What a summer this has been! This summer Amberlea has had the privilege to offer 7 weeks of half day Mini Camp, 3 weeks of full day Musical Theatre Camp and 2 Family Nights! We have had the opportunity to meet and connect with over 100 children this summer!!!! All of this is possible in large part because we have been blessed with a paid Summer Team of five wonderful young adults and an amazing group of youth who volunteered this summer. We are incredibly grateful for the Canada Summer Jobs Program that provided much of the remuneration for the paid Summer Team as they gained valuable work experience. The Summer Team was responsible for the planning and execution of all children’s programs. A great deal of work and responsibility, and they rose to the challenge!
As the summer programs come to an end, I invited the Summer Team to reflect on their experience at Amberlea. I asked them each 5 questions that they will answer below.
1. Who are you?
2. What did you love about your experience at camp?
3. What were you hesitant about when you started?
How do you feel now about that thing you were hesitant about?
How did you see God at work this summer?
Please continue to pray for the team as they head to new adventures and also for the many families we connected with this summer. May God grow the seeds that have been planted.
Nancy J
Family Ministries Director
Amberlea Church
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
1 Corinthians 3:6
Lauren
I’m Lauren, and this fall, I’m attending the University of Waterloo for Systems Design Engineering.
At camp, I really enjoyed outdoor activities, such as Cops and Robbers. It was amazing to see the kids shine as they worked as a team to retrieve all the beanbags from the other side. Sometimes, one camper would distract the other team’s guards to help their team win a beanbag. The campers really seemed to connect with each other through these activities.
At the beginning of summer, I felt a little hesitant about beginning my work as a Summer Camp Counsellor. I needed to get into the groove of meeting all the new campers, and transitioning between activities.
Now, I feel much more comfortable. The team was so supportive and welcoming. Switching between activities became much smoother as we became more trusting of each other.
I saw God at work through the campers’ interest to learn and sing about God. Being a camp counsellor is a unique role because we have the responsibility to guide the next generation in their faith journeys. I believe that the work we did talking about God, sharing Bible stories, and praying, helped create an important foundation for campers’ faith.
Nia
My name is Nia. I am 18 years old, and I have graduated this year from Pickering High School. In the fall, I will be studying Commerce at Ontario Tech University.
My favorite experience at Camp would probably be the Fun Fair Family Night. I had a lot of fun preparing the games for the families, and it brought a smile to my face to see everyone, including the leaders, have so much fun playing the games.
When I started working at the camp, I was a little bit hesitant about leading different activities, like Bible Story for example, and meeting the kids. I was nervous about leading as I did not know whether I would make the activities enjoyable for the kids. Also, I would have to learn to step out of my comfort zone, which would possibly be a challenge.
I feel relieved about leading different activities and meeting the kids. Although it was a little bit challenging for me to lead at the beginning of the camp, I feel that I have seen improvement, as I gained more confidence in the activities. I also was able to connect well with the kids, which really benefited my overall performance when leading activities.
I saw God at work this summer through worship. At the beginning of camp, a lot of the kids didn't really participate that much in the music time, but I found that as they got more familiar with the camp, there was more participation. In doing this, they learned how to connect more with God.
Ellen
Hi, I’m Ellen and I was Amberlea’s Summer Team Leader this summer. I recently graduated from McMaster University, with an honours Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology, neuroscience, and behaviour. I will be pursuing further education at the Michener Institute of Education at UHN, in medical laboratory science.
As much as summer camp was for the kids, I enjoyed the time that the team was able to spend with the various volunteers that dropped in throughout the summer. Many of these volunteers were just entering high school and entering a completely new environment. Seeing the volunteers go from being hesitant to not wanting to leave our after-camp down time (trust me, there were a lot of rounds of spoons), was just as special as seeing the joy of the kids at camp.
I was hesitant about two things: the number of kids that would be registered for our camps and how open-ended planning for the camp could be. When reviewing the number of registrations we had for each week at the beginning of the summer, I was worried that we might have to cancel a week of camp due to only having a handful of kids. Additionally, in similar positions I’ve had in the past, a lot of the programming was set out, such that we didn’t have to create ideas from scratch. At Amberlea, sky was the limit, and we were free to make camp truly our own, but that meant a lot of time just planning and revising on our part.
