Primary Ichthus 2019
Good Morning!
I am back in the office after a bit of break from Primary Ichthus and I wanted to share some of the excitement and great times we had. Primary is always a fun camp with an energy that is unmatched and is such a good way to start the year. This year was no different and our theme of 'The Quest' inspired us to do some things a little differently but with great results.
We had 47 campers join us this year and I get so excited every time I get to write a new name up on my registrations wall where I am able to pray for them before they come on camp. It's a particularly great moment when I write up names that have become so familiar to me and I can't wait to see how they've grown when they come to check in on that Wednesday afternoon. There isn't nothing quite like the atmosphere of registration time - the noise, the mild chaos, the sounds of delight when old friends reunite for another year of camp, and seeing the faces of each and every name I've placed up on my wall.
So what did we get up to you wonder? So much and all of it fun. We kicked off our first night of camp with our top secret mission to recover our missing agent - code name: Bishop. They had some help along the way from a range of interesting characters including a princess, an old man, a zombie, a storm trooper, an adventurer, and a tree - who often left groups wandering around the campsite wondering where on earth she was hiding.
We also visited the Aqua park next door once again and it never gets old, there is nothing quite like running around a giant inflatable water park, eating sausages for lunch and doing it all over again to make a large group of kids really exhausted - not that that stopped the dance party/sing-a-long that occurred the way home. There is something special and really joyful about watching your big group of campers and leaders come walking back onto the campsite singing Bohemian Rhapsody with great flair and joy to get stuck into the afternoon snacks. Which is testament to the amazing leadership team we had at Primary - they turned a mundane walk back to the campsite into something fun and enjoyable. A camp co-ordinator's dream come true.
So what do you do with a bunch of very tired campers and leaders after such a great day? A questioned we pondered for a while and this year we decided a movie night in was the way to go with the new live animated Jungle Book (very on theme) and LOTS of popcorn. Just the right thing to do. Now this night wasn't the only night we did differently - we also changed up our final night of camp from a party night to a big puzzle night full of fun 'puzzle' rooms which complemented the final day really well alongside the always great and very gross messy games. Both were a big hit featuring all sorts of different games and puzzles - the deluxe lux slime being a big hit during the afternoon (as well as a great way to get all the paint off!) and then the lip-reading game bringing lots of laughter and confused looking faces in every group.
While the games and activities are such a great part of camp, we also had the opportunity to really explore our theme in a different way and exploring what it means to run the race of faith in the light of Paul's letter to Timothy. Michael and Sharon did some amazing work by exploring this idea through a very fun video about the 8 stages of a marathon race. Over the course of camp we unpacked these different stages and explored what they could look like in our lives and learned about what other people have experience in their journey of faith within the bible. If you'd love to discover more of what we talked about and the videos we watched, you can check out https://primaryichthus2019.weebly.com/ which has everything right there for you.
Overall camp was an absolute blast and there are some great memories there, so a quick final BIG BIG Thank you to everyone who made camp possible - the leaders, the campers, the parents, and everyone who has prayed for and supported Primary Ichthus 2019 in both the small and big ways. We're a little sad to say goodbye to our campsite of many years at Apex Mudjimba, but I'm also very excited for some new adventures at Maranatha Recreational Camps in Yandina for 2020 - Let's get that party started!
Erica
I am back in the office after a bit of break from Primary Ichthus and I wanted to share some of the excitement and great times we had. Primary is always a fun camp with an energy that is unmatched and is such a good way to start the year. This year was no different and our theme of 'The Quest' inspired us to do some things a little differently but with great results.
We had 47 campers join us this year and I get so excited every time I get to write a new name up on my registrations wall where I am able to pray for them before they come on camp. It's a particularly great moment when I write up names that have become so familiar to me and I can't wait to see how they've grown when they come to check in on that Wednesday afternoon. There isn't nothing quite like the atmosphere of registration time - the noise, the mild chaos, the sounds of delight when old friends reunite for another year of camp, and seeing the faces of each and every name I've placed up on my wall.
So what did we get up to you wonder? So much and all of it fun. We kicked off our first night of camp with our top secret mission to recover our missing agent - code name: Bishop. They had some help along the way from a range of interesting characters including a princess, an old man, a zombie, a storm trooper, an adventurer, and a tree - who often left groups wandering around the campsite wondering where on earth she was hiding.
We also visited the Aqua park next door once again and it never gets old, there is nothing quite like running around a giant inflatable water park, eating sausages for lunch and doing it all over again to make a large group of kids really exhausted - not that that stopped the dance party/sing-a-long that occurred the way home. There is something special and really joyful about watching your big group of campers and leaders come walking back onto the campsite singing Bohemian Rhapsody with great flair and joy to get stuck into the afternoon snacks. Which is testament to the amazing leadership team we had at Primary - they turned a mundane walk back to the campsite into something fun and enjoyable. A camp co-ordinator's dream come true.
So what do you do with a bunch of very tired campers and leaders after such a great day? A questioned we pondered for a while and this year we decided a movie night in was the way to go with the new live animated Jungle Book (very on theme) and LOTS of popcorn. Just the right thing to do. Now this night wasn't the only night we did differently - we also changed up our final night of camp from a party night to a big puzzle night full of fun 'puzzle' rooms which complemented the final day really well alongside the always great and very gross messy games. Both were a big hit featuring all sorts of different games and puzzles - the deluxe lux slime being a big hit during the afternoon (as well as a great way to get all the paint off!) and then the lip-reading game bringing lots of laughter and confused looking faces in every group.
While the games and activities are such a great part of camp, we also had the opportunity to really explore our theme in a different way and exploring what it means to run the race of faith in the light of Paul's letter to Timothy. Michael and Sharon did some amazing work by exploring this idea through a very fun video about the 8 stages of a marathon race. Over the course of camp we unpacked these different stages and explored what they could look like in our lives and learned about what other people have experience in their journey of faith within the bible. If you'd love to discover more of what we talked about and the videos we watched, you can check out https://primaryichthus2019.weebly.com/ which has everything right there for you.
Overall camp was an absolute blast and there are some great memories there, so a quick final BIG BIG Thank you to everyone who made camp possible - the leaders, the campers, the parents, and everyone who has prayed for and supported Primary Ichthus 2019 in both the small and big ways. We're a little sad to say goodbye to our campsite of many years at Apex Mudjimba, but I'm also very excited for some new adventures at Maranatha Recreational Camps in Yandina for 2020 - Let's get that party started!
Erica
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