Camp Experience- Final Day

Sunday Morning. The move began. We all woke up and bathed, brushed our teeth, and began our project clean up. After taking our things out the tents, packing them up, and loading all of the kitchen items together, we loaded our bus along with Goshen and waited for the bus to move and us to begin our venture home. When we arrived back at the church it was much calmer, and the process of getting our things off the bus went much more smoothly than the previous Wednesday . After dropping off Cornerstone, saying goodbye to Goshen, unpacking our things, we were officially able to say we were home. We enjoyed what we did, and our experience we will never forget. We must all say thank you to our director for his strict and fair punishment that kept us all in line. We must also say thank you to coordinator Edey for supporting us and keeping us all together. Our parents also had a big impact on our camp experience, from cooking to cleaning and just being there. We give most of our thanks to God for all He hands done for us. Without God we wouldn’t have been able to do all we did and because of Him we did.

Written By: Deneeka Leon


(Daneeka & Daneek Leon)

Camp Experience-Day 4

Sabbath Morning: we hurried to find our clothes. Screaming and yelling so that we could be present at flag rising. No one wanted to be the ones who were put in the late spot and have their club announced to everyone. After flag raising we quickly headed back to the campsite and our walk to Sabbath school began. After Sabbath school we were given a fifteen minute break. Councilor Stacy did not want us to leave, and therefore saw no reason why we wanted to move around in the first place. Almost 13 children lay upon each other’s shoulders gone in a mist of wonder. As we all slept through church we knew that we were being watched. When Pastor Jamie rose to begin his sermon every eye opened and each ear was cleaned to create an attention that was unmovable. We all ate lunch and like all pathfinders could not wait to get out of our uniform. The heat made us beg for a swim in the pool and our uniform which protected us from the harsh sun did us a great injustice of keeping in our body’s heat. After lunch we all crawled back into the tents and caught some sleep. After an hour or two we went to A.Y and then ran back to eat and change in time for the social. That evening we all walked out together and went to support our fellow pathfinder in her saxophone playing and that night we walked to bid goodbye to all our newly acquired friends. We watched a beautiful, pantomime performance, done by one of the many Spanish churches that were at Berkshire. We played the night activities such as the one legged race, which ended in us falling as well as the sack race, and to top it off we were drag through the dirt by these very big men and woman in tug of war. Boy did we need Naquan that night. We said our goodbyes and exchanged numbers and other forms of communication information. As we walked back to our site, we walked with a sense of sadness. After being at camp and having so much fun we regretted having to leave. We all closed our eyes and prepare our minds for the coming day called tomorrow.

Written By: Deneeka Leon


Sermon snippet "Return on your Investment" by Pastor Jamie
At Camp Berkshire, AUGUST 2010.

Camp Experience-Day 3

Day three: Friday morning we all woke in time for the showers. Luckily, there was a minimum amount of people that showed quickly and came back to our tent. We all dressed in our B-class uniform and planned to be early at flag rising. Even though we weren’t the first club at flag rising, we still made the effort to be there on time, and we were recognized for it. As the day continued we participated in activities that were held in the pavilion. We did a heart racing stunt like activity called "the sing"; where you were taken high up in the air as far as you wanted to go or as far as the rope would allow you, and then you pull the rope to let you go. As we flew through the air, it felt as though you and your insides were going in two different directions. We then went and ate lunch. That evening we all went back to the camp site and began our cleaning for the nearing Sabbath. As news of inspection circled the camp grounds, our directors and coordinators went from calm, cool, and collective to serious neat machines. Each time the place was cleaned, it was dirtied. It seemed as though things would never stay the way it was supposed to. As the Sabbath approached closer, the pathfinders scattered like little ants, succoring around our area cleaning. The camp site was eventually cleaned and exhausted bodies stood and participated in worship. As they leaned, and swayed a dance that told the beauty of sleep was preformed. That night we all slept. The air was cold and drastically fell, showing no sympathy to our freezing bodies. After little prayers of protection through the night went up all was silent.

