Week Seven – Extreme Weather

This past week we took a break from the hot, dry weather we’ve had and talked about snow, rain, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. We had about 70 campers join us each day and they learned that God is all-powerful as we talked about stories in the Bible when God has used the weather to show His glory. Campers were so excited to learn the memory verse for the week:

“The Lord gives me light and saves me.

Why should I fear anyone?

The Lord is my place of safety.

Why should I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

The kids were creative and energetic in their songs, raps, and skits to help them remember the verse. We celebrated with our teen crew who has been working hard each week and took first place in the performance on Friday!

Once again, a huge shout-out to the Vivion Road YMCA and Sherwood Bible Church for letting us swim! Our younger campers enjoyed a visit to Safety Street where they got to learn about weather safety and pet safety. They had a blast hanging out at Shawnee Mission Park too! Another highlight of the week was a visit from KCTV5’s Chief Meteorologist, Chris Suchan, who shared the story of how he became a weatherman, showed videos of hurricanes and tornadoes, and shared how the kids can stay safe in extreme weather. Thanks so much for visiting City Camp! We ended the week with a fantastic trip to Science City at Union Station— thanks for letting us come explore!

Week Six – Leaving A Legacy

Our friends from Legacy Ministries in Wichita, KS shared a week of music and arts with our campers for the third year in a row, and the kids loved it! Our average this week was 87 campers per day. They each had opportunities for lots of fun and creativity in their classes, including: guitar, jewelry making, baking, flying things, sports, dance, crafts, and much more. Some of our kids began learning how to play the guitar and write songs, others baked tasty treats—like colorful cupcakes and twisty pretzels, many made beautiful bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. Several of the campers really enjoyed building airplanes of different types and flying them around the park.

On Friday the kids showcased all their projects for their families during our Ice Cream Social. Each camper’s artwork was on display and groups performed the skills they had been practicing all week. Guests were surprised by a special performance of martial arts where several of the campers broke solid boards in two using the techniques they learned throughout the week. It was a special time to share the activities of the week with loved ones and have families meet our Legacy Camp friends too! Thanks so much to each person who volunteered their time to make this a memorable week for the City Camp kids!

Week Five - Christmas in July

Campers were surprised to come in on Monday morning and find the Youth Center decorated for Christmas! An average of 85 kids joined us each day for the festivities: decorating Christmas trees, listening to Christmas stories, making gingerbread houses, and learning about the real meaning of Christmas—celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Savior.

The weather was hot, and we were grateful once again to the Vivion Road YMCA for allowing us to use their swimming pool. We stayed cool with thoughts of winter weather and even enjoyed a Christmas movie and hot chocolate—yes, the kids actually wanted to drink hot cocoa! Many thanks to Noland Road Baptist Church for letting us use their building!

Thanks again to everyone who makes City Camp possible!

Week Four – Celebrating the Olympic Games

This past week the theme was Olympics, and who was here to join us, but the youth group from Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas!!! THANKS ONE TEN YOUTH GROUP!!!! We stayed busy with dance parties, scavenger hunts, roller skating at River Roll, getting creative at Hallmark’s Kaleidoscope, swimming at CoCo Key Water Resort and fun at the petting zoo at Deanna Rose Farmstead! The neighborhood carnival was also quite amazing; the snow cones were a highlight of the day.

For some, this week was a reunion and for others it was a week of meeting new people. The week was filled with many great gym games. Our Texan friends lead a classic game of dodgeball with one important twist… THERE WERE CHICKENS… Yeah, chickens in dodgeball. Thankfully, they were not real chickens. The kids had a ton of fun throwing rubber chickens at each other.

The week was exciting and some of the fun included seeing all the cool dance moves of the campers and the leaders from One Ten youth group as they joyfully participated in dance parties and choreographed dances. Week after week it’s such a great feeling to see the smiles of the campers, and to be able to share the greatness of God.

Week Three: Around the World

The third week of City Camp was no less exciting than the first two. We had our highest attendance so far—85 children joined us on Friday! This week we learned about the Great Commission and God’s love for the nations. The campers did an awesome job of memorizing and performing Matthew 28:19-20.

 

The kids learned about different cultures all over the world. They engaged in many activities including bartering in the market, eating candy sushi, and making maracas. A big thank you to our very own international interns who were very excited to teach the campers about Korean culture!

 

We stayed busy with our usual swimming—thanks to the Vivion Road YMCA and Sherwood Bible Church—and games and finished the week with a trip to the Kansas City Zoo! It was a great opportunity to see creatures from all nations and we are very grateful to the Zoo for allowing us to bring our group for free!