Summer 2010 - From Ty's Perspective

Hey Camp Friends!

I wanted to share with you some things I wrote in my prayer journal shortly after the end of this summer. I found this the other day and it really helped me reconnect with how great our summer was at Camp Deer Run! God blessed our camp in many ways throughout the summer. I thought this might help you all reconnect with your camping experience whether as a camper or staff member. I asked myself five questions and here are my answers.

What was your favorite moment of the summer?

Most summers I would have difficulty pen pointing one moment but this summer all though there were many awesome moments, I find it is easy to name my favorite. 4th Session, the second Wednesday night. M8 campers led worship that night. Kade Cox, Brad "Duff" Beard, Aaron Bently and Sean Dulock preached from the Word that night. Most of the boys have been camping for many years a few of them since they were nine years old. It was wonderful to see how these boys have grown and matured in Christ. Camp has played a part in their development. That night following the service we baptized eight campers in the new pool. I was privileged to baptize Abby Fair who I was a part of the Gilmer church of Christ youth group when I attended there and worked with the Youth Group. She is an awesome young girl who has great joy in all that she does. It was an uplifting night that showed how God is using CDR to help develop young people into strong Christian men and women.

What will you miss the most from the summer?

I will miss the daily opportunity to work along side 54 awesome Christians (the Summer Staff). Their energy, their focus, and desire to serve is amazing. I will miss their smiles, their laughter and their contagious love for camp. I will miss watching them serve the campers and enjoy their camp experience. I will miss watching them love on my son, Drayton. I will miss their beautiful singing. I will miss their passion for God and their desire to offer Him a pleasing sacrifice. I will miss Thursday night's in the office having fun with everyone working together to prepare things for Friday checkout. I will miss these awesome young men and women. I cherish all the moments we shared together.

What is the best part of living at camp each day during the summer?

The best part of living at camp each day during the summer is having the opportunity to live in a place that is focused on God and separate from the world. The purpose of all that is going on is to glorify God and teach others about Him. To be surrounded by this each day and to feel the bond between co-workers in the Gospel is an incredible daily blessing. It is always hard to return to the "real world" when the summer ends.

What was a funny memory from this summer?

Funny but painful - Walking back from Hoche Outcamping with staffer, Jamie Green, I was bitten by a mystery creature. It was not the unifang since whatever it was left two sets of fang marks on my side. I'm sure it was a spider, or at least I think so. I never got a look at what bit me but it hurt! I howled like crazy as the pain set in. I returned to my house to google bite marks and the closest thing I found was a black widow bite! I took some medicine and went onto bed wondering if I would wake up and have to visit the Winnsboro E.R. as a patient for the first time! Luckily it was not really a black widow and the swelling went away by the next morning. It was a funny occurrence and I hope I never meet that mysterious creature again!

What would be your message to the campers and staff?

Realize today and every day that Jesus Christ died for you! God loves you so much! Respond to that love and imitate it. Know that God is with you and come before Him in prayer because He cares for you. Know that I love you and I'm thankful for your faith in Jesus. God can and will do amazing things through you!

In Him,

Ty Ford

CDR, Director

Checking In

I want to apologize to everyone for not having many posts up lately. I am going to start doing better with this blog. A couple of weeks ago I posted a message about sharing prayer request with each other on this blog, and trying to do it every Sunday. A few Sundays have passed since then, I haven't done one of those posts. So here we go. I didn't get any specific requests, but that doesn't mean there aren't things for us to pray for. Camp has been over for almost 2 months, but there is still plenty of work that needs to be prayed about. Running Camp Deer Run is a year long job, and prayers from the Alumni is always appreciated. I encourage you this week to take a few minutes out of your day to pray for Camp Deer Run and for God to continue to bless the work that is being done at this special place.

Hopefully this post will get me back into a fairly routine habit of posting again, and I will stick with the weekly prayer list. If you have something you would like to share with the CDR Alumni family so that we may all pray about it, you can email it to me at cdralumni@gmail.com.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky

Do you have any prayer requests?