Well, when you pray about worries, God answers. We started the summer with a mere 9 registrations for the first week of camp and now, we’ve exceeded our original capacity of 25 registrations for the last few weeks of camp. Campers enjoyed their time with us so much that they came back time and time again, and some even brought some friends. As for the planning, I have come to enjoy how open-ended the experience was. It was enjoyable to work with the Team and see what we could brainstorm to make Amberlea’s summer camp unique among other summer camps.
I saw God at work this summer through the generosity of people in the community. This camp would not have been possible without the hard work and donations from individuals in the church. I also saw God at work through some of the children at camp. Some kids were extremely reluctant to be left at camp without their parents, and unfortunately, there were tears. However, after a couple of days, these kids just couldn’t wait to get back to camp!
Mary
My name is Mary. I am a grade 12 student at St. Mary C.S.S. I like to cook and bake, I
love gardening and taking care of house plants. I love music and I play the French horn and
the trumpet in my school band.
I loved that we got to meet so many new kids and see their interests and hobbies. There were
countless times where a kid would have to explain to me the video game they loved. It was so
interesting to see how the kids acted after going through a pandemic and to see them act in
ways that I would have thought were unnatural when I was a kid but they had adapted to so
well. For example, playing tag with a pool noodle or even something as simple as wearing a
mask.
When I first started, I was hesitant about meeting the new kids and having to get up and talk in
front of all of them when telling a Bible story. I remember when the first kid came in and I
wasn’t really sure what to say to them or what to talk to them about but then it all fell into
place and it was really fun to interact and connect with the kids.
I felt that I saw God work in so many ways through the summer. I felt that He helped the kids
flourish in their new environment and really be interested in the Bible stories and ask
questions. I thought that it was beautiful to see how different and unique each kid was and
really see their personalities.
Seth
I am Seth. I am doing a concurrent teaching program at Trent University this September. I am hoping to become an elementary school teacher in the near future.
The thing I loved most about camp was having all the 1 on 1 time with the kids. It was so great to have this opportunity to meet and know each and every kid. I find it so interesting how this generation of kids grows up. I’ve had a lot of conversation with the kids about what they do after camp. When I was asked this question as a kid, my answers would always be short and sweet. I found that no matter how shy and quiet these kids were, they would talk for hours about the things they like. Ask them about Minecraft or Disney Princesses and they will talk for hours. These connections with the kids were really great and I’m happy I got the opportunity to talk and understand why their world is like.
When I think of Camp Counsellors I always think of people who are always excited and enthusiastic about everything. When I started this job, I was worried that I would lack these traits. If you know me, you’ll know that I’m a very introverted person who doesn’t like going out of my comfort zone. I knew that a lot of this job would require me to do things that aren’t as easy for me. Some examples would be singing and dances with kids, getting everyone’s attention or managing behaviour.
Now that I’ve worked with kids all summer, I’ve found ways to push myself out of my comfort zone. I remember the first day of camp I was nervous to sing and dance with the kids, so I did the actions but didn’t sing. Near the end of camp, one of my favourite activities was dancing and singing with the kids. The reason I was nervous was because I was scared of judgement but I eventually learned not to care about what other people think. Now I am no longer scared to push myself out of my comfort zones.
I saw Gods work in 2 different ways this summer. The first being in the kids. A lot of kids came from non-Christian homes. I found that whenever we would have our Bible story times, those kids were always the most invested in the stories and weren’t scared to ask questions about God and who He is. The second being Gods work in me. Before working here, I was a very insecure, shy nervous kid struggling with my faith. I had a terrible job and was having trouble with what I wanted to do in life. At the peak of all this mess, Nancy messaged me about joining the Summer Team. This job has shown me how to be comfortable around other people without feeling judgement. I feel like God provided me with this job to not only get out of an unhealthy working situation, but to work with a team who have taught me so much about how to love myself and how to love God. I couldn’t have gotten this job at a better time and I am so thankful for everyone associated with this job!
“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”
Ephesians 1:15-16
