Hye Camp Week 2 Day 5 – Friday’s Daily Hye Life Blog

Today was a sad day for the campers…because they knew it was their last full day at camp. 

Today was also the last day for fishing.  When fishing ended at 7:00 AM, the fish were seen to be jumping for joy knowing that those Armenians were done with their catch and release!

Today Der Krikor led the campers in Badarak.  We were happy to see a lot of campers participate by singing the hymns of the Divine Liturgy.  It was also a joy to have one of the campers, Andrew, play the organ.  In his message, Fr. Krikor urged the campers to use their many talents to spread the word of God, as the disciples did.  At the end of service everyone received Holy Communion.  Assisting Der Krikor was Fr. Yeghishe and Fr. Yessai Bedros, the parish priest of St. Paul Armenian Apostolic church.  After Badarak the campers enjoyed a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, biscuits with gravy and sausage and fruit.

Our classes today included “Question & Answer,” quiz bowl.   Campers were touched by Fr. Krikor’s open dialogue of how he came to God, his calling, and other questions of spirituality.  Fr. Yegeshi taught the campers the significance of the forget-me-not flower to the Genocide as well as it’s significance to our community.

As lunchtime rolled around, campers were treated to Hot dogs, tater tots, Chili, corn chips and salad.

In the afternoon the campers were a bit tense in anticipation of the sports tournament, which included basketball, soccer, volleyball, ping-pong, archery, tavloo and more.  The Arts and Crafts staff made the best awards for all the winners.

Following evening chapel service, campers enjoyed Luleh Kabob, Armenian Pilaf, veggies and salad for dinner.  Delicious!  As a special treat the cabin clean up winners received fro-yo (frozen yogurt).

After dinner campers danced up a storm at the Arbor to traditional Armenian songs.  It was great to see some of the campers teaching “shoorjbar,” to staff, which they learned in class.

This blog has been brought to you by Hye Camp's 2nd week office staff.  It has been a joy keeping you in the Hye life loop this week. We hope you enjoyed it.  Tomorrow your kids will be returning home with lots of wonderful stories as well as lots of laundry.  Hye Camp second week signing off. 

 

 

Hye Camp Week 2 Day 5 - Thursday's Daily Hye Life Blog

Good morning Hye Camp followers!  This morning we woke up to another beautiful morning and enjoyed day full of sunshine and blue skies.  As a testament to the success of last night’s fun filled night of dance, crafts, and tavloo, this morning we had only three campers get up for our 6:00 AM fishing session.  However this morning’s session was very successful.  We caught several fish, with one of our campers caught the record size fish for the week, a 10” bass.  In addition, two of our staffers fished for the first time, and both caught fish, with one catching three in all.

After fishing and cleanup, each of the cabins went to “Morning Watch”, where the cabins went to separate quiet areas to reflect and discuss what they had experienced during the week.  During their discussions, our Der Hayrs sang sharagans using the portable loudspeaker.

After a breakfast of French Toast and sausage with fresh strawberries, our campers spent the morning in morning classes addressing Armenian Dance, Music, Our Armenian Church, and Bible Study.

Following classes, we had our traditional Taco Thursday lunch, followed by an afternoon of canoeing, archery, volleyball, basketball, football, and Arts & Crafts.

Following a lasagna dinner, we went on our Evening Hike where everyone enjoyed the sunset, fellowship, as well as choreg and peaches.   Upon our return to camp, we all went to the Lion’s Den – the campfire – for our Talent Show.  We had some amazing performances by a number of our talented campers. 

 

Hye Camp Week 2 Day 4 – Wednesday’s Daily Hye Life Blog

Goodbye rain, hello sunshine!  It was a beautiful day here at Hye Camp today!

Once again we started the day off with fishing at 6:00 AM.  A number of our campers are still excited to wake up with the sunrise and try their hand at catch and release, as well as jogging.

For morning chapel, Der Yeghishe gave a message from Genesis Chapter 4 emphasizing the relationship between Cain and Able.  The two brothers made an offering to God: Cain’s offering was from his fields, and Able’s offering was one of his best sheep.  God did not accept Cain’s offering because he did not give his best, so Cain was jealous of his brother and eventually killed him.  The message was that when you offer something to God let it be the best, and do it with the understanding that when you offer your best, there is no need to be jealous of others.  He invited the campers and staff to think about what they have to offer to God today, and not wait for something magical to happen for them to be encouraged or inspired to do something.  For example being mindful of how you treat other people or helping someone in need. 

At the end of morning chapel our sports team and nurse led us in a number of yoga moves to relax our mind and bodies to help prepare us for the day ahead.

Our classes today included Armenian Cooking, Traditions and Customs, Music and Nature talk.  Our campers learned how to make delicious cheese boreg, from start to finish, which they enjoyed for dinner.  In the "Traditions and Custom" class, students learned about some fundamental rituals of the Armenian Church, including baptism.  During Nature talk, a Forest Service Ranger gave a talk describing the different types of animals in the area, including deer, bears, fox, mountain lions and goats.  As part of her talk she had skulls of these animals to show the differences between herbivores and omnivores.

As lunchtime rolled around, the campers were treated to chicken nuggets, potatoes, salad bar and a refreshing ice cream bar for dessert.  After lunch the Big Brothers and Sisters helped the campers play “Capture The Counselor,” with various clues.  Once the Counselors were found they were taken to the Arbor and treated to a whipped cream pie…in the FACE!  The Deans Paula and Van, appealed to the campers to spare the counselors and “pie” them instead but to no avail.

After Capture the Counselors, the campers had rest time during which they showered and played various games.

At the evening Chapel Der Krikor performed the grape blessing service, while explaining the significance of this tradition.  The service acknowledges what God provides for us and how we should be thankful and grateful. The Everyone enjoyed the blessed grapes at the end of service.

Later in the evening, after a scrumptious dinner of Lahmajoon, veggies, boreg and fruit, the campers got ready for the “WE Remember” Dance!  A number of the campers wore imaginative costumes for the dance.  Look for the photos!

This blog has been brought to you by Hye Camp's 2nd week staff. Stay tuned for more news from Camp Hye Sierra, where we are celebrating 51 years of Armenian Church camping in California’s Sierra Mountains!