Summer Camp – 2008
Our 2008 Summer Camp went from July 14th to July 18th. This year we again combined all the children from XuZhou Home of Hope and GongYi Home of Hope along with several children from the outside who wanted to join us.
On July 13th, Bob Sayer and the children from the XuZhou Home of Hope arrived at the GongYi Home of Hope (see photo below left.) So much excitement as all the children greeted each other after a year of not seeing each other… and happy, bubbly conversation was in the air. After a short time everyone got settled in their rooms and had their first meal together.
On the evening of July 13th Ben and Michelle Godard (being trained for the administrative duties of the next Home of Hope) who were in charge of the Youth Camp with a fantastic agenda scheduled for the next five days, divided the children into teams. Those teams ended up being team “Wolf”, team “Lion” and team “Tiger” and you can see the teams above including each team’s counselor.
As you will see in the pictures and photo albums on this update, we had classes, character seminars, crafts and competition activities.
On our second night a major storm blew in and the torrential downpour was so strong water blew in under our doors flooding the downstairs bedrooms where the children had elected to sleep on the floor. That was quite an “unplanned†excitement for the children as everyone had to get up, roll their bedding up and fight to keep the water out..
Being aware that we did not have enough chairs and stools for all the extra children and adults we would have during the camp week, one of the first craft activities was for each child to make his/her own “sitting†pillow. We gave each child a foam pillow with a plain cover on it and they were to decorate it with their name and any other type of pretty thing they wished to draw or write.
We also opened our Youth Camp to our employee’s children and to children from the outside. We had several “non Home of Hope children in attendance. On the right is Violet Li Yun Qian the daughter of one of the Gongyi Home of Hope Nursery Nannies as she decorates her pillow. The children came up with some very neat designs and interesting color combinations. All of them were happy with their work and the pillows came in handy as the various activities unfolded.
Another item the children made the night before the camp actually started were their personalized “T†shirts. A Youth Group from the States provided over 100 “T†shirts for our camp and after we had divided the entire camp into three teams (Wolf, Tiger and Lion). First the children “Tie Dyed†their “T†shirts and then painted their own design on them along with their name and the name of their team. The following group picture was taken with all the children wearing their special “HOH Youth Camp – 2008†“T†shirts.
The Activities
There were many activities everyone was involved in. Here are a few of them!
We had skits…..
in this picture David donned a mustache as an army officer in the Japanese army.
We had dance teams….
Throw the football through the hoop!
Sidewalk Bowling
Hula Hoop Contests
Talent Show
Ma Hai Tao (the Gongyi Home of Hope maintenance man) and Joey sing together.
A trip to town on the HOH bus for Ice Cream – Daily Hand Crafts
Summer Snow Ball Fights (wadded up paper) – Individual Team Classes
Hanging Donut Eating Contest (No Hands Allowed!)
Three legged Foot Races
Ring Toss for the little ones – Night Volley Ball
Kick Ball for the little ones – Apple Bobbing for all!
Chin-up Competition
Standing Broadjump competition
The following are a series of photo albums from the Summer Camp presented in Flash format. This year we took so many picture we felt we should give our friends and site visitors a chance to see as many as possible.
There are quite a few snap shots but our regular viewers and supporters of the Home of Hope always tell us “the more pictures the better”. They like looking for the children they have met or that they sponsor or they have as an e-mail pen pal.
……so here they are! Enjoy!
Summer Camp – Monday Photo Album
Summer Camp – Tuesday Photo Album #1
Summer Camp – Tuesday Photo Album #2
Summer Camp – Tuesday Photo Album #3
Summer Camp – Tuesday Photo Album #4
Summer Camp – Wednesday Photo Album #1
Summer Camp – Wednesday Photo Album #2
Summer Camp – Wednesday Photo Album #3
Summer Camp – Thursday Photo Album #1
Summer Camp – Thursday Photo Album #2
Summer Camp – Friday Photo Album #1
Summer Camp – Friday Photo Album #2
We had several visitors from the United States join our Summer Camp. They shared some of their snapshots with us so we made those into an album as well.
Posted: August 16th, 2008 under Special Activities.