Kodiak here! Last Sunday brought us our first family camp of the summer, and we love the change of pace that comes with having whole families at camp. From welcoming wide-eyed toddlers on the first day to hanging out with parents in the Town Hall late into the night, family camp is such a special place! Read more below about some of my highlights. 

Favourite Moments: It's a long standing tradition that the word "announcement" is guaranteed to start the Announcement Song at Agape, and 2018 didn't disappoint! Even better this year was that campers were wise to Chris Jobe (one of our directors) changes, so the song was sung after such words as "notifications", "ideas", "metaphorical musings" and much more - no thesaurus is going to slow down our families!

Silliest Moments: You'll imagine my horror when one of the staff, Victor, stood up at the Superhero banquet on Thursday night exclaiming "There's a hair in my salad!" Brulee (the Hospitality Coordinator) and I stared at each other in shocked as Victor ran out of the room in anger. It all made sense a few minutes later when he came running back into the Dining Hall covered in green paint... it turns out he wasn't Victor at all, but Bruce Banner - who had just made a timely (and hilarious) transformation into the Incredible Hulk! Campers burst into applause as he ran around the room pretending to be angry, and Brulee and I breathed a big sigh of relief.

Meaningful Moment: Every week of the summer brings a different teacher, a different worship style and different songs. That being said, there is something incredible about family camps: the full-throated voices of all ages ringing around main camp makes my heart soar! Agape 2018 didn't disappoint, with campers singing so loudly that our summer staff (standing near the Crowsnest) commented that it sounded like we were right outside the Lighthouse!

The Weather Report: I really hate to say it, but we needed the rain! Thankfully, we had a great group of campers who refused to be undeterred by the thunderstorms and rain showers. The real bonus of the rainy weather is that the fire ban was lifted on Wednesday morning, meaning that our hot dogs, sausages and marshmallows were finally roasted over an open flame again (instead of the safety of our ovens in the kitchen). 

On a personal note, Beacon would like to say a giant thank you to Chris and Tanya Jobe, who are stepping down after 16 years(!) as Agape Family Camp directors. They've done a phenomenal job leading this camp (and others) over the years, and while we're sad to see them step down, we are grateful for their generosity, creativity and joy as they served. We're looking forward to seeing them back at camp in the near future (possibly with some grandkids?). A heart-felt welcome to Rowan and Joy Fraser for stepping into the Agape director roles - we're excited to work with you as next year comes up!