Camp Aldersgate

Where are they Now? Spotlight: Megan Hazelett

Name:  Megan Hazelett

Name whilst at Camp Aldersgate (if different):  

What year(s) were you at Aldersgate?:   1998, 2000-2008

What role(s) did you fill while you was at Aldersgate?:   Naturalist Fun Specialist Health and Safety Director Favorite memory from Aldersgate:

Watching lightning at night at the Waterfront. 

Funniest Memory from Aldersgate:

When I was naturalist, I would bring the black rat snake, Kaa, out to show the campers. One camper asked how the snake pooped. Before I could explain anything, Kaa decided to answer the question himself. Perfect timing Kaa!

Please write a short statement of where, how, and with whom you are doing life currently:

I live around Akron, Oh. I work as a Paramedic at Akron City Hospital, and in the summer I work as a white water rafting guide in Ohiopyle, PA. I'm studying Emergency Management at the University of Akron, and I'm planning to get my masters degree from Colorado University. 

 

 

Why attend a women's retreat?

Fellowship with other Christians is a valuable part of our walk with Jesus Christ, these times with other believers allows us to gain new insight, share and be cared for by others. An important aspect of this is the ability to sometimes “get away from it all” and attend a retreat specifically for our own gender. We wanted to focus on some of the valuable experiences that can be found when women attend a retreat together.

One of the main reasons is that women’s retreats can sometimes give a fresh perspective to issues in our lives. The beauty of a gender specific retreat is that the topics and workshops are able to focus on issues that are relevant to the people attending. Another great reason why its good to go to an all women’s retreat is the chance to relax and spend extended time in worship and getting deeper into the teaching. Being away for an weekend, a day or even overnight can allow us the time, to experience fellowship with others as well as allow our spirit to rest and allow God to speak into your heart.  So what are you waiting for? 

 

Re-do those Leftovers!

Thanksgiving. Its a time to be thankful, the time to spend time with our family, and of course the time to enjoy one another’s company around the dinner table, enjoying food.  Here at Camp Aldersgate, we love food! We also love being able to reduce waste as well as provide a sometimes-healthier alternative. Listed below are some ideas on what to do with all of that leftover thanksgiving food and allow your family to enjoy their thanksgiving food in a variety of ways!

 

Leftover re-do ideas:

• Turkey/Chicken salad wraps
• Turkey soup
• Chicken/turkey pot pie
• Shredded turkey and pinto bean burrito
• Turkey and squash soup
• Turkey and sweet potato quesadillas
• Turkey and sweet potato shepherds pie

 

The roof is on!

Things are happening here at Camp Aldersgate! We are excited to see the new roof on the new cabin 3 go on in the past week.  We have been waiting patiently as I’m sure many other people have as well, for this roof to come up! We have not been disappointed! The contractors have done a great job and we are thankful to them for getting the job done.  As the roof becomes completed the next steps are putting the windows in and then begin to finish off the last of the cabin in order to begin building bunks and the like. We are very excited as the cabin continues to take shape and is becoming closer to being completed. We thank God for continuing to provide for us and for the amazing provisions that he has shown us over this year.

 

A picture of the roof being put on!

 

Where are they Now? Spotlight: Antti Valkama

Name:   Antti Valkama

Name whilst at Camp Aldersgate (if different):  Anti

What year(s) were you at Aldersgate?:   2007

What role(s) did you fill while you was at Aldersgate?:   I was mainly a camp counselor but also the entertainer for everybody! Favorite memory from Aldersgate:

I really loved the thursday night show where everyone could show off their special skills. Also one time my group did a wonderful skit there. It was really great seeing how I could make my kids do teamwork together.

 

Funniest Memory from Aldersgate:

My funniest memory must be trying to teach a special need kid how to sail. While it had been frustrating to fall on the lake time after time. It was still really satisfying at the same time.

 

Please write a short statement of where, how, and with whom you are doing life currently:

I am just graduating from University so I am living and spending time with my friends from University. Also now that winter is almost here, we are gonna do some open lake swimming!

