GRACE BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH

GRACE BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH

YOUTH TRIP TO
THE WILDS, NORTH CAROLINA
AUGUST 10 - 15, 2009

Click here to go to Monday

Click here to go to Tuesday

Click here to go to Wednesday

Click here to go to Thursday

Click here to go to Friday

Monday, August 10th:

The trip got off to a great start. The bus left right on time at 5:00 a.m. Our faithful bus driver, Marshall Tyler, did a great job.

The bus arrived at The Wilds right on time, around 3:30 p.m. Rev. Finley has been to The Wilds three times and he said this was the best trip he's had yet. They made two stops along the way and everything was smooth sailing.

When they arrived at the camp, the campers received their cabin assignments. There are about 1,000 campers there. Everyone had someone they knew in their cabin. The campers feasted on a dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans. They were divided into three teams for competitions: red, blue and green. Tonight they played a game called Big Ball, which was a competition of boys versus girls. The game was unbelievable and wore the kids out. The Red Team won that competition.

The speaker this week is Rand Hummel. Tonight he spoke out of Ephesians 5:1 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;" The theme he wants to give the kids is "God wants the best for your life - where good is the enemy of great. Are you doing nothing for God?"

The spirit of the kids is great. Our kids are making friends with the other campers.

Tomorrow they are looking forward to a fun, jam-packed day!

Marshall Tyler, bus driver, ready to go. Off to an early start.

Tuesday, August 11th:

The campers began their day with devotions and scripture, then they all participated at a flag raising. Breakfast this morning was eggs with home fries.

Around 9:45 a.m., they had their first service on the Book of Jonah (their devotions are also based on the Book of Jonah).

After the service, all the campers went out on the open field that has a mast (like a ship's mast). The teams then competed in a game called "All Hands on Deck" - a game where kids have to line up a certain way.

During one game, Raymond was a runner and had to run up a hill three times. By the third time, he was totally exhausted.

The teams also competed on the rope course, which is an obstacle course where the kids have to work together. During this game, a thunder storm came through and everyone ran under shelter. It was unbearably hot today, but after the storm passed, it was much nicer out.

A picture was taken today of all the campers from the top of a crane.

They enjoyed chicken patties for lunch and Mexican burritos and fajitas for dinner. Rev. Finley said the food has been excellent.

The three teams also competed in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. The campers were told ahead of time to bring random items with them from their cabins. Some of the items they called for were sneakers, a live turtle and flags. If your team won the challenge, they won a spot on the Tic-Tac-Toe board.

During a Head-on-Head game (a game like Double Dare), Philip did an excellent job at the tube tug. Kenny and DaJuan had to jump rope five times in a row.

Heather is having a great time with a new friend. Bridgette is also having fun raising team spirit with her team.

There are 150 counselors and they do an awesome job getting the kids going with cheers and excitement. They are a great and crazy fun team.

During the evening service, Rand Hummel spoke from Ephesians Chapter 4 about honoring your parents, brothers and sisters. He said that the kids have to have the right relationship with their parents to have the right relationship with God. He asked, "How are you living your life back home with your parents and the rest of your family?"

Rev. Finley says the kids have been so excited. When the bus pulled in to the camp, the kids were cheering "We love the Wilds!" He has not heard any negative things from any of the kids. Everyone is safe and they are all having a ball. The kids are always in motion - there is always something going on.

Rev. Finley took a lot of pictures today and is working toward sending more pictures for this web page. A few are shown below.

Still to come in the next few days: Big swing, the Blob, Hiking and much more. Tomorrow night is Skit Night, which is always a lot of fun!

Team Spirit. "All Hands on Deck."

Having fun.

Wednesday, August 12th:

It rained a good part of the day. The day started off early at 7:15 a.m. with Teen Prayer Time, where the campers get together with their counselors and pray. Afterwards, the campers enjoyed a breakfast of cereal, chocolate chip muffins and bananas in their cabins.

At 8:45 a.m., the teens attended Chapel, with a message from Jonah Chapter 2. After Chapel, the teens had "God and I Time" - s a time for themselves for devotions. After that, there was "God and I Follow-up" - the teens get together with their counselors and go over their devotions. In the Christian Life Seminar today the message was about purity.

Lunch today was pizza, followed by the "Battle on the High Seas". This was a competition on an obstacle course using canoes and paddle boats in the water. After that, there was a game where a team member would be catapulted off the Blob (a big giant soft blob thingy in the water) and had to catch a football in the air before hitting the water. Joe was in an inner tube throwing tennis balls to his leader and scored a point for his team.

