DVD/CD from camp

We had a great night at Oasis last night sharing testimonies and watching the camp video. I am so encouraged to see what God did at a great camp. Kevin and I are working on the camp media. I'm hoping that by the beginning of next week we'll have everything done and printed. So, those of you in Texas, you'll be recieving about 7 copies of our DVD/CD set, which should cover all of the families. The DVD will include the camp video, the team cheers, and all of the Lip Syncs. The CD will include mp3s of all of Perry's main sessions from the evenings. Those should be in the mail by Wednesday. I'll send them to your homes at the addresses on your camp forms.

For FVBC people, those will be available for sale for $3 on Wed. next week. I hope you enjoy them and that they capture some great memories from camp.

The Results are In

So, it is really really late... we finished our 2 hour testimony time at around 1am and I am beat, but I don't want to leave without telling you the final results. Blue took the Lip Sync with an incredible rendition of Thriller, but it was Orange by a ton for the victory. They had 8 people on their team that said Psalm 34. In total, we had 35 students that said the entire Psalm. Jordan and I were so impressed with everyone. I'll post some final comments tomorrow when we arrive home. For tons of pictures, visit Kevin's website. It is linked off of the youth site off of fvbc.org under the links. Well, I'm out for a few hours before dinner.

So Close... It's anyone's game

So, with only the Lip Sync and whoever else recites Psalm 34 to go, the points are really close. It is still anyone's game. Remember, the Lip Sync is worth 50,000 for first, 35,000 for second, 20,000 for third, and 10,000 for fourth. Here are the point totals as of this afternoon:

1^st- Orange 349,000

2^nd- Yellow 335,000

3^rd- Purple & Blue tied at 310,500

So far, orange has had the most Psalm 34's, but I know there a few more that are getting ready to say it at dinner tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks to all of you who have written notes and letters. The students have enjoyed hearing them and I've been encouraged by the response. Just one more day and they'll all be home. More later tonight...

Pics from Thursday

Opening events for obstacle course day... go Perry!

Untying the giant knot of a 100 ft. rope

purple workin' their magic

"Fill the bucket a sponge at a time"

"Melt the Ice" game

Lazer lines for obstacle course day

A little wallyball for the boyz

The finalists for food night, with Becca and Whitney tying for first, Erin and Katie a close second with their PB & J, and Amanda, with the spiritual food of the Word in third

Taste and see that the food is yummy

The Fanta girls for food night

Just a word about this one... each night we ask a student from each team to come and name every member of their team from memory, and they get points for who names the most. Tonight was my turn. Each team bet on how many I would have left over, and the team closest to that number without going over would receive 20,000 points. The lowest number was 4. I was so happy that I named all 80 that came to camp this year without looking... but sadly, no one got any points. Never bet against a Huff... and we have Sam winning in the pew toss with 11 pews in a row.

Purple dominated the pew relay race

The winners for the long jump... nice hair Leigh

Yellow with a valiant effort, but a disappointing 2nd place finish

Halfway to home

Well, the week keeps on going, and going, but the end is in sight. As I told the students before we left, this week is just a week of preparation for the real battle that will come when we get home. That day is approaching fast as it always does at camp. Today has been another great one, with great activities, and probably too much sun. I am glad Moriah packed the Aloe for me. The students had obstacle course day today and enjoyed team building activities, eating ice cream, and running around outside on a beautiful, 91 degree day. It was a monster day for the yellow and orange teams, but Blue was right up there adding over 10,000 in spirit points and all three of the top theme night winners. Here are the standings as of this evening

1st- Blue (255,500)
2nd-Yellow (238,500)
3rd- Orange (236,500)
4th- Purple (216,500)

Thank you to all who sent notes to their friends, siblings, sons, and daughters. Everyone enjoys hearing from you and I love to see your involvement even though you are hundreds of miles away. Tonight was food night, and we had some very creative costumes. I'll post those later on. Several more said Psalm 34, including Keta Allen, J.D. Nolte, Ariel Nolte, Dwayne Miller, both Drennan girls, Anthony Glosson, Leigh LaSota, and Scott Rougas. There are more, but my brain is only working at about 75% right now and the rest escape me. Tonight we have the pew olympics to look forward to. We bumped the Lip Sync to tomorrow night to give the teams a little more time to work on their presentations.

On a side note, the Senior High guys challenged the leaders to a game of Wallyball today. As I walked in with Perry, we both agreed that we would probably get owned by the younger guys (that means we believed we would lose). That is what happened, 2 games in a row. They played very well together. We managed 4 points in the first game, and almost came back in the second, but ended up losing 15-11. So, this afternoon we challenged them to a rematch... Doug, Joe, Matt, Dwayne, Stevie, and Scott were no match for a revamped and energized leaders team. I don't know if it worked to tire them out with the games all afternoon, but they did look a little sluggish. Anyhoo, session is starting soon, and I need to get ready. More pics and updates tonight. Later...

