this page is just me, writing about all the fun my friends and i
had at camp.
this is a picture from across the lake of the camp.
on the way left is the gym and the guys place, the cabins are
in the background in the center, and the water slide and beach are in the fog.
the tree that is in front of the gym in this picture is now in the lake,
it fell during the last windstorm.
during the summers of '95 and '96, i worked at a camp
in bandon, oregon. the camp was called camp bradley christian resort.
working there was a challenge, but it was fun. our work load included
serving the campers their meals, cleaning up after each meal, running
activities(more to come on that later), and cleaning the dorms after
the campers had left.
while the girls served food to the campers, the
guys would be getting a head start on all the dishes, and one or two
of them would serve drinks. after the campers were served seconds,
thirds, and some even fourths, us girls would head back into the kitchen
and clean up all the food. after that was done, we would clean all the
counters. then it was time to go back and help the guys run hobie, the
dishwasher. hobie was one of the most important machines we could have
at camp, if it weren't for him, we would have had to do all the dishes
by hand!!! after the dishes were all done and put away, it was time to
sweep and mop the whole kitchen and dining room. that is how every meal
went, day after day, week after week.
the activities we ran include rock climbing on the indoor wall, the
waterslide, swimming, canoeing, walks to the beach, basketball, volleyball,
and soccer. for the climbing wall, we were all trained before a camp came
in. we would learn how to put on the harnesses so they were safe, and we
learned how to tie knots in the ropes. learning to bollet(sp?) was about the
best thing at camp. once we had a harness on, someone would get hooked up to
the rope with a carribeaner and start climbing. being new at everything,
some people were dropped, but not on purpose, and by the time campers came, we were all
skilled in all there was to know about the wall, well almost all there
was to know. the waterslide ran from above the fire pit down into the
lake. it was a blast to shoot down the tube, not knowing when you were
going to hit the water. the tube was enclosed, making the ride down
awesome. most of the campers, once they went down the waterslide, would
go again and again. but some of them would stay in the water and swim.
there are two docks, one small one not very far from the beach, and the pontoon
dock farther away. the pontoon dock had a staircase on it and a platform
about 5-6 feet up to jump off of. canoes were also a popular choice for
activities. we had about ten canoes and people loved going for a spin around the
lake, which is a very large lake. sometimes the canoes would capsize,
sending the innocent people inside to go for an unwanted swim. the staff,
me and my friends, sometimes took a swim accross the lake. it was a nice swim but
it was kind of far. on the other side, we would walk up the sand dune and
roll back down into the water, it was soooo fun. some of the campers
enjoyed a walk to the beach, which was less than a mile away. sometimes
we would just go there for a break, with the skim boards of course!
sports were another activity that a lot of people did. basketball and volleyball
tournaments, and soccer games. the staff would play in the volleyball tourney
against the winning team, the summer of '95, we only lost one game, but the
summer of '96, we couldn't win a game if our life depended on it.
when a camp would leave, it was our job to clean the camp to make it ready for another
group to come in. that means cleaning everything in the lodge, otherwise
known as the dorms. we cleaned everything from carpets to toilets, and
mopped all the floors too. while the girls started cleaning the lodge,
the guys would clean the gym and the whole dining room/kitchen area.
when they were done, they came and helped us out, cuz we had around 50 rooms to clean
plus all the cabins that had been used. when we had time, we would
take our time, but when a we had something better to do, like going to
the rogue river to go rafting, or going to smith river, or going to
paradise beach. we went all over the place, just having fun being together
as a group.
almost every day, we would have a bible study. it was a fundamental part
of camp life. if we wouldn't have depended on the Lord for our strength,
we would have worn ourselves out. for anywhere from one week to three
months, we lived on 6-7 hours of sleep, our only breaks were when we went on a trip,
and then the trips were only a few days long. the Lord really gave us a boost,
when we didn't have a bible study, we would go off by ourselves and have
a quiet time, where we would be one on one with Him in prayer, reading
our bibles or just worshiping Him. both summers that i worked at camp bradley,
i grew immensly in my Lord.
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