I tried doing this a few months ago, and kind of got away from it, but would like to try it again. I would like to start listing prayer requests from any and all CDR Alumni. I think that it can be such a powerful tool for us to be able to take requests to God together as Deer Runners. I would like to post these requests or praises every Sunday for everyone to see and pray for during the week. I hope that this is something that will really take off and will help all Alumni to be able to grow closer to each other and to God. If you have anything that you would like for me to post this Sunday, email it to cdralumni@gmail.com .

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky

Thank you for Camp Deer Run

I think this is too cute of a story not to tell, and I think that it sums up how so many of us feel about Camp. My wife, Sarah, and I have a 2 year old son named Riley. We have taken Riley out to Camp since he was born, and this summer he went out there with me several times. He really enjoys spending time out there and being able to run around, hanging out with the big kids. He also has made several friends his age that he talks about all of the time. Well, every night when we say our prayers, I will start out by saying "Dear God," and Riley will follow with "Thank you for ____" over and over and over. Usually he will fill in the blank with a grandparent, or an aunt or uncle, or somebody's pet. But every night, without any prompting from me or his mommy, he says, "Thank you for Camp Deer Run." Every time I hear this it puts a huge smile on my face a warm feeling in my heart. I feel the same way about Camp as my two year old son does, and I already know that it is a place that he loves. I just think that's really cool.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky

Changes at Camp...Pavilion

When I started doing this blog, part of my intent was to provide former Deer Runners with a look into Camp today. I know that there are lots of Alumni who have not been out to Camp in many years, so I want to show them what Camp is like today, and how things may have changed over the years. In all parts of life, change can be looked at in a negative light, and Camp is no different. Its important to understand that the changes that have been made at Camp are made with the purpose of bettering the work that is done there every summer...preaching the Gospel to the thousands of kids that come to Camp. There is always much thought and prayer put into all the decisions, and making sure that Camp stays the same place that we all fell in love with. If you haven't been out to Camp in over 15 years, some things may look different, but you would be able to see that Camp is the same as it always has been. So, I would like to show some of the things that have changed at Camp, and bring everybody up to speed on what Camp is like today.

The first "new" addition to Camp that I would like to highlight is the Pavilion. I say "new", but it was built 12 years ago. I'm starting with it because I think it is the best thing built at Camp since I became involved with Camp almost 20 years ago. The Pavilion was built and named in honor of E.H. Smith, or PaPaw to most people. It was built between Cheuk and Hoche Ballfields, and met several needs immediately. The Pavilion is a true multi use facility. It is used for cabin and group activities, especially for application lessons. On mornings when it rains, Flag Devo can be held underneath the roof so that campers and staff don't have to start the day off soaked.

Before the Pavilion was built, the only place to play basketball was on an uneven, bumpy stretch of pavement out by Hoche Ballfield. It was not a very safe place to play, and was difficult to get a good game going. The Pavilion has a full length basketball court with goals on both sides.
On special occasions such as Pass the Torch, or the 50th reunion, tables and chairs can be set up to serve a meal underneath the shade.
The best use of the Pavilion though can be seen on any Middle Sunday of a 2 week session. This summer during 4th Session, there was close to 600 people worshipping together in the Pavilion. Before the Pavilion was built, all worships were held in the Rec Hall, which is just big enough to squeeze in around 200 people. Obviously this would not be an adequate place to hold worship with 600 people. Being able to worship together in the Pavilion, all under one roof, lifting praises to God, really captures the true spirit of Camp Deer Run.
If you haven't been to Camp in many years, I encourage you to mark your calendar to come out to some of the Alumni events we have planned. I really think that you will be happy seeing Camp today and understanding the impact that it is still having today on the Campers that come through the gates every summer.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky

Mark Your Calendars

About 8 months ago I met with Ty Ford and we discussed the need to reach out to former Camp Deer Runners, or Alumni. We decided it was time to embrace technology to be able to spread the word about Camp, and started this blog, as well as getting a Camp Deer Run Facebook page running. The Camp Deer Run website has been redesigned and has a great new look. These things helped to get us off to a great start with reaching out to CDR Alumni, and will help things to only get better. Through this blog we have been able catch up on Alumni during the "Alumni Spotlight" posts, and have let people who aren't able to make it out to Camp see what it is like today.