Pics from Wednesday

Another day is almost done with a ton of great memories created. Perry hit another homerun tonight, speaking of the deliverance of the Lord, and pointing us to Christ, the poor man who delivered us from all our troubles. I'll leave you with a few pics to capture the evening.

Morning worship to start the day off right

Some students enjoying Perry's workshop

Camp raft racing... a lost art

Doug"more", a perfect 10 in the belly flop contest

jump or dive?? You decide

Devoted walleyball fans, watching it happen

Some of our first time campers

The final students, with Madison taking third, Erin second, and Ariel first

Some of our wonderful leaders

What a bunch of hicks

Team updates

Alright... some point updates before dinner

1st- Orange 142,000
2nd- Blue 141,500
3rd- Purple 119,000
4th- Yellow 94,500

Now, I know what you're thinking, what's up with yellow. There is a rumor that they are saving their Psalm 34 'til the last day in order to make a surprise run for the finish. We'll have to wait and see about that. Supposedly, there are at least 6 on that team with the passage ready to go.

I will have a plethora of pics ready tonight, but it may be late again. More to come soon...

A good Wednesday... so far

We are almost to our halfway point for camp. It is going swimmingly.. speaking of which, pool day was a blast. Doug Dunton took the top score of a perfect 10 with his amazing belly flop, and also won for the biggest splash. Everyone looked like they had a blast racing their rafts, swimming hard, and generally having a nice time in the pool.

Earlier today we had another great morning of worship and learning about God's Word through the workshops. The students all moved onto their second workshop and we are hopeful they are learning lot. I've received a lot of good feedback from the leaders about the students asking some great probing questions about corporate worship, God's sovereignty over evil, and other topics of note that have been covered so far.

What has been so encouraging to me is the huge response to our challenge last week for the students to memorize Psalm 34. We have had 8 students recite the entire 22 verse Psalm so far with many more still working on it. Nice work to all (I'll have their names for you later...). It brings such joy to my heart to see and hear the students walking around campus, alone and in groups, reciting God's Word to themselves. I hope that this has lasting value in their lives.

As of this morning, blue had a commanding 20,000 point lead over everyone else. However, the recital of Psalm 34 and the pool games has again shifted everything around. I'll have an actual update this evening of the actual point totals.

Please continue praying for us. Many of the students and leaders are feeling weary from the demanding schedule and from lack of or restless sleep. I know God has been using your prayers to keep us going, and I would ask that you would be diligent in those efforts.

Tonight, Perry will continue preaching through Psalm 34. Last night was a great challenge to trust in the completeness of God's love and joy. Nothing can snatch that away. Perry told is that "Christ is not challenged (i.e. it is not challenging to him) by Satan. It is not difficult for Christ to redeem a sinner from him. Satan is merely a tool that God's uses to accomplish His will, and to ascribe him any more power is to diminish the power of Christ." That is a rough paraphrase, but you get the idea. He spoke about faith not being a moment in time, but a continuing call from Christ for perseverance and obedience. All in all, a very good and challenging message.

That's it for now. I'll be posting more pictures later this evening after the activities. Thanks for reading and I'll write more soon. Later.....

Pictures, Finally

You've asked for them, and here are just a few, a taste if you will, of what has happened so far at camp. I've tried to post pics of kids who's families have commented. If you want to see someone, let me know and I'll do my best to post some pics. Just click on them for a larger picture (and for really nice shots, Kevin will be posting those after camp) Enjoy...

FVBC group before the long bus ride

Morning worship

Purple, in honor of our first Psalm 34 reciter

The good 'ol boys enjoying dinner

Everyone getting ready for soapy tarp day

Grant traversing the soapy tarp

All the girls in for a great steal the bacon moment

The leaders owning the students during the tug-of-war

Jordan delivering a killer hit in WalleyBall

All I can say is, wow, Rob looks a little too normal

A strange nerd family

The whole nerdy group

A few students learning a new worship song

Day two update

Hello all. Another day is upon us and it has already been quite full. This morning the students enjoyed a time of devotion in their workbooks, a time of singing together, and workshops to focus their hearts in the right direction. We also had our Soapy Tarp day and it was, thankfully, injury free. Kevin took a lot of great pictures, and I'll be posting those tonight. The teams are very close in points, but Jonah's recital of Psalm 34 (worth 15,000 points) has made the difference for Purple and they are solidly in the lead. here are the totals so far.

Purple- 33,500

Blue- 24,000

Yellow- 21,500

Orange- 20,500

As you can see, that 15,000 makes a big difference. The students are enjoying free time right now and soon they'll be getting ready for Nerd night. More to come later on tonight. Please keep praying for everyone... it is much needed and appreciated.

Updates for Monday Night

So, we'll have a point update tomorrow morning. Here are the standings though.

1st- Blue
2nd- Orange
3rd- Yellow
4th- Purple

That meant that blue got first choice for the Lip Sync later this week for songs. Here is what everyone chose.

