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

Wow! Another beautiful day here at Hye Camp!  We've really been blessed with temperate weather this week, bettejr than was forecast.

Once again we started the day off with fishing at 6:00 AM. Our campers are still excited to wake up with the sunrise and try their hand at catch and release.

For morning chapel Der Mesrop Ash gave a short sermon from the book of Timothy.  He challenged the campers to be bold in their youth and embrace the gifts that God has given them.  After chapel we went to breakfast for yummy breakfast burritos.

Our classes today included Armenian Cooking, Music, Bible Study, and Traditions and Customs.  Our campers learned how to make delicious Simit, from start to finish.  In the "Traditions" class, students learned about some fundamental rituals of the Armenian Church such as the Requiem Service and the Home Blessing.  We even blessed the campers' cabins!

As lunch time rolled around, campers were treated to Chili Dogs and chips with a healthy dose of salad on the side.

The afternoon heralded the beginning of this year’s Vartavar Games!  Vartavar is an ancient Armenian custom associated with the Feast of the Transfiguration.  It's celebrated by dowsing one another with water - what better way to spend a Hye Camp summer afternoon. The boys' cabins and the girls' cabins were paired together to make teams and they were all given names. They included The Little Mermaids, The Big Kahunas, Team Nemo, The Beach Bums, Surfer Dudes (and Dudettes), and The Baby Sharks. The games consisted of a watermelon eating contest, a water balloon toss, bean the Deans, and fill the bucket. Everyone had such a great time with all the activities with the Deans staying cool due to our campers superb with water balloon marksmanship. The Little Mermaids, which composed of the youngest boy’s cabin and the oldest girl’s cabin, were undefeated in all the competitions and won the Vartavar games.

Evening service was led by Father Avedis, who gave a great sermon about how each of us are children of God, and we should strive for perfection.  The kids sang the hymns Krisdos Ee Mech and Soorp Asdvadz with loud and energetic voices this evening.  Our Bay Area (~40 in all this year) and St. Peter’s Van Nuys camper and Staff also gathered for group photos.

Later in the evening, after a scrumptious dinner of Lahmajoon from Nina’s and homemade Boureg prepared here at Hye Camp, the campers started to get ready for the Blast from the Past Dance!

At the dance tonight – the theme was Blast from the Past – we had both dancing and showed “The Lego Movie” for those not interested in dancing.  Both our campers and the Camp Staff demonstrated their creativity with some very neat costumes!  A great time was had by all dancing with new and old friends.

 

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 50 years of Armenian Church camping in California’s Sierra Mountains!

Hye Camp Week 2 Day 3 – Tuesday’s Daily Hye Life Blog

Hi there camp enthusiasts! We had a busy, fun filled and exciting day today at Hye Camp!

We started the day off with new and returning kids coming down to fish at 6am this morning.

For morning chapel Der Mesrop Ash from St. John Armenian Church in San Francisco give us a beautiful message about love and compassion and how we should treat each other with the same compassion that Jesus Christ had for his followers. After chapel we went to breakfast for some warm pancakes, sausage, and cereal.

Our morning was spent in a series of classes including Armenian History, Armenian Dance, Bible Study, and Music. Our campers will return home well versed in leading a variety of Armenian dances at your next wedding!

Later for lunch we had a hearty sandwich and a beautiful salad buffet followed with popsicles that gave everyone gorgeous red lips. Just as yesterday, our afternoon was filled with fun activities and sports.

Shortly after 5:00 PM we had our evening chapel service at the arbor.  Today we had a special Grape Blessing service. This year the grapes were understudied by peaches and plums. Der Avedis Abovyan from the Armenian Apostolic Church of La Crescenta gave a very insightful sermon about trusting the Lord and speaking to Him through prayer.

After chapel, we had a delicious dinner consisting of tri-tip (which was beautifully barbecued by our very own sports crew, Gregg Chorbajian and John Hovanesian), Armenian style pilaf, vegetables, salad and to finish it off, a scrumptious apple strudel.

At 7:15, as one big happy family, we set off for our grand adventure, the night hike. The trail led us through a winding forest road, which culminated at a spectacular hilltop vista. After the campers and staff had taken pictures to memorialize the sunset, Der Mesrop gave a devotional about cultivating awareness of the way God communicates with us in our daily lives.

Following the night hike, we returned to the arbor to nourish our bodies with some “num-nums” – fresh fruit and choreg provided by St. Vartan of Oakland - and headed to the basketball court to enjoy the grandeur of God's creation through stargazing. At the conclusion of the stargazing, Der Avedis gave a devotional about God having created the world, and having placed us here as its caretakers, that peace is a central theme of our prayers, and with the violence in the world today, how fortunate we are to be here in peace.  We finished up the evening singing Der Voghormya.

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 50 years of Armenian Church camping in California’s Sierra Mountains!

Hye Camp Week 2 Day 2 – Monday’s Daily Hye Life Blog

Hello Camp Fans!  We’re back, having just completed another fun filled day at Camp Hye Sierra!

We woke up this morning to a beautiful clear blue sky.  By 6:15 AM we had over 40 campers at the lake for fishing.  Many fish were caught (and released)!

For morning chapel we were joined by Father Avedis Abovian of the Armenian Apostolic Church of La Canada and Crescenta Valley.  Fr. Avedis will be here for the remainder of the week working with Fr. Mesrop for chapel services as well as various classes.  Following chapel we went to breakfast for eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

Our morning was spent in a series of classes including Armenian History, Bible Study, a nature walk with a ranger from the US Forest Service, and “Icebreaker” – an opportunity for campers to learn about their fellow campers.

Lunch today consisted of pizza and watermelon, followed by an afternoon of the campers spending time playing basketball, volleyball, and soccer, creating novel items at Arts & Crafts, and spending time at the lake swimming, canoeing, and in the paddle boats.

Shortly after 5:00 PM we had our evening chapel service at the arbor.  Tonight we had some special guests: Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, former primate of the Western Diocese, Father Nerses Hayrapetyan, the pastor of St. Sarkis Armenian Church of Santa Clarita, and from Armenian Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Head of the Office of Inter-religious and Ecumenical Affairs of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzian.

After chapel, we had dinner consisting of chicken, scalloped potatoes, vegetables, and salad.  Shortly thereafter, everyone participated in the Camp Picture – that panoramic keepsake showing everyone – campers, counselors, clergy, and staff – that help to make Hye Camp a success! 

After everyone had a chance to gather their stuff for the evening from their cabins, we headed down towards the campfire.  On the way everyone stopped at the arbor for “num-nums” – choreg provided by St. John of San Francisco.  At campfire tonight, each cabin performed their “Brown Paper Bag Skit” – an improvisation based on the items found in a brown paper bag in each cabin.  We also saw another episode of the ongoing skit “Boghos Zilch, and heard our first of three nights of the “Lip Synching Competition” – a spirted competition between representatives from pairs of cabins singing some of America’s favorites.

Our Tuesday morning again starts at 6:00 AM for the Sports Staff and those campers wanting to go fishing.  For everyone else it’s up at 7:00 AM, Chapel at 7:30 AM, followed by breakfast at 8:00 AM.  Tuesday is filled with more classes and activities, and we also have the Night Hike for a beautiful view of the sunset.

Stay tuned for more news from Camp Hye Sierra, where we are celebrating 50 years of Armenian Church camping in California’s Sierra Mountains!