 

Unique retreat activity #2.

Continuing on our theme of unique retreat activities, why not try making button bouquets with your retreat group? This fresh and fun craft takes a unique spin on flower bouquets and will help to show each person’s individuality as they design their bouquet! 

 

Materials needed:

An assortment of buttons

Fine wire

Wire cutters

An assortment of ribbon

 

Directions: 

Step 1) Cut wire to your desired stem length            

Step 2) Thread wires through the hole of the first button, ensuring you leave enough wire to twist around the “stem” to secure the design. Add buttons until desired effect has been reached.

Step 3) Continue making flowers until done, then arrange flowers together and twist wire to form the stem. 

Step 4) Finish by wrapping ribbon around the stem of the flowers to cover wire. 

Step 5) You’re done!

 

Chef in the making!

 

We wanted to show another memorable highlight of the summer here at Camp Aldersgate. Along with hand-made ravioli we also made home made lasagna using pasta that we had rolled out and made ourselves! The picture below is just one example of a moment of fun with making the pasta! 

By making hand made foods for the campers and staff to eat, it allowed fresher and healthier ingredients be included into the cooking. Going with the old saying of "good things in, good things out" this helped to have energetic campers that were energised by healthy food, as opposed to the sometimes heavier feeling that can come with fried and pre-processed foods.

 

New online camp store!

Missing camp? Cold? Would love something new to wear? Then why don’t you head on over to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/campaldersgate) and visit our online camp store! The camp store has come to Facebook and offers all of the same camp goodies, online with free shipping! Now you never have to be without Camp Aldersgate gear.

The new online camp store offers everyone a chance to see what we have in the camp store from the comfort of his or her own home.

With Christmas coming up, it’s a great time to get some quick and affordable presents that everyone is sure to love.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us at (866) 627-4369 or email us at info@campaldersgate.org

Below is a reminder of somethings that we sell in the camp store.

Where are they Now? Spotlight: Brandon Gallite

Name:   Brandon Gallite

Name whilst at Camp Aldersgate (if different):  

What year(s) were you at Aldersgate?:   1990-1994 (?)

What role(s) did you fill while you was at Aldersgate?:   I was mostly a camper, but I filled in as a counselor once when they created the Tree House program. Favorite memory from Aldersgate:

The People. From Paul Weaver to Jane Bailey to John McLachlan. From Amy (Wright) Merhige to John Hicks to Michelle (Dimos) Gallite.

Funniest Memory from Aldersgate: Practicing our skits for vespers in the indoor chapel.

Please write a short statement of where, how, and with whom you are doing life currently:

I married my camp sweetheart, and we're raising our two girls on a lake. I saw a sunfish sailboat the other day on the water and almost flagged down the owner. Life is good, and it will be even better when I get a sunfish!

Unique retreat activity.

For a different and unique activity at your next retreat, why not try Mosaics? Mosaics are a fun and different way to design a plate, frame or make your own picture. Below are some simple directions to get this activity going and to make your next retreat activity one to remember! 

 

Materials needed: 

An assortment of surfaces to decorate

An assortment of tiles (different sizes and colours)

Glue

Grout

Rubber gloves

 

Step 1) Choose a surface that you would like to decorate 

Step 2) Decide what kind of design you would like, use a pattern, draw onto the surface or just be random and go for it.

Step 3) Start gluing your tiles! You can either lay all the tiles first or just start gluing.

Step 4)Your surface needs to sit for 24-48 hours, so doing this activity at the beginning of a retreat would work and then finishing it at the end.

Step 5) Cover the surface with grout. Add just enough water to the grout until it is like cake batter. Then, wearing rubber gloves cover the surface with the grout, ensuring it gets between the tiles.

Step 6) Once you have covered the whole surface and filled all of the spaces, wipe off as much of the excess as possible. Then let it sit for 20-30 minutes or until the grout becomes hazy looking.

Step 7) Finally, take a damp cloth or sponge and wipe the haze off the surface. Then your done!