After what had been nearly a year and a half of separation, distancing, and virtual interaction it felt soooo good to come together, for the Skybacher “More Than” Sports Camps. As summer was approaching, we were still a little unsure of what it would look like, but as God provided staff, and courage to move forward, we decided that we would once again offer 6 summer camps for kids to attend.
To kick things off we would try hosting a hybrid camp in Conway at the municipal building. We had never before hosted a camp here, and right away gave us new exposure to students who had never been a part of the camps before. The theme for the week was “MOVE!”
And I couldn’t think of a better theme coming out of months of virtual meetings, quarantining, and little movement. We did lots of basketball, playground games, and team building activities, but it was the ending where we blasted the bone crunching rock song – “Move” by Thousand Foot Krutch, where the whole camp really let loose! Dancing, moshing, celebrating, and connecting with others all as we remember that in Him we live and MOVE and have our being!
Next we moved onto soccer camp. This would be the first time we would be able to break-out the ever popular slip-n-slide. I so wish I could capture all of the joy we had during these camps! The slip-n-slide was once again an area where we could just slide away all of our cares that had built up. Piggy back rides into the water and suds were an absolute must! We also hyped up the crowd in the morning with fun character skits! For soccer we have a visitor called Mobacca – and he brings along 2 Swedish friends in Sportsky and Mortsky! Together they make smoothies for the kids and teach various soccer chants to get the crowd going – dancing and celebration ensued.
We took a brief break over 4th of July – our family always has soccer and we squeeze in some vacation time wherever the soccer takes us, this year while playing in a game Julz dislocated her elbow – ouch! Needless to say this put a damper on the week between camps, but we all found a way to get some rest as we prepared for an epic ending to the summer camp season.
After 4th of July we hosted basketball at Freedom Middle School – I had a hunch that I should bring some extra hoops down to the school and as the families arrived we knew that our summer was about to be different than any prior. The line to register seemed never ending, and as I stepped into the gym it seemed as if we were busting at the seams. Only once in our history have we ever had 100 kids at a camp. This was the first sign that people were eager to get out and we were ready to embrace it and give kids the best time playing basketball they could have. We had activities both indoor and outdoor, but outdoors it was for our final program where firemen from Pine Run Fire Department came and sprayed water on the camp! What a blast (literally and figuratively) of fun it was.
A good Flag Football Camp for us is 65 campers. This year we had nearly 117!!! That provided tons of flag football action – and the kids all did really well as it seemed that the turf field was pushing 100 degrees each day. That is until the very last day when all the parents had come to watch, they had to huddle under umbrellas, as rain poured down on the campers and the flag football action – God provided the cool down for Flag Football Camp!!
Another soccer camp provided more opportunities for the slip-n-slide and we were now up over 130 campers. A character named Papa G brought donuts and the antics of the brothers Sportsky and Morstsky. This was the first year of the mini honey bun slingshot, but what an invention it turned out to be – who knew launching mini honey buns into a sea of campers could be so much fun!
We finally brought the summer to a close with Playground Camp. Playground Camp ended up being the largest camp we’ve hosted in Skybacher Ministries history!!! The kids continued to pour in and we continued to pour on the fun with the slip-n-slide, mega-bubbles, earth ball madness, and dodgeball!!! One of the highlights of every Skybacher Sports camp is the ending contest where the entire camp participates and competes in a 4 team showdown – after each round the music starts bumping as campers do the chicken dance, the YMCA, and our camp favorite Timmy Trumpets – Freaks (look it up, you can’t help but dance!) Pure Joy!!!
The entire camp season came to an ending where we announced all 137 kids, and they proceeded to make their way through a tunnel of our amazing staff who had pool noodles, high fives, bubbles, beach balls, and lots of cheering! That picture of seeing kids with people supporting, cheering them, and urging them on will stick with me for a long time.
We praise God for this unforgettable summer. Only now are we even able to still process all that the Lord did! Thank you to everyone who made it possible, to those who prayed for us, to those who made donations, and provided snacks. Thank you to the parents for trusting us and giving us such great encouragement. We had over 600 campers this year! Thank you to the camp staff! We had over 40 students serve with us this summer in various capacities, and it is always a joy to see young people using their gifts, talents, and time to serve the community!
What’s next? Well we are going to continue to trust the Lord and see what He has planned. At this point we are planning to have several of our tournaments, (Dodgeball, Volleyball, Flag Football, Broomball) and have hopes for Hang Time basketball to return. Whatever this 18th (wow!) school year of ministry brings, we are confident that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it!