S'mores and bonfires

Last night after a church service I attended, we had a bonfire back behind the church. It was the first bonfire of the season for me, and immediately it brought back thoughts of campfires down in the rec field, outpost, s'mores making, the smell of your clothes after standing around the campfire all evening, and trying not to melt your shoes/pants from standing too close to the fire!

This bonfire started off pretty large...they tried to light 4 or 5 wood pallets with gasoline...if only they had taken outdoor living skills! All you need is 1 match and some pine needles, right?! Well, after a few minutes, the guys in charge of the fire had a rip-roaring bonfire that shot up about 12 feet. Try to roast marshmallows off of that! Being hungry for my first s'more of the season, I ventured into the woods behind the church to find that perfect s'more stick. It was dark, so the first thing I found seemed perfect enough! Haha.

Let me tell you, no matter how large the fire or how dirty the stick...s'mores taste like s'mores! Is your mouth watering yet? After I enjoyed a *few* s'mores, I passed along the stick and just stood and enjoyed the fellowship with others and the warmth of the bonfire. There's something unique about gathering around a fire. What is it about being around a fire that brings such peace and fellowship, a desire to just sit and look at the fire?

When we're at camp, gathering around the campfire happens a lot. For sunday night campfire, outpost, activity classes, and the final friday night campfire. We get to worship, laugh, enjoy delicious desserts, and be out in God's creation. Being at the bonfire last night and having a s'more just made me more eager to be at camp and enjoy one of our campfires down in the rec field, or build a fire while on outpost or in the activity classes. I hope you are looking forward to that too.

Getting the word out

Hello again! It's probably been too long since we last updated, but things in the office have been busy. Hard to imagine being that busy when we aren't running camp, I bet you're thinking. As a matter of fact, we're in one of our busiest times of the off-season. Our brochure is out and in the hands of our camp friends and family. We anxiously await those registrations, and really do get exited about each one that comes through! We've already been to one camp fair this winter. The Metro Parent Summer Camp Fair was held January 29-30 in Ann Arbor and Beverly Hills. We had the opportunity to talk to a good amount of people, and even saw a few current campers!

Besides getting all of the promotional materials ready for the camp fairs we will be attending, we are in the process of creating packets of information to send to local churches, hoping to get the word out about Camp CedarRidge. Though we do have lists of churches, if you know of a church that you think would benefit from receiving that information (brochures, the dvd, flyers, an intro letter), please contact the camp office so that we can send one to them! We want to reach as many prospective campers as we can!

Thank you for your continued support and prayer! It is much appreciated!