Youth

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The Spiritual Enrichment Program of Southern California (SEP So. Cal.) was held Sunday, July 5 thru Saturday, July 11, 2009. SEP So. Cal. is hosted by Cedar Lake Camp. Nestled at 7,000 feet in the majestic San Bernardino Mountains on 270 acres, Cedar Lake is a year round retreat center considered by many to be one of the most beautiful camps in Southern California. It has its own private lake and has amazing views of the majestic Big Bear Lake and surrounding mountain peaks.
In all, 260 people participated in SEP So. Cal. We had 187 campers and 74 staff.

CAMPERS
SEP So. Cal. camps in one. We run a Jr. Camp (ages 8 – 12) and a Sr. Camp (ages 12-18). Those who are 12 get to choose whether to be in Jr. or Sr. Camp.
We had 181 regular:campers & 6 mini-campers:
    64 - First-timers
    117 - Return Campers
    111 Sr. Campers — 50 Sr. Girls and 61 Sr. Boys
    70 Jr. Campers-37 Jr. girls and 33 Jr. Boys
    6 - Mini-campers (Staff children under the age of 8)
 
Campers came from California, Idaho, Kentucky, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Texas and Florida. Ethnic Diversity: 44% Caucasian, 36% Hispanic, 10% African-American, 8% Asian/Pacific /Fillipino, 2% Middle Eastern and Native American.
51 different congregations from various denominations. (19 GCI churches were represented.)

STAFF
We had many first-time staffers this year. They – as well as the "old timers" – rose to the occasion and poured their heart, body, mind and soul into the lives of the campers with passion, love and grace. SEP So. Cal. staff are truly amazing.

We had 73 staff.
69 Full-time (stayed over-night on campus)
4 Part-time (stayed over-night off campus)
Staff came from California, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Staff, too, was enthnically diverse and came from many different churches and various denominations.

A new and welcomed addition was the Worship Team from The Oaks Christian Church in San Marcos, CA. Jeremy Ketchum, Worship & Arts Pastor at The Oaks, along with Doreen Teadwell and Leslie Izon provided worship music during chapels, special worship events and provided their gifts and talents by offering support in the Variety Show, Open Activities and guidance to the campers.

All of our staff are gifted servants and yet this year we had quite an interesting talent. We had the privilege of having John Cardie, a checkers instructor on staff. Yes Checkers! John has written a book called, "How to Beat Granddad At Checkers." Our purpose for the class went beyond a fun and entertaining game. John taught sound strategy for BOTH checkers and life, helping the campers to develop forethought which will help aid them in making right choices as teenagers and young adults. John accompanied his son and daughter-in-law (Heath and Rebecca were Jr. Camp counselors) and 4 grand children who were campers and mini-campers. (In 2008, 9 year-old Colton Cardie was the reigning World Youth Checkers Champion.)

MENTORING
This year – to help foster the development of emerging leaders - we offered a mentoring relationship with our worship leader, Jeremy Ketchum and our Chaplain, Glenn Weber. We extended this year-long mentoring opportunity to Sr. Campers and Staff by having them write an essay telling about their calling, passion and desire for worship leading or church pastoring/planting. This may have caught them unprepared because we only 3 essays were submitted - all from girls, for worship leading mentorship. I think many youth are still intimidated by the notion of pastoral-type ministry, thus there were no essays submitted for that. Instead of selecting one candidate, two sisters (one Sr. Camper and one Staff) were chosen to engage in a mentee relationship over the next year with Jeremy Ketchum.

In addition to the year-long mentoring relationship, the bonus is that they were each awarded with a high-quality and expensive guitar. Our worship leader, Jeremy Ketchum, donated his personal electric guitar and then he was able to get a $2,000 acoustic guitar donated by T.J. Baden of Baden Guitars. (We appreciate T.J.'s devotion to God and belief in serving youth in the camp experience.) So each of the sisters received a guitar. Interestingly, one of the girls had been praying for two years for an electric guitar. Both exhibit skill, gifting and desire in singing, playing and leading worship. (The third person who submitted an essay is actually a member in Jeremy's church and he already is giving her guitar lessons.)
 
We hope to increase the number and types of mentoring relationships in the future and it is our prayer that local church ministry leaders actively promote, seek and involve themselves in mentoring relationships with emerging leaders.

ACTIVITIES
The Jr. and Sr. camps each had 4 chapel and debrief sessions, daily oasis (quiet) time and a lot of exciting daytime activities for their age groups.

The Jr. Camp participated in Christian living classes, parachute games, splashball, mind-teaser puzzles, swimming, canoeing, checkers, teambuilding, creative arts class, a modified version of the Prayer Journey, drama class, hiking, frisbee golf, darts, and a trip to a local water slide park.

The Sr. Camp participated in Christian living classes, a God's Word class (how to read the Bible), dance, canoeing, Prayer Journey, checkers, basketball, zip-line, volleyball, teambuilding, drama class, frisbee golf, and a 4 hour-long Purity Session. During the Purity Session, the guys and girls were separated from breakfast until after dinner. They discussed matters of character, purity and God's design for relationships with the opposite gender. The guys and ladies then participated in a Knights & Daughters of the King Ceremony which focused on respect for one another and allowed for a time in the combined group for sharing about what they learned.

