From Jan. 9-11 the churches of the San Joaquin Valley joined together for a weekend of worship and community at Hume Lake Winter Camp. This particular trip was estimated to be amongst the greatest attended with 15 charter buses and approximately 1000 high school, junior high and elementary students. During this annual trip, campers are provided the opportunity to attend daily worship services and sermons, participate in a plethora of activities and simply escape the stresses of daily life.
The theme of Hume’s 2015 winter camp was “Ordinary Things”. Its main focus was complete trust in God centered upon the key passage, Proverbs 3:5. Timothy Nyberg,’,16 says that the camp?s straightforward yet integral message taught him to rely upon God in all circumstances.
“I think the theme of this year was a simple but powerful message,” Nyberg said. “Although, it was on a verse that most of us know and a story that is common to us all, it was a refreshing reminder. It reminded us all that we are never alone and that no matter what God will always keep us on the right path.”
The speaker for the weekend was Jeff Gokee founder of non-profit organization Wallets for Water and Executive Director of outreach program, PhoenixONE. First time attendee, Michael Gibson, ’17, enjoyed the way Gokee balanced humorous storytelling and deep theological reasoning within his sermons.
“It was a good experience and they definitely did a good job of presenting God?s word,” Gibson said “I thought the speaker (Gokee) was very good. He was very animated and had good way of tying his stories to the message.”
The band responsible for leading worship during the 2015 camp chapels was The Advance, a young contemporary trio. Alexis Kalugin, ’16, says that The Advance made worship a very personal and unique experience.
“I really enjoyed the worship band, Kalugin said. “They were really refreshing and not what I expected but they made worship with God very intimate. My favorite song would probably be ‘Give us Faith’ or ‘Cornerstone'”.
“I thought it was a really amazing experience and I think that everybody should be able to go on it if they can with their church,” Vanderlin said. “It’s just a really good opportunity to connect with friends and get closer to God while you’re up there. You go up to the camp with different friends each time but you always get this same experience.”
Besides being a time for renewal, Winter Camp provided an opportunity for snow sports and rare contests. Broom hockey and box sledding are amongst the camps most revered traditions. In one, campers compete in a shoeless ice hockey tournament using brooms for sticks. In the other, each church is required to make a functional sled out of duct tape and card board boxes.
Triton Siebert, ’17, says that he enjoyed the free time and wacky church contests most. Although, he believes that the camp impacted him spiritually as well.
“My favorite part was playing broom hockey and snowboarding,” Siebert said. “Also chucking ice snowballs at my friends. But I also took away a better understanding of how God works in our lives.”
The campers loaded back into their charter buses at approximately 1 p.m., on January 11 and arrived between 3 to 4 p.m. at the People’s Church parking lot.
Multi-time camper Tyler Vanderlin, ’17, says that Hume Lake always provides an opportunity to both bond with friends and draw near to God.
“I thought it was a really amazing experience and I think that everybody should be able to go on it if they can with their church,” Vanderlin said. “It’s just a really good opportunity to connect with friends and get closer to God while you’re up there. You go up to the camp with different friends each time but you always get this same experience.”
For more information on Hume Lake Winter Camp visit www.humelake.org.
For more features, read the Jan. 15 article, Math teacher travels through Europe over break.
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