Camp is underway and we're off to a good start this year. On Saturday, the JCs and SCs loaded up a caravan of vehicles and ventured out from Excelsior UMC to Decision Hills Camp. We kept pace with each other pretty well, for the most part. We did (ahem) run a little late, most likely because of yours truly, but we more or less arrived when we wanted to.

At that point, it was preparing for some of our duties at camp, as well as letting small group counselors connect and a staff made up of nine churches meet each other and learn to work with one another. Kristen almost broke the Frosted Flakes cereal dispenser.

On Sunday, a few campers trickled in from Faribault, the NE Metro, Jordan, and even South Dakota. Eventually, the Beast (the unofficial name for the big green bus from Excelsior UMC) lumbered into camp and unloaded a plethora of campers at our doorstep. After getting everyone registered and playing a few pick-up volleyball games, it was time to dive into camp.

Last night the Junior Counselors and Senior Counselors introduced themselves to the camp and everyone broke out into their small groups who they'll be meeting with for the rest of the week. Afterward, I led a brief worship service and we headed up to Meditation Hill. One campfire later, we were all definitely ready for some sleep.

Today has seen some water temperature issues - namely, making sure there's enough hot water for everyone's showers. This is partially our responsibility and partially new heating unit parts coming in this week. Despite this, spirits are high and I walked around camp observing great small group discussion on today's topic, Community.

Well, I'm off to enjoy "horizontal time," the so-called afternoon post-lunch siesta. The campers will do crafts and take the swim test today, then play some great volleyball and get some swimming in this afternoon.

I'll continue to keep you posted. I didn't advertise this blog as much as I should have, so help me spread the word.

In faith,
Nate Melcher
LYFE Camp Week I Dean

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Welcome to our new blog about LYFE Camp! Parents, read daily updates about our exploits while your youth is away at camp. Campers, learn about the work that goes into getting camp ready for you! I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS Feed in the right-hand column of this blog for easy reading.

I'm sitting at my desk at Excelsior UMC working on approximately one-thousand more details for LYFE Camp - Week I. My top priority today is updating LYFECamp.org with electronic copies of the dean's letter and health form. If you haven't received these forms, please download a copy from the website. The dean's letter has very important information for both parents and campers - particularly new campers - and the health form is mandatory for anyone attending camp.

The Junior Counselors had their final meeting on Saturday. We assigned roles and worked on worship services, and definitely had fun re-connecting; many of us haven't seen each other in months! We brought up several prayer requests and stayed (more or less) productive while chowing down on Davanni's pizza. Highlights included learning there is both an emotional and physiological answer to the question, "How are you feeling?", Alia volunteering to do pretty much everything, and a near-brawl (not really) over who would be in charge of volleyball.

The Senior Counselors, meanwhile, had their final meeting on Sunday night at, you guessed it, Davanni's pizza. Our senior staff is a brilliant mix of veterans of Week One, veterans of other weeks, and brand-new leaders who have connected with some campers at lock-ins, UMYs, and trips to the BWCA. It's a staff I'm excited to work with this year. Highlights from this meeting included revelations about small personal connections we didn't know about, learning Kristen really enjoys elements of 15th Century English culture, and me choosing a brilliant new photo caller ID for Eric on my cell phone.

As for me this week, I have a good mix of paperwork, emails and phone calls, shopping, packing, and design work to do over the next few days. I hope to blog about LYFE Camp - Week One every day as our countdown to camp continues, plus see if I can't squeeze in an entry every day (most likely in the mid-morning) during LYFE Camp so parents can hear about some of the great things happening at camp this year. I thank you in-advance for your RSS Feed subscription, dear reader. :)

Regards,
Nate Melcher
Dean - Week I

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