also really looking forward to the challenge course and making really close friends in my cabin. Katie went on to say: “I met Daryl last year at camp and we became really good friends, and now we are back this year together! And it’s Laura’s first time at camp, and I just met her in my cabin, and now all three of us are close friends!”

Randy Carter is the speaker this week, and WOW can this guy keep your attention with all his life stories. The kids just lean closer and closer to see what he is going to say next. We are all learning about how we can trust God no matter what.

So much ahead, so much in store! It’s going to be a great summer 2011!