Barbara Steele produced this beautiful booklet for Alliance Redwoods' first family camp.
Our love for family camp found its second outlet this summer at Alliance Redwood Conference Grounds in Occidental, CA (just north of San Francisco). Though our concerns driven by a very late start (promotion for it commenced at the beginning of May) and it being over the 4th of July that it would result in a very small turnout were realized, the staff at Alliance Redwoods chose to press on so family camp would get out of the gate at this beautiful property.
And so we went for it and were reminded that it’s not the size or the location as much as it is the people.
And the 35 campers who gathered were delightful and all agreed that it was a wonderful experience.
All praise is His!!
We were so fortunate to have veteran staffers Robert Kovacs (and his wife Abbey) and Lisa Friesen, who have logged many weeks serving family campers. The Kovacs brought two women to add to the team, Sandy and Emilyne, and both worked out really well.
The campers ranged from veteran family campers to a few first time families, and from age 11 months to 90 years old . . . and everything in between. From the first night of worship and mixers, we could tell it was going to be a great four days.
And we were not wrong.
Our staff team was stellar.
Small but spirited and fully engaged, this group is the genesis of future family camps.
Many of the family camp traditions were carried out through our days together. These photos will tell the story:
Opening night, Danny Kountz welcomes everyone and gives an overview of life at Alliance Redwoods.
Robert and Abbey Kovacs led worship at each session.
The “mingle mixer” got everyone interacting.
Family time devotions happened every morning.
The opening night “night swim” was enjoyed by many.
Robert carried on the tradition of birthday skits in honor of one of our campers who turned 50 while at camp.
And of course, what’s family camp without the game show?? These hosts just keep showing up!
The men dominated somehow.
But the ladies gave it a herculean effort. It just wasn’t enough.
But they didn’t give up.
Emilyne and Lisa were our able game show assistants.
The kids’ devotions were instructive and fun.
The cross illustration was powerful.
The 4th of July was celebrated in several ways, but pictured here is the sugar cookie decorating event.
All ages loved it.
Some of our veteran family campers . . . the Rossis attended many family camps on Catalina.
And some of our first timers.
Gary and Elaine Westermark, who attended many of the HIM family camps at Berea in New Hampshire, sported vintage family camp shirts.
The Galvez family also attended family camps on Catalina.
Besides the teaching program, Alliance Redwoods had many recreational opportunities, including the giant swing, archery tag, a large swimming pool, hiking through the beautiful redwoods, basketball, volleyball, a huge indoor gym, ping pong, air hockey, foosball, etc. They also have the longest zipline in Northern California (for a fee). The staff was servant-hearted and our whole experience made us look forward to doing it again next summer. The dates for 2025 are June 25–30.
We flew home on a red-eye the night of July 5—forgetting, apparently, that we had sworn them off—but it was good to get home with full hearts of gratitude. As we’ve reflected on the camp, it’s apparent to us that only the spirit of God could’ve accomplished what happened that week: bonding together a most eclectic group of people who didn’t know each other (except two families who had camped together for years on Catalina), all different ages and stages, from very diverse backgrounds, different levels of Christian maturity, but all wanting to be met by God in the family camp experience. The adult sessions were marked by openness and vulnerability, laughter and tears, great questions and thoughtful comments. The children were entertained not by technology and devices, but by hikes through the incredibly beautiful grounds, which hosted tall trees and many living creatures.
We felt like family as we said our good-byes four days later.
After all, it's the people.
One advantage of a red-eye: landing at sunrise. Welcome home!
Since returning, we’ve had the privilege of hanging out with our east coast grandkids while their dad was on a business trip to Zambia for Neurokids (www.neurokids.ca) and their mom was part-time working.
We had a lot of summer fun.
First we start with breakfast on the porch: Papa’s waffles, bacon, and watermelon.
And lots of pool time.
A basketball game for Nathan.
And a couple of rounds of “Skyjo,” “Farkle,” and “Wits and Wagers.” Rachel cleaned up on this round or “Skyjo.”
We spent an evening at Immanuel Bible Church hearing the wisdom of Dr. Rosaria Butterfield speak from her book Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age and that was definitely a highlight. She is articulate, wise, and bold as she speaks into cultural issues that few are willing to address with Biblical authority. It was both refreshing and empowering and the over one thousand attendees were truly blessed.
Another recent highlight was having a too-short visit from my dear friend, Becky. It was such a joy to have her with us for a few ”agenda-less” days: just lots of walking, swimming, relaxing, going to church, and thrifting. We’re so thankful for New England friends who help us feel more at home in Virginia by coming to visit.
It was pure joy to have our friend Becky visit for a few days.
The first weekend of August we’ll be speaking locally at The King’s Chapel, the church we attend (in addition to Immanuel Bible Church). They’re hosting a marriage night on Friday, August 2, and a parenting seminar Saturday, the 3rd. Local peeps are welcome to join the fun! Go on the website at The King’s Chapel and check out the details.
Recruiting sign-ups for the family weekend at The King’s Chapel, which will be held Aug. 2–3.
As summer flies by, we are very grateful for the opportunities for both rest and ministry. We’re fast approaching August 19, the one-year mark of our move to Fairfax, and there are still some days we can’t believe we actually moved here. We attribute that to the reality that we’ve spent many more days away from here than here.
But as we “do life” with Nathan and Rachel and Derek and Julie, we are grateful all over again that we have moved here. There are many aspects of life in New England that we’ll always miss, but it’s the people we miss the most. How blessed we are to have such richness in relationships.
Yes. It’s the people.
