God Makes Beautiful Things

God Makes Beautiful Things

As we sit down to write this reflection on summer 2011, we are astounded at the beautiful things that God did in the lives of campers, guests, and staff. The newly named Gungor band gets it right when they sing, “You make beautiful things out of the dust [and] you make beautiful things out of us!” Even in the midst of a lot of rain and strange weather, campers had a blast, learned how to live a Christian life, and made commitments to follow God.

At Timber Rock, junior high campers played wild games and enjoyed exhilarating activities with a Nautical twist! Each Thursday night, campers created a tapestry together out of prayers written on colorful strips of paper. Each week the tapestry truly displayed the ways that God takes our brokenness and makes beautiful creations out of us!

Brightwood Station was filled with elementary aged kids who daily learned about God’s magnificent love for them through Bible studies led by their counselors, chapels, jubilations and cabin time. Brightwood was Wild West themed and campers traveled out to Frontier village, slept in teepees and even played a night game to rescue a western character!

Rainier Kids day camp reached an all time high this summer running eight full weeks and hosting 128 kids, with some coming back for second, and even third weeks! Cascades also offered a new bonus to Yelm families by providing transportation for Rainier kids to and from town. At camp, the kids swam at the waterfront, shot wrist rockets, participated in culinary arts, and learned about Christ in daily morning chapels and story time.

Sunrise Ranch campers blazed trails on horseback, rode in area class and enjoyed general camp fun all summer long while living at Brightwood and Timber Rock! Cascades also ran three weeks of Horse Intensives where campers were able to further develop their equestrian skills and dive deep into scripture.

The S.A.L.T. (Servant and Leadership Training) program ran with 129 high school students who learned how to work at camp by following Jesus’ example of servant leadership. They rocked the summer by jumping into service projects, assisting counselors with kids, and hanging out in fellowship with one another. As usual, camp could not run without the humble service and energy of our S.A.L.T.’s!

Our summer family camps were filled with joy as families took time out of their busy schedules to rest, enjoy a myriad of exciting activities, and spend time with God and each other! This summer, 216 families came out to Cascades to participate in family camps.

All in all, beautiful things happened this summer, and it is all because of the love of our good God working in and through the lives of staff, campers, guests, and all of you! Thank you for your prayers and generous support. God is indeed faithful and has blessed us abundantly!

-Darek “Delta” Hollis and Ellie “Dandy” VerGowe