Another game had the boys and girls from each team lining up in three long lines. They had to pass a bucket filled with water over their heads to the end of the line, where the water was then dumped into a barrel. The campers got very wet (sometimes drenched!).

They also played basketball in the water. All of these events were going on simultaneously, where the cabins are at different stations at the same time.

The girls were swimming while the guys went on a hike to the Four Falls. Rev. Finley said that they left as boys and came back as men, as this is a very hard and treacherous hike. All of the boys did great on the hike. Tomorrow, they will switch around and the girls will hike while the boys swim.

Afterwards, the campers had Free Time, which consists of the Giant Swing, Rifle Shooting, Land Trolley, Super Slide and the Wall. Kenny and Josh did the Giant Swing and, not to be outdone, so did Rev. Finley and Mr. Joe.

Supper grub consisted of pasta with marinara sauce, breadsticks and corn. They always serve iced tea with everything.

During the evening Youth Rally, Rand Hummel preached from II Timothy, Chapter 2 - a message about reaching out to your friends and sharing the gospel. He challenged the kids to think about three unsaved friends and when they return home, to talk to these friends about the Gospel. The teens filled out decision cards which will be sent to Grace for follow-up to see if they talked to the unsaved friends.

This evening the skit was about the Adventure on the High Seas - where staff members Willie Partin and Matt Herbster played the Captain and First Officer. The skit was like a Broadway production, about an hour long and very fun. After the skit, there was a time of pizza, glow sticks and fellowship, along with soccer and volleyball. It was all awe-inspiring.

Some notes about some of the kids:
*Grace is high energy, all smiles and excited. She is having a great time. Grace, Rachel and Karen are always buddying up together.

*Bethany is all smiles, although she does miss her Mom and is thinking about her.

*Arielle has been memorizing scripture, since she has been challenged by her counselor. Arielle has been hanging out with Victoria.

*Faith is always laughing and outgoing and involved in all the competitions. Brianna and Faith have been hanging out together. Today they went tubing.

*Heather can make friends with a tree (meaning she makes friends with everyone!).

*Holly is also making a lot of new friends and she keeps introducing her new friends to Rev. Finley.

*The Three Musketeers - Rachel, Grace, and Karen - are always together.

*Arie and Raymond are on the Red Team, which wins most of the challenges. They are savages.

*Shawna is everywhere. Rev. Finley sees her the most, as she is always doing something. She is always bragging about how much she likes her counselor.

*Faith started a trend, where she bought a shirt and had everyone sign it with a sharpie marker. Now, a lot of the other Grace kids have bought shirts and are getting them signed for mementos.

The coffee shop, Cool Beans, is very busy. They have fruit smoothies and other coffee shop items.

Tomorrow:
*Family Reunion - where our our church Youth Group gets together and gives testimonies. "What is God doing and where are we going?" The girls will hike and the boys will swim.
*Spoke Tag - get in a spoke - there is a center point and lines extend straight out like a giant bike wheel. A number and team color is called out and the teens run around and back to their spot in a relay race.
*Feet ball (tomorrow night) - we'll find out what that's going to be.

Friday will be a huge day - they will try to do everything that hasn't been done yet. Friday night 8:15 - 10:15 - Evening Service and Fireside Testimony Service. A time when hearts will be broken and decisions will be made.

Saturday rise and shine at 7:00 a.m. Out of here at 9:00 a.m.. Hopefully home between 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

The kids are getting into a good pattern of daily devotions. Please pray for the messages and our teens.

Lake competition. Wet, but still smiling.

Left as boys, returned as men. Old and new friends.

Uh oh. (Giant Swing) Auditorium.

Daddy and daughter watch the competitions.

Thursday, August 13th:

The weather was much better today. The breakfast this morning was Rev. Finley's personal favorite - biscuits with sausage gravy. After breakfast the campers attended Chapel. Rand Hummel preached on Jonah Chapter 3. Campers then went out onto the field and played spoke tag (described earlier), which was a lot of fun. Next, they had God and I Time, with Follow-up Time afterwards.

Lunch today was turkey on crescent rolls.

After lunch they had their Family Reunion. Just the kids from our group went to the Activity Center. Everyone munched on candy bars and soda. They opened up with funny stories, then most of the kids gave testimonies. The sponsors recognized that even though our kids put on a façade that everything in their lives is okay, they are really hurting inside. The kids are dealing with such items as losing loved ones, divorce, and family members leaving for college, etc. The sponsors also realized that when the teens go back to Baltimore, there will be a battle, as a lot of the teens will have to go back to dealing with the real world when they go home. This week at The Wilds kind of steadied the teens, since it was God-centered and focused. Some of the kids were discouraged about having to deal with their issues when they return home until Mrs. Finley told them that the same God that is helping them stay steady at The Wilds will be helping them when they get home. This helped the kids to cope, and they are coming home with an attitude of victory. The leaders were affected, too.