Written By: Deneeka Leon

Camp Experience-Day 2

Day two: Breakfast was great. Everyone was fed and ate a very satisfying meal. If only we were able to display our gratitude emotionally. Many us females were upset in the morning because of our wait on the bathroom line. As a result of our previous nights late night curfew, we were not informed about the camp bathroom system. The system goes like this: You had to go either in the morning before everyone else or after everyone at night. You would wait half an hour to an hour every morning at 4:00am or in the night at 12’something just to take a 3 to 5-minute shower. As the day continued, some of our younger pathfinders went off with one of our councilors (Stacy Ann Brown) to complete their camping skills 1, 2, and 3. The older kids stayed at the campsite cleaning up and preparing dinner. As nights fell, our superiors began to watch us more closely. They knew what was going on in our young minds. They could already see that there was something being planned behind their backs. As night fell on that day all the kids were being watched.

Written by: Deneeka Leon


(from left to right: Daneeka Leon, Nialie Fedricks, Rachel Brown)

Camp Experience-Day 1

Day 1: As the children filled up the trailer block, the feeling of suspense began to build in the air. A feeling so strong it was sensed from miles away. We introduced our selves to the pathfinders from Goshen who were waiting with us. Our directors were everywhere at once trying to do so many things. You could just imagine how the coordinator looked if the directors were running around. Picture a woman who is always looking out for us, suddenly rushing us to get everything done, while trying to figure out what we were missing. Many of the children were not aware of the little situation that was brewing underneath the surface of all this madness. We were missing some things that if we did not obtain, would have devastated our trip. We were missing basic foods like milk, eggs, vegetables and other items that we could not leave without. Coordinator Edey called some of the pathfinders to go along with him and Goshen’s very own director McLean, but by the time they turned around, she was gone. We could not have gone to camp without our coordinator, food, and Cornerstone’s pathfinders. After a few minutes of calmness, people began to realize that coordinator Edey and director Mclean were nowhere to be found. The pastor and I jumped in his van and began our long road trip up down Utica and Eastern Parkway where we finally found them. As all hope seemed to be fading God gave it back and reminded us to always have faith and believe in him. We returned to the trailer, got on the bus, stopped to pick up Goshen, and THEN WE WERE FINALLY ON OUR WAY!!

The ride: Many would think bus rides full of children would be loud, rowdy, discombobulated, messy and just plain out of control. Well to all those who think that way, I would like to inform you that Lighthouse Pathfinders, Goshen Pathfinders, and Cornerstone Pathfinders are the best group of kids you will ever meet. Just as long as our coordinator and director were on board you wouldn’t have to tell us to quiet down twice. We were informed that this was a privilege, not a mandatory trip. They would have no problem in taking away our activities. At our tender teenage years we could not stop ourselves from asking some mandatory road trip questions. As we traveled, we all noticed how far from home we were, but could not help but wonder how close we reached to our destination. Questions of “are we there yet?” and “how much longer?” flew from every mouth, even mine. Not long after the bus was silent, the quiet sound of all three churches was a sound too be remembered. I say this because as soon as it began, it ended.

The arrival: When we arrived, it was around 3:30pm. The sun burned our skin and made a mockery of us, it seemed the closer the sun came to setting the hotter it became. Church after church came and set up, while lighthouse struggled to stay awake. Tired eyes began to fade as we continued with the help of our very own Naquan Taitt, as he assisted with setting up the tent. As night fell, the weather went with it, turning our once despised furnace into an un-welcomed icebox. We worked, and worked, praying that we could soon finish and go to sleep. As always, Naquan came through, altering our minds to figuring out missing pieces. Our tents were completed and the sleep we needed, we received.

Written By:Deneeka Leon

(from left to right: Kira Borne, Daneeka Leon)