The two camps joined together on Monday night as the New Life Fellowship Youth Band led Praise & Worship. On Wednesday, the two camps joined together as a Youth Band called "SALT" from the Nipomo, CA GCI congregation led Praise & Worship. On Thursday, both Junior and Senior camps gathered for a Variety Show where campers used their talents to glorify God and encourage their fellow campers and staff. On Friday evening both camps gathered for a Praise & Worship session, and then broke off into their respective camps. The Sr. camp held a "speech night." During the week, each camper had the opportunity to share how camp impacted their lives. They talked about transforming camp experiences, special moments and what they have learned about God, life and themselves through camp. Both camps had a special Naming Ceremony that lead into communion.

The Naming Ceremony was quite special. We drew upon the many examples in the Bible where God changed the name of a person to reflect who they were and what God was calling them to be and we used the illustration from the book and movie, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." At the end of the movie after the great battle, the 4 youth (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) were crowned as kings and queens of Narnia and given "new names" -- Peter the Magnificent, Susan the Gentle, Edmund the Just and Lucy the Valiant.

We saw the all the campers grow, develop, mature, blossom and flourish in one way or another during the week. We saw characteristics that reflected God emerge and take a firm position in their life and personality. As a result of that growth and to honor how God made them, and to honor their development – we gave them a new name. Their Counselor and Assistant Counselor saw their campers in action, in the good moments and bad moments and saw traits bubble to the surface. During the Naming Ceremony the campers were presented with a New Name. The wording of the certificate was thus:
It was a powerful and moving experience. We told them that God is with them, desiring relationship with them and forming them. Their new name would describe but one characteristic or aspect of many that God will develop within them.
 
Three very popular activities – Riflery (BB Guns), Archery and Bugs & Reptiles – had to be canceled due to an emergency health issue with our Range Master, Richard Watson. Not only does Richard oversee the BB Gun and Archery range, he also brings us the "critters" for the Bugs & Reptiles class. Richard had his truck loaded and ready to head up to camp when he had a kidney stone attack. The pain caused a serious and dangerous spike in his blood pressure and he had to get checked out. Due to his high blood pressure spikes, the doctors recommended he not drive up the mountain and work in the high altitude. Reluctantly, he stayed home. We had to replace the three activities with alaternatives at the last minute. Come to find out, a 9-hole disc (frisbee) golf course had been built on-site at Cedar Lake since last year. It replaced the Riflery class, while darts / electronic darts and a special Jr. Camp activity replaced Archery and Bugs & Reptiles respectively. The additional staff assigned to instruct with and assist Mr. Watson now had to switch gears very quickly. They did so with great adaptation and skill. (Mr. Watson is doing better and working through the kidney stone and high blood pressure issues. The doctors said if he would have come up to camp he very easily could have died.)

The Sr. Camp has had the opportunity to experience a new challenge this year. Instead of a High Ropes Course they got to participate in a brand-new zip line called Flying Bear Zip Lines. It is on-site at Cedar Lake and, though open to the public, SEP So. Cal. was able to procure a time slot for all of the Sr. Camp to zip.

THEME
The theme this year was "Oasis." (Oasis vs. Mirage / Reality vs. Unreality) Our Chapel Titles were:
1.    Original Oasis / Original Mirage
2.    Promised Oasis / Desert Mirage
3.    Source of the Oasis
4.    Oasis Overflow

Our primary message was to let the youth know that God loves them and created them to be in a deep, loving and abiding relationship with Him. We talked about many mirages, one of which is the mirage of perceived separation from God. We emphasized that as we abide in the Father's love and drink in of the Living Water, He creates an Oasis of life giving fruit in our lives so that others can come taste and see that the Lord is good.

The oasis = the abundant life giving relationship with God where the living water bubbles forth and brings life, love and acceptance to all who are thirsty.
The water = God's constant life giving presence, in Jesus, through the Spirit. Even in the desert, it's constantly flowing just under the surface of the earth.
The desert = not living in the full reality or refreshment of the Living Water.
The mirage = the illusion of what satisfies, quenches our thirst and gives life but never, ever fulfills.

We emphasized to the campers that they cannot come to camp and fill up a canteen with "God" and hope that it will last them the rest of the year. But rather, that God desires a personal life giving relationship with them which will naturally produce a thriving oasis in their lives. They will still have desert experiences, but just like in an oasis, there can be peace inside even when there is chaos all around. The water is always flowing just underneath the desert floor. The water is always available and desiring to spring forth to show that the Father is especially fond of them, that they are eternally loved, included, accepted, forgiven and redeemed.

The campers left SEP So Cal with their new names, with the truth that God loves them and with new tools on how to talk and listen to their Creator with the mission to be an oasis back home in their schools, neighborhoods and churches.

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