Letter to the Intermediate One Campers

Dear Campers of Intermediate One,

Ahoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry I can’t stop using the pirate lingo…)

I hope you have enjoyed the rest of your summer. It feels like yesterday we were all at Camp together sweating, learning, and having a good time!

I know that you are getting ready to go back to school and I know that is an exciting and also scary time but I wanted to wish you well with your school year this year and that you learn a lot and enjoy it! I hope you plan to come to Camp again next summer and if you are in 4th or 5th grade, plan to come back to Intermediate One!

Looking back on the week we had so much fun together. I still can remember all the singing, campfires, water balloon fights, flour wars, and the magician, Chief Manatawny, Kangaroo Court, and Captain Arrrgabarrga's visit. We had a jam packed week and it was so much fun spending it with you.

As you go throughout your year, remember all of the things that we learned in our bible classes and talked about throughout the week. Remember our theme verse: "I can do all things through Christ because he gives me strength." Philippians 4:13.

Remember that we can all be Heroes for God!

Make sure to remember our themes from each day: True heroes know God is with them, God can make me a hero, True heroes do the right thing, True heroes reach out to Jesus, and True heroes share God's love.

Again, thank you for being apart of Intermediate One week at Camp Manatawny. I am really glad you came and spent the week with us. We are already planning for next year’s week and hope you will come be part of it!!

In Christ’s Love and Service,


Mr. Matt
Director: Intermediate One Week

2010: A Great Success!

The 2010 Intermediate One week was a wonderful week filled with lots of activites, lessons, and fun! Thanks to all the wonderful campers and their parents/guardians if letting us spend the week together. Thanks for all the staff for their hard work, dedication, and passion for this week of ministry. Make plans to join us again in 2011. Also, join our Facebook "fan" group!!!

Land Ho!!!!

The land of our destination is coming closer insight as we finish up our adventures on the sea!  In a little over 24-hours are adventures with the Pirates that  don't do anything will be complete!  We look forward to seeing all you land-lubbers as you come to the closing ceremony for Intermediate I at 10:00 a.m. in Garrett Hall on Saturday (tomorrow) morning.  The shipmates have done a great job with learning to be a hero to others as well as relying on the True Hero! 

Today's theme is True heroes share God's love, based on the Bible text from Acts 27:1-44.  The memory verse of the day is from Acts 1:8b, "You will be my witnesses...in every part of the world."  The captain and his officers have seen God's love and we have seen it being shared!  We thank you for giving us the opportunity to encourage and work with your children and grandchildren (our shipmates) this week.

We have another full day of activities scheduled for our last day. There have been opportunities for nature walks, horses, rifles, crafts, swimming, free time, great food, awesome Bible stories and religious skits and so many other creative and fun things this week!

The prayers for our Captain, crew and shipmates were definitely appreciated.

AAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

The adventures continue!!!

Thursday here at Intermediate I is filled with our regular activities, such as Bible classes and memory work, as well as all our special activities.  But this year, Thursday has a very special campfire planned.... if all goes according to the compass readings from the ship and we are on course, the campers will be visited by Chief Manatawny.   The campers will be able to witness the chief as he glides on the Manatawny Creek in his canoe during the campfire/devotion this evening.  SHHHH!!!  This is a surprise for our campers and it always a memorable campfire. Last evening, the shipmates and the crew were able to enjoy the performance of a talented magician!  There are more fun activities ahead, like flour wars and many more water interaction games that encourage team work, and sharing.

You can see how exciting it is to be a part of Intermediate I and the activities that are offered.  Thank you for your continued prayers as the week continue.  It won't be long until we will "dock" our crew!!!  We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday morning at 10:00 for our closing ceremonies.

Today's Theme is True heroes reach out to Jesus.  This is based on the Text in Matthew 14:22-33!  The memory verse for the day is from Jeremiah 29:13 "You will search for me.  And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me."

Yo, Ho, Ho!!!

Wednesday

It is amazing to say that we are half way through our adventures of learning how to be a Hero for God!  Tuesday's activities were a huge success and all of our shipmates have the sea-legs and are participating in all that this camp week has to offer.  Tuesday the campers learned that God can make them a hero, by having the power of God within.  The Bible story of the day was based on Judges 6:1 - 7:26 with the memory verse being 2Corinthians 12:9b.

Today the campers will be enjoying all the usual great experiences that Intermediate I has to offer, as well as a special guest this evening for entertainment.  There are  a lot of heroes growing this week and we are thankful for the prayers that you are saying for this camp session week.  The theme for Wednesday activities is "True heroes do the right thing."  This is based on Daniel 3:1-30 and the memory verse is Romans 12:2a.

Well, it's time for the campers to have some grub in the "gallos"  (breakfast- dining hall) and then "scrub the deck" (clean their cabins) before heading off to all the days activities. 

Thanks for stopping by!  More from the Captain and his crew this week.

