It was great to be back at camp again! For LYC 2010, God directed us to Pennsylvania’s Raccoon Creek State Park, which served the needs of 78 campers, 37 staff, and eight mini-campers. After a one year layoff, everyone was thrilled to be back together again in a “set-camp” environment.
The activities were a real hit! Jason Forrestier taught the Archery class, and Jerry Ruddlesden taught Ultimate Frisbee. Deric Forrestier taught Life Roles for the boys and Christy McNair taught Life Roles for the girls. Sheldon Monson, assisted by Steve Olson, taught the Adventure class. After taking the preparation class, each dorm went on a hike and camp-out along the miles of trails in the state park. The hike was a great opportunity for the teens to experience the outdoors and develop confidence in unfamiliar surroundings. Naas DeJager taught Aquatics, which included a water safety component in addition to three canoeing classes. We had an excellent talent show, with singing, piano playing, and even a comedy routine. The Final Banquet was superb, and teens and staff alike danced with enthusiasm to a fresh mix of music provided by Robert Jones and Sherri Wimberly, who led our dance program. This mix included some songs submitted in our online challenge on the youth Web site—inviting young people to recommend songs based on appropriate guidelines.
Areas of Service
Phay Lloyd served as our nurse this year, and was a great help to the camp. Josh and Jenny Penman assisted in the office, as well as picking up many miscellaneous assignments. Yvonne Doyle supervised the laundry, always a big job! Christy McNair oversaw the food services area, which included providing the regular meals for the campers, orchestrating the “Table Topics and Dance” dinners, providing food for the hikers, and overseeing the final banquet. She was ably assisted by Madelaine DeJager, who handled the food and supplies purchasing, and by Lori Forrestier, who was our lead person in the kitchen. France Colon served as the Mini-Camper supervisor, helping our staff with small children at camp.
Education and Social Opportunities
In addition to the recreational activities, we had a wide variety of educational and social opportunities for the teens. Each day began with the Christian Living class, focusing on the “Seven Laws of Success.” As our basic resource, we used Mr. Richard Ames’ article, “Seven Keys to Godly Success.” On the Sabbath, we viewed a telecast by Mr. Meredith reviewing the laws.
Robert Jones and Sherri Wimberly taught the dance class. This prepared the teens for the “Table-Topics and Dance” evenings. This year, Christy McNair, assisted by Marj Marcinelli, coordinated the girls as they went all-out preparing. They created the theme and decorations, and prepared the whole meal, putting the “Hospitality” theme from their “Life Roles” class into action. On their part, the boys were given extra coaching in presenting Table Topics, assisted by Wallace Smith, and did an excellent job in leading the evening’s discussion.
Mr. Smith served as the master of ceremonies at the “Table Topics and Dance” evening, and at the talent show. He also taught the Speech class for both boys and girls, and did a wonderful job. He, Sheldon Monson and Jonathan McNair taught the Christian Living Classes, alternating between different audiences, including the staff, the campers and the adventure hikers.
The LYC program is a great way for teens to spend time with friends, learn new skills and learn how to live God’s way of life. The memories that we all built this year at summer camp were framed by warm hellos, and sad goodbyes. See you again next year!