Blue: Thriller by Michael Jackson
Orange: Jesus Freak by dc Talk
Yellow: Eye of the Tiger (ya know, from Rocky)
Purple: I'll Make a Man out of You (from Mulan)

I'm looking forward to what everyone comes up with for these songs. Well, I'm approaching my 6 hour sleep limit, so I need to take off. Make sure to send notes to my email (j.huff@fvbc.org) or post a comment here on the blog for the students enjoyment. Later...

Tasteful Beginnings

It has been a great time so far here at camp. We are all finally here, in one piece, and so far, no injuries. We had a great time of singing and introduction this afternoon before a scrumptious meal of hot dogs and mac and cheese. I chose the salad bar myself, and particularly enjoyed the potato salad.

We’ve learned two new songs so far in worship: Taste and See and Joy in My Morning. Both fit very well with Perry’s first message from Psalm 34:8-10. He challenged us to replace the things we’ve been tasting with the goodness of God. He referenced C.S. Lewis’s well-known quote, challenging us to forsake out mudpies in the slums for a holiday at the sea (or as Perry rephrased, “Stop eating jerky and peanuts and come to the banquet”). Both fit well with the message of the invitation of enjoyment.

Tonight we are beginning our team time with names, flags, and other team goodies. I can say that no points have been awarded yet, so this is as close as the point totals are going to be. However, kudos to the yellow team for Becca Strand being able to name every member of her team without looking. We'll see what happens throughout the evening. I'll try to update again before the evening is over, including some pictures. Talk to you soon.

Oasis Preparations and Final Announcements

I can't believe camp is just 5 days away. The T-shirts are in, the bandannas are here, the booklets are being printed, and almost everything is ready. I know you are wondering who is rooming with who, what team am I on, and how can I best prepare for camp. Well, all of those questions and more will be answered at Oasis on June 4.

For our Texas crew, Perry has all your information and you'll meet your roomates on Monday at the camp.

For the rest of you, make sure to come out to Oasis. We'll have the final list of the teams, the layout of the two dorms, some of the activities you can start getting excited for, as well as a chance to get to know those in your small group.

Bonus Points: We already told a few students, but we are giving mucho bonus points to anyone who memorizes all of Psalm 34 and recites it by the end of camp. The text is posted on the church's Summer Camp website. I would encourage everyone to take a crack at this.

Don't forget, the balance of your camp money, the medical release form, and the pool waiver are all due at check in. T-shirt sizes are limited, so make sure you get there a little early. We plan on leaving at 9:30 am, so don't be late!!

Parents, if you would like to contact your student with a note during the week, you can post a comment on this blog or send me an email (j.huff@fvbc.org). We'll be reading those to the group before dinner each night. If there is a more private message you need to get to a student, please mark it as such and I'll make sure it gets to them.

We are all looking forward to a great week. Stay tuned for pics, video, point updates, and testimonies of what God is doing throughout the week.

A few more changes

After seeing the new shirts, which look great btw, we've decided to change the team colors a little. We don't want to give the red team an unfair advantage because the new shirts look pretty red. So, the team colors have been changed to Yellow, Blue, Purple, and Orange. This may make shopping a little more difficult, but I have confidence in the creativity of our students.

I've also been speaking with Perry and I believe the text for the week will be 1 Peter 2:1-12. This may change, but that is the general direction we are headed. Keep checking to see new updates. Later........

Theme Nights, Colors, and other Misc. Items

Hello all,
Summer Camp is just one short month away. We have just a few signed up, but I'm sure more will be coming later. Here are a few updates that I can pass along.

T-shirts: the shirts are in. They are a crimson with yellow letters and have the camp logo on them. They will be available at Oasis before camp to everyone who is registered.

Theme nights: due to popular demand, we are bringing back a few classics from years past. The theme nights will be Nerd Night (Tuesday), Hick Night (Wednesday), and Food Night (Thursday Night). For food night, feel free to dress up like someone who works with food (i.e. chef, waiter), or like an item of food (i.e. raisin, steak, french fries). Bonus points to anyone who can wear the same costume all three nights and have it actually work for all three themes.

Colors: Blue, Red, Yellow, Green
-The actual team members will be announced on the Oasis before camp (June 4).

We're still putting together leaders, the band, workshops, and songs for the Lip Sync, but when I have info on that, I'll pass it along. For now, be praying for what God will do as a part of camp this year. Later...

The Website is Up

Hey everyone. As you read this, remember, it's never too early to start getting excited about Summer Camp. We're headed back to IWU for another week of intense fun and spiritual growth. I'm especially excited about having Perry Garrett back with us. He was our speaker for Winter and Summer Camp back in 2006 and was a favorite of everyone for his passion for the God's Word and they way he changed our perspective of who God is.

Make sure to sign up early to secure your spot. It's looking like it's going to be another great camp. You can download a camp form and get all the information from fvbc.org under ministries and under youth. The Summer Camp page is listed on the left.