Smooth sailin'

Welcome aboard all you landlubbers who are praying and following our journey through these daily updates!  The captain and all his shipmates are having an exciting journey seeing how True Heroes know God is with them all the time!  Memory work is a vital part of the crews daily "chores"!!!  They are eager to hear about being a Hero for God!

Monday's memory verse from Deut. 31:6b states: "The Lord your God will go with you.  He will not leave you or forget you.  The campers learned that they are never alone when they have God.  Later in the day there was plenty of activities for the shipmates to participate in, including crafts, horses, archery, rifles, religious skits, athletics and swimming. 

The mess hall is a huge hit as well as the port stop to the canteen mid-afternoon!  There continues to be plenty of water activities to keep the campers in tip-top shape to continue on this great adventure.  The evening event was a fun and wet activity called "Peacemakers", which is always a hit, followed by a fun time of singing and devotional thoughts at a camp fire. 

There are many other exciting adventures ahead for all the shipmates, so keep those prayers coming.

2010 update #1

The 2010 camp session is well under way! It's been hot, but that hasn't slowed down the fun and the activities for the campers and staff!! Every day there is another exciting event coming up to do and more bible applications to grow closer to God! Intermediate I arrrrrrggggghhhhh Mates..

Saturday we started with swimming and activities and had our first campfire.

Sunday we had a worship service and learned to focus our lives on the most important thing: Jesus. Afterwards we started our special activities with horses, crafts, rifles, archery, ropes course, hayride and water balloon volleyball. We had lots of swimming, water relays, and stayed cool and hydrated.

Today started "The Yo Ho Ho" show and the rotating Bible classes!

More updates and some pictures later on.....

Keep us in your prayers...the week is going great!!!

Parent/Guardian of Intermediate One Campers

This is a letter that you will receive Saturday but here is a digital copy as a reminder...

Thank you for entrusting your child to Camp Manatawny for the Intermediate One Session. Plans have been made to ensure that your child will have the best experience possible. We will have a lot of fun this week! Your child will make some memories by participating in the normal camp activities such as swimming, archery, crafts, horseback riding, and a hayride. Special fun activities include: flour wars, water balloon battles, a water slide, and the water game “Peace Keeper!” One new addition to the week will be a daily service project that will go with our Bible program.

There are also some “tender moments” that will serve as part of the memories your child will make this week. These memories may come from a personal interaction with his/her counselor or another staff member, gaining confidence by trying something new, successfully learning daily memory work. The Bible theme, “Calling All Heroes”, will provide for some eternal significant memories for your child. So, as you can see, this promises to be a special week for your child.

As a parent, there are some things that you can do to help your child have the best week possible at Camp. One of the most frequently occurring problems with this age group is the matter of homesickness. Let me offer some suggestions to help prevent this problem.

First, please do not call your child on the telephone or instruct your child to call you at a certain time during the session. (Campers are not permitted to have cell phones at Camp.) If you would like to inquire about your child’s wellbeing, please call the Camp office and speak to Tina. Tell her the name of your child and make an appointment to call her back. Tina will check on the status of your child and relay this information to you. Hearing the voice of a parent or loved one will often lead to a bout of homesickness. If there is a problem with your child, either the appropriate staff member (ex. the Camp nurse) or I will call you.

Second, please write your child an encouraging letter or two. Every camper enjoys getting mail from home and please be positive in your letters.

Finally, please do not plan to visit the Camp session without first contacting me. When parents show up at Camp unannounced, simply to see how their child are doing, campers, who were enjoying their week, that is, until their parents started to leave in the evening and sadly, campers end up going home with their parents or developing a good case of homesickness.

Also, we will be updating daily about events and activities of the day at the Intermediate One blog (http://intermediate1week.blogspot.com/). Please check it out to get a glimpse into what is going on with our week.

As I write this letter, I realize that I am asking you to give the staff and myself a great deal trust. I assure you that we will do our best to see that this trust is filled. Please remember us in your prayers.
Please plan to attend the closing ceremony on Saturday. We plan to be moving to the closing ceremony at 9:45 A.M.

In Christ’ Service,
Matt and Jim Wilson, Intermediate 1 Session Directors

2010 Intermediate One Week at Camp Manatawny

Veggies Tales' "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" are coming to Camp Manatawny!

Beginning Saturday July 17 through Saturday July 24, the camp will transform into a pirate theme for a the Intermediate Camp week. The theme for the week is "Calling All Heroes"!

We are going to learn how, with Christ, we too can be heroes for Him! Along with our dynamic Bible class program, we will be having many different types of games, activites, and lots of fun!

Keep checking out the blog throughout the week. We are going to try to keep the blog updated.

Please keep all of us who are at camp this week in your prayers. May God be glorified and lives be changed through our Christ-like service to each other throughout the week. It will be exciting. Ahoy!!!

If you could like to register or get more information about this week and others at Camp Manatawny please go to www.manatawny.org. More information and stories to come...