Part of the plan of reaching out to Alumni was to organize times for Alumni to get together with each other and have fun catching up with people you may not have seen in years. We had the first one of these this year with the first "Camp Deer Run Baby Round Up." It was a great success and will have another one in 3 years. Close to 30 little children were at Camp with their parents who worked at Camp in the past. I know that everyone who attended had a wonderful day. Now it is time to expand on these gatherings. There have been several things planned for the next year, and you need to know about them now so that you can put them on your calendar.

February 4-6

CDR Alumni Men's Retreat

This is obviously for men only. There was a small Men's Retreat last year to see how well it went over and it was a great time. This year we are expecting a big turnout. If you are a former male Deer Runner, then this is for you. It will be a time of fellowship and worship, with plenty of time to catch up with old friends.

March 25-27

CDR Alumni Women's Retreat

This is obviously for women only. Same idea as the men's retreat.

June 11 OR June 25

CDR Alumni Family Day

We are not sure which day this will be, but should know within a week or two. This is going to be a day for anyone who has been a part of the Camp Deer Run Family to come out and enjoy a Saturday at Camp with other former Deer Runners. It is being called Family Day not because it is only for "families", but because we are all part of the Deer Run Family.

Hopefully all three of these events will have big turnouts. As we get closer to the dates I will be posting updates with schedules and other information, but for now, make sure to put these on your calendar. Friendships that are formed at Camp are so special, and these events will give us all a chance to catch up with each other and strengthen those relationships. Don't worry about contacting anyone right now about your plans to attend, just plan on being able to attend these events. If you have any questions you can email me at cdralumni@gmail.com.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky

Summer Recap

Its been over for about a week, but there are still many campers and staff who constantly have Camp Deer Run on their minds. If you take the time to ask anyone who spent time at Camp this summer, they will tell you that they had an amazing experience. Every summer at Camp is special in its own way, and this summer was no different. Each camper left Camp at the end of their session with a fire burning inside of them that was ignited at Camp. They left with a strong desire to live life for God, and will have many stories and memories to lean on during the year. If you were able to make it out to Camp this summer, then you know how great things are going. But I thought it would be fun to share some numbers from this summer at Camp.

206...Total number of PeeWee day campers. This is a very important part of the summer for Camp Deer Run, for these campers are introduced to Camp for the very first time, and will hopefully come back when they are old enough to camp overnight.

977...Total number of overnight campers this summer. If you average that number out over 6 sessions you get 163 campers per session. This an impressive number considering that Camp is considered at capacity at 160. So, obviously each session of Camp is full. Kids want to come spend a week or two in the woods surrounded by Godly young men and women, running around getting dirty, playing in the creek, worshipping God. This is a good thing.

1...New pool. The new pool was a physical highlight this summer. Everyone who saw the new pool was very excited about it. I can't think of a better place to cool down during a hot day.

1647...Total attendance for all 3 Middle Sunday worship services.

85...Chickens cooked during Hoche outcamping.

27...Number of little ones who attended the first ever CDR Baby Roundup with their families.

5040...Total attendance for all worship services, both Wednesday nights and Sundays.

27...Campers who decided to take on Christ in baptism. This is the most important number of all, and shows just how successful of a summer this was for Camp Deer Run. A wonderful staff was assembled, a staff that was given the task of being Christian leaders for each and every camper that came to Camp this summer. We know that they succeeded. The 27 baptisms this summer is one way of knowing this, but we also know that each camper was loved during their time at Camp, and that they were shown the love of Christ. They left Camp closer to God, and with a desire to live their lives for Him. These are the things that truly show Camp was a success. You can ask any camper, and they will tell you how on fire they were for God when they left Camp, and how their things they learned at Camp motivates them to live for God.

It was a great summer. I hope that you had a chance to make it there this summer, but if not, maybe through this blog you are able to keep up with the happenings of Camp. Just because the summer is over, the work of Camp does not end. Preparation for next summer has already begun. Continue to pray for Camp and the work that goes on there.

In the next post I am going to share some dates for CDR Alumni gatherings in the next year, that way you can get them on your calendar. Its been a great to get started trying to bring former Deer Runners back into the fold, and there are many great ideas being tossed around to better serve the Alumni. Keep checking back here to get some updates soon.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky