If you were to walk the grounds of Qwanoes right now, you would notice a few things going on around you that aren’t quite the same as all the other weeks in the summer. It’s Family Camp at Qwanoes and what a special time to see dad’s playing soccer with their kids, mom’s taking a ride on the screamer with their daughters and families growing closer to each other every day! Camp is a special place where activities, games, Q-Town and just being outside as a family, brings families closer to each other in a very special way.
A story about a dad and his kids… I was just outside a moment ago watching a pretty “intense” game of soccer with a bunch of dad’s and their boys. I had a good visit with one of the dads on the side lines as I had a chance to ask him what made Qwanoes so special to him and he simply said this: “I don’t get to be with my kids very much during the week, and this time with my boy right now at Qwanoes brings us together in a way like nothing else quite does, we just love it. At the end of the week my relationship with my son is way closer, and as a dad that means the world to me”. As we we continued to watch the soccer game unfold in front of us, he paused and then said: “I have a daughter who I took on a double biscuit ride behind the boat yesterday…and I will never forget her face when she looked up at me from where she was sitting, water spraying all around us and she said… daddy is this real? Is this really happening? She was having such a an amazing time she couldn’t believe it was real!! And I got to be a part of that moment, I didn’t miss it! That’s what I love about being at Qwanoes… moments like that”. With that… off he ran back into the soccer game to make more of those memories that will last a life time with his son.
At the other end of the field I saw Ben Reynolds checking out the action in the challenge course. Ben was on summer staff in 1998 and 1999 as our Q-Town music leader and we are glad to have him back all the way from Nashville to be a part of leading Q-Town for the adults this week! Ben always looks like he is contemplating something as I often catch him looking off into the distance with a coffee in hand. I of course had to ask him what he was thinking about and he had this to say “It’s been really neat to come back as a former staff member after all these years and see how the camp’s activities change, facilities change and the summer staff change, but the heart of the camp still stays the same… Christ has remained at the centre of everything and that’s what makes this place so special”. As a former staff member myself from 1998, it’s surreal to see Ben on the stage of the old Q-Town stage in Club Coco singing “It’s a Good Life” … It is so neat to hear all the changes that have happened in Ben’s life, but one thing just like Qwanoes has remained the same, he too has kept Christ at the centre.
Tonight is a special night at Qwanoes! Well to be honest, every night seems like a special night to me! The gong just went and that means it’s dinner time for the kids, that’s right just the kids! Later tonight there will be a special banquet just for the adults, it’s covered in secrecy and I can’t even tell you what to expect, but I know it’s going to be good!
Looks like I got ahead of myself! Before the banquet everyone will come together at the fireside for another great time together. We have silly skits, funny songs, and a really rich time together praising God and talking about how God’s love is out of this world! You never know what’s going to happen at a Qwanoes fireside, sometimes we even have special guests who show up from other countries like Lunksvia! So far we’ve met their bobsled team and seen a cooking show that involved cooking & aerobics at the same time!
There are still two more days left of Family Camp and it’s going to be awesome! And then Junior High #3 starts on Sunday!