After the Family Reunion, the girls went on the Second Falls Hike and most of the boys went to the lake. Joe was kayaking. Kenny, Josh, Arie and Philip went on the Blob. Rev. Finley Blobbed too.

Dinner consisted of roast beast (beef), potatoes and, as always, iced tea.

In the evening service, Rand Hummel preached on Psalm 119, focusing on verse 9, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. " He was very focused on the teens. He also went through verses 10 - 16 and spoke about meditating.

After the service, the campers played Feet Ball, where the boys lay on their backs on the floor. There is a circle in the middle with red, green and blue ropes (for each team) and the campers trying to get the foos ball over the rope to their goal. The girls are on the outside putting the ball in play. The Red Team (Crimson Clippers) was winning, then the Green Team (Emerald Coast Galleons) came back and won the competition. Everyone was cheering constantly during the competitions. (The Blue Team is called the Sapphire Schooners.)

After a busy day, they were off to bed.

Please keep our teens and sponsors in prayer.

More notes on the kids:
*Katie really enjoyed the hike.

*Sherita didn't want her picture taken tonight, but Shawna got her to get it taken.

*DaJuan drew a picture of Rand Hummel and showed it to everyone. DaJuan is a budding artist drawing a man of God.

*Rev. Finley started calling Bridgette "Smiles", because she smiles whenever you see her.

*Holly said the calves on her legs were getting huge because of the many stairs they have to climb to get everywhere.

More pics...

Shirt signing.

Rev. Finley and Mr. Joe brave the Giant Swing. Zip Line.

Stairs and more stairs. Stairs are everywhere.

The gang's all here.

Friday, August 14th:

Rev. Finley said that on Wednesday, he had forgotten to mention that Patch the Pirate popped out of the boat in the Auditorium and all the teens were excited to see him. Many of the teens were brought up with Patch the Pirate and knew his songs. Patch the Pirate was asked to stay, but said that he couldn't because his boat was double parked in the stream outside.

Also, on Wednesday, Rev. Finley met an elderly gentleman sitting outside. During the conversation, Rev. Finley asked who he was and Rev. Finley was embarrassed to find out that he was speaking with Dr. Ken Hay, the founder of the camp. The Wilds is in it's 40th year (started in 1969).

Breakfast this morning was French toast and sausage. In morning Chapel, Rand Hummel preached from Jonah Chapter 4, about how Jonah had to deal with his anger because he was angry at God. "God and I Time" was next, followed by Tube Tug. During Tube Tug, teams are lined up across from each other according to height (smallest to tallest), numbers are called out and the teens with those numbers play tug-of-war with the inner tube. Next, was "God & I Follow-up" with the teens and counselors.

Lunch today was hamburgers and the best French fries Rev. Finley has every tasted. They were unbelievable!

Free Time was all afternoon today. Kids went on the Giant Swing, Land Trolley (zip line), Inner Tubes, etc. The Craft Store was open and packed with people buying shirts, books, coffee mugs, CDs, etc.

This evening's dinner was chicken tenders with dipping sauces and scalloped potatoes.

After dinner, everyone went to the Amphitheater, where the winning team was announced. The Red Team won, but the Green Team was a close second, with the Blue Team in third place. Everyone was cheering and there was a lot of excitement.

Later in the evening, Rand Hummel preached on I Samuel Chapters 13 and 14, the story about Johnathan and his armour bearer being used by God to bring victory. He said that everyone is in one of four companies:
*Company A - Cowards - Hid in holes
*Company B - Comfortables - Sat down and ate pomegranates in the middle of the battle
*Company C - Chameleons - Just try to fit in at all costs
*Company D - Courageous - Johnathan and his armour bearer were courageous and God brought about big victory through courageous men

Next, was the Fireside Service. Every teen in the camp had written a testimony and some were chosen and read out loud (without telling whose testimony was being read). The testimonies gave all the glory to God about what God had done this week. During the testimonies and singing, the teens that had surrendered their lives this week were able to throw a stick into the fire, which symbolized their sacrifice and surrender to God. A stick all by itself does nothing, but when its thrown into the fire, its bright and being used. That is what a sacrifice is - being used for God. Afterwards they closed in prayer and were off to their cabins.

Tomorrow, they will load the bus between 7:00 - 7:30 a.m., eat breakfast and begin their journey home.

Here come the pics:

Picture being taken from the crane of all the teens in the camp.