If we had canoes out on the water now, we could walk out to them!! 

Registration for summer 2012 is now open.  You can access our forms or register online through our website.  Click HERE to see what’s happening this summer at Shetek!

 Time-outs are about recomposing yourself and taking some time to just be. Time-outs allow us to think about our actions and attitudes and give perspective on a situation. In this sense, time-outs sound kind of like what it means to go on retreat.  As we approach chillier temps and November sets in, retreat season is in full foce at SLM. Youth and adults alike come to camp and take a “time-out” from everyday life.  Here people can simply rest in God’s presence and leave refreshed and renewed to go back to the pieces of their everyday life. I recently read a great post from Paul Hill, Vibrant Faith’s executive director,  which asks the question “Did Jesus ever get on that retreat?” and points to how outdoor ministries play a role in retreat ministry.

Maybe you can join us for a retreat this winter and take some time to just be and in this stillness be renewed by the Spirit.  In your everyday life, how do you take a “time-out” in which you are renewed by the Spirit?

<><  Kristin (Program Director)

Want to read the lyrics and follow along? Check out camp’s newsletter which has the typed lyrics: http://www.shetek.org/thesignal.php

*Not the best quality recording but that’s what you do when it is the very end of the summer and a person is about to fly across the world(to Maylaysia) to go home.  You have to take that last chance to get it done!  Plus, a crummy recording doesn’t change the heart or meaning.

When I see these ivy now growing in full force and the way they are intertwined, I hear the words “Iam the vine, you are the branches…” (John 15:5)  This piece of scripture and the growing ivy are reminders that God’s love is abundant!

It is God who gives life, nourishing and sustaining us and empowering us to be workers in the kingdom.  Where do you see reminders in your everyday life of God’s abundance?  Maybe it’s as simple as ivy growing on a fence.

Guess what – now we can’t get the boats OFF the lifts because the water is so low!

Hope you are enjoying the transition to fall and the cooler weather.  Come to camp for Fall Fantasy on Oct. 2, or learn about bats on Oct. 9 or come to Octoberfest (4-6th graders) on Oct. 14-15.  Get more info. and register at www.shetek.org

Golf 13 finally happened!!  After being postponed twice in June because of flooding on the course, we played golf on August 29.  The weather was perfect!   There were 37 golfers who enjoyed the day on the course and supported Shetek by having fun.  No one got the hole in one to win the new golf cart but perhaps next year.  Join us next year on June 18. (providing the weather cooperates!)

Water is a great symbol of baptism and with baptism we can identify with Jesus Christ.  Jesus separates us from the lost and gives us new life by having faith in his death and resurrection.  The Bible states in 1 Peter 3:21-22  ”… and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.  It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”  Water is great for fun games at camp, sustaining God’s creation, and a remembrance of a new life through Jesus Christ!  Thank you God!

Oh what fun it is to have Christmas in July! Hey!

The 7-9th graders here at camp did an activity that involved changing the “12 Days of Christmas” into a summer camp rendition. This is how it went…

“On the 12 day of church camp, my counselors gave to me 12 tired counselors
11 stinky campers
10 canoe’s a’rowing
9 cabins sleeping
8 frozen hot-dogs
7 campers swimming
6 bible studies
5 ‘squitter bites
4 paddle boats
3 Hershey Bars
2 Sleeping bags
and…
1 navy blue t-shirt”

Cabin 9: Mallary, Emily, Kalley, Madison, Camryn, Kaia, Olivia, Brooklyne

Quotes from Cabin 9
“It is good for athletes to pray and thank God for our talents and the safety of others.”
“As Christians we can play volleyball for God.”
“God gives you energy and strength.”
“God gave us our talents and the ability to play sports.”

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”